You talk about a hard game to re-watch. The biggest thing I took away is KU actually took the fight to KSU physically. I did not expect that. Up front I thought KU was the better team. Defensively they let two plays get away from them on the outside runs by Dylan Edwards for 44 yards and Giddens (started outside left and then cut back right) for 54 yards. Those plays were killer because the DL and front seven bottled up KSU's running game from the backs well all night.
There was no way Avery Johnson wasn't going to run the ball after not doing it for six quarters. He didn't slice the defense but did enough to extend drives and be a factor. On the re-watch the DE lost contain on too many runs he had.
The safety after the special teams error was a major turn of momentum. KSU was held scoreless in the first quarter and the kickoff came at the beginning of the second quarter. That got the crowd in it. I know most shotgun teams rarely work under center. But if there was ever a time to run a sneak under center that was it. I counted seven players within the one-yard line from KSU when Neal was hit. KSU brought more than KU can block.
After that KSU scored on the jump-pass and when they went up 16-7 that was reason for concern because you think in the back of your head is this when KSU starts to distance themselves like so many times we have seen in Manhattan. But they answered with a drive and Daniels avoided several blitzes and near tackles on the drive when Grimm scored.
Right before half I would have liked to see Daniels not go for the end zone. They were in KSU territory and had 35 seconds with two TO left. Go for a 10-yard pass and keep taking chunks down the field like they were doing. KSU had a safety deep and I thought Wilson got interfered with. The corner started making contact with Wilson at the goal line and knocked him down about two yards in the end zone. Also I want to give some credit to Wilson who was five yards deep and went back down to make the tackle at the 50-yard line.
Every time KSU scored the Jayhawks answered. They went up by nine twice and the offense responded. The Devin Neal run to make it a 23-20 game was a great call on 3rd and seven. And then the missed extra point.
The biggest play that went against KU in the second half was Daniels fumble. There was 3:49 left and KU had 2nd and 13. KSU was down to two TO. Daniels had a QB run for positive yards and would have had a 3rd and seven coming but he went airborne and Mott knocked the ball loose. KSU only rushed three and gave him room to run. That gave KSU the ball in plus territory at the 48.
KSU brought several cover zero blitzes late in the game. Daniels is one of the few QB that KSU will face who could outrun their blitzes and make them pay. But on that final play KSU had defenders ready for the run after they flushed him out of the pocket. On the replay angles I can't see enough downfield what the coverage looked like.
I don't know if I have ever seen a team that had the ball in their possession with a chance to tie or win so many games in a season at the end of a game. Five losses by an average of 3.8 points per loss is maddening. I don't know if you can try to do that.
KSU went into the game with the nation's fifth best rush defense giving up 85 yards a game. The Jayhawks ran for 192 yards. KU's 6.2 yards per play is the second most KSU has given up all season.
But here's the final fact: You can't go into the #16 team in the country on the road and lose the TO battle and get beat on special teams and win.
There was a dropped TD. There was a KO fielded at the one. There was a missed extra point. The interception right before the half. A dropped interception that seals the win that went right through the hands.
Through all of the losses the team comes out ready to play. They have fought and played with good effort. But these losses at some point has to add up mentally. That was a physical game last night. Both teams were hitting. Now the challenge is for Leipold and the staff to keep that effort going. It is going to be hard. It is human nature to hang your head. KU just went on the road and played KSU even-Steven and came away with nothing to show for it.
I have said all along and my mind doesn't change. KU is a scary team to play. Especially being 2-6 they look bad on paper but they are better than that. Klieman said last week nobody is going to stop the Kansas offense. What he said after the game...
"I know that they had the bye week and played Houston really well, and they kind of figured some things out," he said. "And as I told people all week, same football team that was up 27-16 on us last year in the second half, minus their best player in their quarterback [Jalon Daniels],and he's the straw that stirs the drink, and he's a terrific player, a terrific competitor. I honestly hated to have somebody lose that football game."
Now the challenge is finding a way to keep playing at the max effort level. It is going to get tougher. They will face three teams who are in the hunt for the Big 12 title in Iowa State, Colorado and BYU. They can beat any of those teams. The question is going to be can they keep getting up to play every game after so many body blows through the season and last minute losses.
There was no way Avery Johnson wasn't going to run the ball after not doing it for six quarters. He didn't slice the defense but did enough to extend drives and be a factor. On the re-watch the DE lost contain on too many runs he had.
The safety after the special teams error was a major turn of momentum. KSU was held scoreless in the first quarter and the kickoff came at the beginning of the second quarter. That got the crowd in it. I know most shotgun teams rarely work under center. But if there was ever a time to run a sneak under center that was it. I counted seven players within the one-yard line from KSU when Neal was hit. KSU brought more than KU can block.
After that KSU scored on the jump-pass and when they went up 16-7 that was reason for concern because you think in the back of your head is this when KSU starts to distance themselves like so many times we have seen in Manhattan. But they answered with a drive and Daniels avoided several blitzes and near tackles on the drive when Grimm scored.
Right before half I would have liked to see Daniels not go for the end zone. They were in KSU territory and had 35 seconds with two TO left. Go for a 10-yard pass and keep taking chunks down the field like they were doing. KSU had a safety deep and I thought Wilson got interfered with. The corner started making contact with Wilson at the goal line and knocked him down about two yards in the end zone. Also I want to give some credit to Wilson who was five yards deep and went back down to make the tackle at the 50-yard line.
Every time KSU scored the Jayhawks answered. They went up by nine twice and the offense responded. The Devin Neal run to make it a 23-20 game was a great call on 3rd and seven. And then the missed extra point.
The biggest play that went against KU in the second half was Daniels fumble. There was 3:49 left and KU had 2nd and 13. KSU was down to two TO. Daniels had a QB run for positive yards and would have had a 3rd and seven coming but he went airborne and Mott knocked the ball loose. KSU only rushed three and gave him room to run. That gave KSU the ball in plus territory at the 48.
KSU brought several cover zero blitzes late in the game. Daniels is one of the few QB that KSU will face who could outrun their blitzes and make them pay. But on that final play KSU had defenders ready for the run after they flushed him out of the pocket. On the replay angles I can't see enough downfield what the coverage looked like.
I don't know if I have ever seen a team that had the ball in their possession with a chance to tie or win so many games in a season at the end of a game. Five losses by an average of 3.8 points per loss is maddening. I don't know if you can try to do that.
KSU went into the game with the nation's fifth best rush defense giving up 85 yards a game. The Jayhawks ran for 192 yards. KU's 6.2 yards per play is the second most KSU has given up all season.
But here's the final fact: You can't go into the #16 team in the country on the road and lose the TO battle and get beat on special teams and win.
There was a dropped TD. There was a KO fielded at the one. There was a missed extra point. The interception right before the half. A dropped interception that seals the win that went right through the hands.
Through all of the losses the team comes out ready to play. They have fought and played with good effort. But these losses at some point has to add up mentally. That was a physical game last night. Both teams were hitting. Now the challenge is for Leipold and the staff to keep that effort going. It is going to be hard. It is human nature to hang your head. KU just went on the road and played KSU even-Steven and came away with nothing to show for it.
I have said all along and my mind doesn't change. KU is a scary team to play. Especially being 2-6 they look bad on paper but they are better than that. Klieman said last week nobody is going to stop the Kansas offense. What he said after the game...
"I know that they had the bye week and played Houston really well, and they kind of figured some things out," he said. "And as I told people all week, same football team that was up 27-16 on us last year in the second half, minus their best player in their quarterback [Jalon Daniels],and he's the straw that stirs the drink, and he's a terrific player, a terrific competitor. I honestly hated to have somebody lose that football game."
Now the challenge is finding a way to keep playing at the max effort level. It is going to get tougher. They will face three teams who are in the hunt for the Big 12 title in Iowa State, Colorado and BYU. They can beat any of those teams. The question is going to be can they keep getting up to play every game after so many body blows through the season and last minute losses.
