No. 19 OU slugs Kansas 62-9 in Norman: ‘That was a painful event for me,’ Miles says
Kansas is running out of opportunities to win a game this season.
Les Miles’ Jayhawks fell to 0-7 (0-6 Big 12) with just three games left on the schedule following Saturday’s 62-9 loss to No. 19-ranked Oklahoma at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
The one-sided nature of the setback, KU’s 16th straight against Oklahoma and 53rd in a row in a Big 12 road game, seemed to hit KU coach Miles as hard as any result in his two seasons at KU.
“That was a painful event for me, I promise you. I felt like we could play with these guys, felt we could run the football with them, throw efficiently. I didn’t expect they would run around our tackles like they did,” Miles said.
The final stats showed the dominance of the Sooners (5-2, 4-2), who outgained KU 540 yards to 246.
OU’s aggressive defenders sacked KU freshman quarterback Jalon Daniels nine times for 73 yards, including a final sack that knocked Daniels out of the game with 9 minutes, 45 left in the game.
“He got hit a lot of times in that game and we can’t treat our quarterback that way or we won’t have one. That’s a fact,” Miles said.
Daniels — he completed 11 of 31 passes for 115 yards, two interceptions and net minus-47 yards rushing, 15 carries — did not appear to be injured seriously on the final sack. It looked as if he re-injured his left ankle, one that’s given him problems several times this season.
“When I walked by him he said it seems a lot better,” Miles said. “I don’t know to what extent that means. I know he’s going to work hard, do everything to be back (for Texas game at home on Nov. 21 after a bye week). I don’t know exactly how bad.”
Miles, who was missing several key players because of COVID-19 and/or injuries, did acknowledge his squad is “nicked” right now.
In fact, KU had a whopping 39 players inactive Saturday, including starting running back Velton Gardner, starting defensive linemen Da’Jon Terry and Marcus Harris and starting offensive lineman Chris Hughes.
Also out because of injury or COVID-19, were linebacker Denzel Feaster, wide receivers Stephon Robinson and Lawrence Arnold and punter Kyle Thompson.
“Yes, we were,” Miles said, asked if the team was “hit hard” by COVID or contact tracing.
OU freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler hurt his left hip after getting hit by KU’s Ricky Thomas at the goal line on a 2-yard TD run in the second quarter. Rattler completed 15 of 27 passes for 212 yards, one TD and one interception.
In obvious discomfort, Rattler left for good with four minutes left in the third quarter. He and running back Rhamondre Stevenson (104 yards, 11 carries, two TDs) had solid efforts on offense on a day dominated by OU’s defense.
For KU, Daniel Hishaw, a native of Moore, Oklahoma, led the Jayhawks in rushing with 73 yards on 10 carries. Tight end Will Huggins, a freshman from Shawnee Mission South, caught a 20-yard TD pass from Miles Kendrick to at the end of the game to conclude the scoring.
Oklahoma grabbed a 7-0 lead just 2:59 into the game. Rattler flipped a pass to wide open tight end Austin Stogner on a first-and-10 call from the KU 20. The Sooners marched 45 yards in three plays following an interception of a Daniels pass by Tre Brown on KU’s first possession.
Daniels had his second pass of the quarter intercepted (following a Kenny Logan interception of a Rattler pass) when Brendan Radley-Hiles stepped in front of a pass intended for Luke Grimm. However, Grimm hustled down field and stripped Radley-Hiles of the ball at the KU 24. Earl Bostick recovered, meaning KU kept the ball at its own 24 with 6:50 left in the first quarter.
Stevenson scored on a 13-yard run to give OU a 14-0 lead with 1:26 left in the first. That capped a 10-play, 59-yard drive.
Rattler rolled right and scored a TD on a first-and-goal call from the 2-yard line, giving OU a 21-0 lead with 8:13 left before halftime.
KU took a major risk, going for it on fourth-and-1 at its own 27 with 5:41 left before halftime. The Jayhawks’ Daniels was stuffed for no gain.
The Sooners settled for a 40-yard field goal from Gabe Brkic at the 4:48 mark. The Sooners’ five-play, 3-yard drive stalled with backup QB Tanner Mordecai at the controls. The sophomore from Waco, Texas was sacked on third down.
Rattler returned on OU’s next drive and, favoring his left hip, led a six-play, 57-yard march capped by a 4-yard TD run by T.J. Pledger that gave OU a 31-0 lead. KU’s Jacob Borcila converted a 32-yard field goal to make it 31-3 at halftime.
KU, which has now allowed 50 or more points in three straight games, has gone winless just twice in the program’s history. The Jayhawks were 0-10 under Chuck Mather in 1954 and 0-12 under David Beaty in 2015.
The Jayhawks have next weekend off before playing host to Texas Nov. 21 and TCU Nov. 28 and traveling to Texas Tech Dec. 5 to conclude Miles’ second campaign at KU.
“I like my team,” he said. “I think they are going to develop. I’ve never had a team this young. It’s a darn good team. The young guys are the best. I like some of the veterans, certainly. They’ll play with us until they exceed their schooling, and I like where we are going, obviously.”
This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 7:04 PM.
