photo by: Richard Gwin

KU football coach David Beaty instructs his players during spring football practice on Thursday, March 26, 2015.

photo by: Richard Gwin

KU football coach David Beaty instructs his players during spring football practice on Thursday, March 26, 2015.

Finally, the Kansas football team may be catching a break.

It’s been a rough six seasons for the Jayhawks, who have piled up losses at a record pace since enjoying wild success under former head coach Mark Mangino. And there’s no doubting that in order to crawl out from under the mess the Jayhawks could benefit from a helping hand.

That’s exactly what they’ll get in 2016, according to FOX Sports writer Bruce Feldman, who ranks the Jayhawks’ 2016 non-conference schedule as the second easiest among Power 5 Conference football programs.

Here’s the criteria Feldman used…

“I’ve based this on my evaluation of
opponents’ merits for 2016 based on
the following points system: 5 points
for a Top 5 caliber team; 4.5 for a
Top 15; 4 for a Top 25; 3.5 for a Top
40; 3 for a Top 60; 2.5 for a Top 80;
2 for a Top 100; 1.5 for a fringe FBS
program or strong FCS team; a 1 for a
complete cupcake. Also, I’ve added
bonus points for a road game (0.5) or
a neutral site game (0.25).”

After tallying it all up, KU’s non-con schedule strength index number came in at 1.83, tied with Washington for second lowest and just .02 behind Boston College, which claimed the No. 1 spot.

Feldman likes the way things set up for KU during its first three games before the grueling Big 12 schedule, with a pair of home games against Rhode Island and Ohio and a trip to Memphis that became a little bit easier to swallow this offseason, when former Memphis coach Justin Fuente left for Virginia Tech and several seniors exhausted their eligibility and followed him out the door.

Here’s Feldman’s take…

“The Jayhawks have a great chance to
start the season with a win by opening
at home against woeful URI, which was
1-10 in 2015. After that, Ohio, which
has only 11 starters back, visits,
followed by a trip to play a
rebuilding Memphis team that not only
lost its star QB but also its head
coach and has only 12 starters
returning.”

Earlier this summer, though not as high, I also saw ESPN ranked KU’s non-conference schedule as the eighth easiest among Power 5 programs.

ESPN's Power Football Index ranks KU's 2016 non-conference schedule as the 8th easiest among Power 5 programs.

Clearly, the mere thought that KU may have a couple of easy games in the early going qualifies as good news for the Jayhawks. But if there’s one thing KU fans have learned during one of the roughest stretches in college football history it’s that nothing comes easy and easy definitely is a relative term.

Still, having a schedule that people don’t deem one of the most difficult in the country, which has been the case during a couple of the past few seasons, should give KU hope that the turnaround could begin sooner rather than later.

Really, though, this fact qualifies as both good and bad news. Good because it gives KU a chance. Bad because if the Jayhawks stumble against this group, they won’t really have any excuses.

That’s not to say anybody should expect Kansas to be 3-0 after the non-con portion of the schedule passes on Sept. 17 — 2-1 would certainly register as a fantastic start and, according to Vegas and many college football analysts, 1-2 is the more likely result.

But momentum can be a funny thing. And if KU can get that first one against a woeful Rhode Island team, the Ohio game the following week looks a little more attainable and things can build from there.

The whole thing adds intrigue to something that KU fans already are keeping a close eye on anyway — how quickly can second-year coach David Beaty get things back on the right track and when will Saturdays at Memorial Stadium start to be fun again?