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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Playing in its second Friday night game in consecutive weeks, Kansas will take on Illinois on Friday, Sept. 8 inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium for a primetime matchup under the lights on ESPN2.

Kickoff is slated for 6:37 p.m. CT on ESPN2 with Anish Shroff (Play-by-Play), Andre Ware (Analyst) and Paul Carcaterra (Sideline) on the call. Kansas will be hosting an ESPN nationally televised weeknight game for the first time since 1995, when the Jayhawks defeated TCU 38-20 on ESPN.

The meeting between the Jayhawks and the Fighting Illini will be the sixth game played in series history, including the first since 1968. Illinois owns the series advantage at 3-2, while the only game played in Lawrence was played in 1892 and ended in favor of the Jayhawks, 26-4.

Kansas enters the game following a 48-17 season opening win at home against Missouri State on Sept. 1, in which Kansas kicked off year three under head coach Lance Leipold. The Jayhawks were led by 521 yards of offense, including four touchdowns by four different rushers. The Kansas defense forced Missouri State into two second half turnovers to help put away the Bears for the first win of the 2023 campaign.

Bret Bielema is in his third season as coach at Illinois and his squad comes off a 30-28 victory over Toledo in their season opener on Sept. 2. Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-26 passing in the season opener, which led to a 29-yard game winning field goal by Caleb Griffin in the final seconds.

Illinois finished the 2022 season at 8-5, including 3-2 on the road, and returns 15 starters, including six on offense, six on defense and three on special teams.

Following Friday night’s matchup with Illinois, the Jayhawks will hit the road for the first time during the 2023 season, when they take on Nevada on Saturday, September 16 in Reno, Nevada.

Kansas unveiled new “Blackhawk” uniforms on Sunday, which will be worn against Illinois on Friday. The first 10,000 fans to the game on Friday will receive a special edition rally towel.

Fans can purchase single-game tickets to the remaining six Kansas Football home games this season, including Illinois (Sept. 8), BYU (Sept. 23), UCF (Oct. 7), Oklahoma (Oct. 28), Texas Tech (Nov. 11) and Kansas State (Nov. 18).

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