Grades from KU Jayhawks football’s loss to Kansas State and looking ahead to Texas
Here are grades for all three Kansas units, a highlight from Saturday’s 35-10 loss to Kansas State and a look ahead to Texas.
Play of the game
Breaking free: Third-string quarterback Jalon Daniels set KU up for its only touchdown drive with some nice downfield passes. The actual scoring play, though, came with plenty of help from senior receiver Kwamie Lassiter, who broke three tackles on his way to the end zone for a 15-yard score on a fourth and 4.
Lassiter led all KU’s receivers with six catches for 82 yards.
Grades
Offense: C. This will be graded on a curve a bit, as KU obviously didn’t anticipate it would lose its top two quarterbacks to injury in the first half. Still, all was not lost for the Jayhawks offensively, as they were able to hit on some big plays while also chewing up clock to only allow K-State 10 total possessions; the score could’ve gotten much worse without that ball control. Daniels flashed some in the second half with accurate throws downfield, and while KU’s 3.3 yards per rushing play (taking out the lost yardage on a sack) wasn’t amazing, it did help the Jayhawks to a few first downs early. KU finished at 4.8 yards per play — a so-so number — while posting no turnovers for the first time since Game 2 vs. Coastal Carolina. Yes, this performance could have been better ... but it also could’ve been a whole lot worse too.
Defense: F. It’s a minor miracle KU only allowed 35 points given the underlying numbers; the Jayhawks defense allowed 11 yards per play in the first half and still were at 10 yards per play allowed entering the fourth quarter. KU had made some progress in previous weeks at limiting opponents’ big plays, but it definitely regressed Saturday. K-State receiver Malik Knowles had an early 68-yard touchdown reception, while Deuce Vaughn opened the second half with an 80-yard touchdown run that — on replay — wasn’t even blocked perfectly. In all, the Wildcats had six 15-yard-plus passing plays and 11 rushes of 10 or more, and that was from a team that entered bottom half in the Big 12 in rush yards per carry. Add in linebacker Gavin Potter losing his cool in the fourth quarter when he hit K-State QB Skylar Thompson well out of bounds, and this was a disaster all around for KU’s defense. It’s a good thing K-State only had the ball 10 times, with two of those coming at the very end of halves.
Special teams: D. Unlike many other Sunflower Showdowns, KU was not completely dominated in special teams. So that’s something. But in a game that had big special-teams plays on both sides, KU’s unit wasn’t consistent enough to be an overall positive factor either. Kicker Jacob Borcila made a 40-yard field goal ... then missed one from 39. Reis Vernon averaged 44 yards on four punts, but the long one he had also outpaced his coverage, which contributed to a 28-yard return from K-State’s Phillip Brooks. Lassiter had a 26-yard punt return of his own, which is a positive sign for a team that finished with negative punt return yardage a season ago. All in all, though KU’s good special-teams plays didn’t outweigh its bad ones.
Next up
KU will travel to play Texas at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
This story was originally published November 7, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
