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Congratulations, Jayhawk fans.

It turns out you do have a Top 20 football program after all.

At least that’s what the guys at predictionmachine.com say about the Kansas University football program’s home-field advantage at Memorial Stadium.

We’ll get into the specifics of the study and how the rankings were compiled in a minute. It’s important for those of you who may be checking your pulse — or your glasses — to stick with me to that part of this blog.

For starters, though, let’s just get right to the meat of it all. According to the study, which includes data from as far back as 2000, the KU football program has the 14th best home-field advantage of all Div. I, FBS programs in the country.

Better than Alabama, better than Texas, better than Kansas State. Heck, according to these guys, KU ranks second in the Big 12 when it comes to home-field advantage, with only Oklahoma (1st) and former Big 12 schools Missouri (4th) and Texas A&M (12th) rating higher than the Jayhawks.

So what gives? How is it possible that a program that has just a handful of bowl appearances all-time and a student fan base that routinely leaves games at halftime and does not return ranks near the top of college football in home-field advantage?

Well, according to this study, the fever of the fans, the gameday atmosphere, the decibel level and the construction of the stadium don’t mean squat.

This study merely analyzes things from a scientific perspective, with the conclusion being based on which teams perform at a higher level at home above what is expected and how consistently that performances is delivered.

In short, it’s long been known that the Jayhawks both play and fare better in Memorial Stadium than they do on the road, and that’s basically what this study is saying.

That’s why the elite programs in the country rank near the bottom. Alabama is 106th, Texas is 100th, Nebraska 102nd and Florida 96th. Most years, these programs are so loaded with talent that it does not matter where they play or who they’re playing. These teams typically roll to blowout after blowout regardless of where the game is played, which makes their home-field advantage less significant and certainly less crucial than the advantage for a program like KU.

I’m pretty sure that even the most die-hard Jayhawk fans would say that playing in Tuscaloosa or Austin or Lincoln or at the Swamp is a much more difficult endeavor than coming into Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas. And they’re right. But this study did not take into account any of the environmental factors that make college football so great. It merely looked at the numbers and spit out this fascinating, yet head-scratching, list.

So why do the study? Why not?

It’s kind of interesting to see that the Jayhawks get such a lift out of playing at home, even if the stands aren’t always full or people do leave long before the final gun.

For those interested, here’s the complete list, which also includes a full explanation of how the results were reached.

I figured many of you would be hearing about this from friends, on Twitter or on message boards out there, so I wanted to help explain the list to you before you thought you were going insane.

For those curious about where the Big 12’s programs rank, here’s that list:

1. Oklahoma – 1st
2. Kansas – 14th
3. Oklahoma State – 17th
4. Texas Tech – 24th
5. Iowa State – 25th
6. Kansas State – 27th
7. Baylor – 42nd
8. TCU – 55th
9. Texas – 100th
10. West Virginia – 111th