Kansas’ bowl hopes in jeopardy after loss in Sunflower Showdown
Kansas Coach Lance Leipold glances up at the scoreboard during the fourth quarter against Kansas State Saturday October 26, 2024 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5)
MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Jayhawks are looking for answers following their 16th-straight loss to the Wildcats, and now they’ll have no margin for error the rest of the season.
Kansas took No. 16 Kansas State down to the wire, but once the smoke cleared, it lost 29-27. Not only are the Jayhawks still winless on the road, they’ll have to be victorious in their final four games to become bowl eligible for a third-straight year. Coach Lance Leipold believes his team has what it takes to accomplish that feat, and wants to build on the positive aspects from Saturday night’s road loss.
After all, the Jayhawks led the Wildcats in first downs, and third down efficiency. Kansas even drew first blood, and held Kansas State (7-1) scoreless in the first quarter. However, there were too many mental errors by the Jayhawks throughout the contest, and Leipold couldn’t stop the bleeding.
From turnovers, to a missed extra point and a safety, the Jayhawks were their own worst enemy. Still, Leipold admired the way his players went down swinging, and never gave up.
“I thought we battled all the way through, we once again left some missed opportunities out there in all three phases that prevented us from winning the game, and this one stings as much as any of them,” Leipold said. “But I told them that I was proud of the way we fought, and competed for four quarters.”
There’s no denying that Kansas’ offense scored enough points to win. Quarterback Jalon Daniels put together some impressive drives along the way. Kansas recorded an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter, that took over six minutes off the clock.
It’s unfortunate that the Jayhawks missed a chance to go up 14-0 after Daniels overthrew a wide open receiver in the endzone. Not to mention Daniels later threw an interception on a promising drive. Daniels connected with wideout Luke Grimm towards the end of the second quarter, and the Jayhawks found themselves down 16-14 at halftime.
Kansas came out inspired in the second half, and scored 13 points in the third quarter. Leipold’s squad even had a two-point lead entering the fourth quarter, and that’s when the downward spiral started. The Jayhawks’ defense gave up some explosive plays down the stretch, and the Wildcats took advantage of good field position. Kicker Chris Tennant nailed two clutch field goals, including a 51-yarder that gave Kansas State the lead for good.
What frustrated Leipold is the fact that the Jayhawks had a chance to add to their lead after the Wildcats pulled within one point. It just so happens that Daniels got caught carrying the ball like an antique vase on a scramble, Austin Romaine knocked it loose and Brendan Mott recovered the fumble. The momentum totally shifted to Kansas State’s side after that, and remained there the rest of the way.
In Leipold’s eyes, the Jayhawks held their own in front of 52,074 fans, and despite the loss, he’s finding no shame in a moral victory.
“I thought we competed extremely hard, and we were very physical throughout the game,” he said. “We had pretty good resilience, obviously we had the lead until the final kick.”
Daniels completed 18 of his 31 passes for 209 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The signal-caller also had 66 yards on the ground, and a rushing score. Running backs Devin Neal and Sevion Morrison combined for 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Wideout Trevor Wilson finished with a team-high, 69 receiving yards, and Grimm had the Jayhawks’ lone touchdown reception.
Defensively, linebacker JB Brown racked up a game-high, eight tackles. Cornell Wheeler added six stops, and Jayson Gilliom and O.J. Burroughs each tallied five. Kansas (2-6) lost the turnover battle, and that proved to be the difference. The Wildcats also led in total offense, plays, first downs and time of possession.
Regardless of the humbling loss, Leipold is going to try and pick up the pieces during the Jayhawks’ bye-week. The 60-year old wants his team to use the time off to focus on the fundamentals, and the weight room. There’s still a lot of football left to be played, and Leipold will have his opportunity to salvage Kansas’ season.
“We fought our tails off, it’s pretty evident that this is a good football team, and we lost to a really good football team, but this team hasn’t quit.”
