Kansas Jayhawks crush Tennessee Tech 56-10 in football opener Friday night in Lawrence
.JPG "Kansas offensive lineman Bryce Cabeldue (left) lifts Kansas running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. after Hishaw ran the ball in for a touchdown against Tennessee Tech on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 in Lawrence..")
Lance Leipold’s second season as head football coach at the University of Kansas has started the same way as his first.
That is, with a victory — a much more convincing victory than the Jayhawks’ 17-14 nailbiter over South Dakota on opening night in 2021.
Devin Neal, Daniel Hishaw and Cobee Bryant scored first-quarter touchdowns as the Jayhawks rolled to an early 21-0 lead en route to a 56-10 rout of the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Friday night before 34,902 fans at Booth Memorial Stadium in the 2022 opener for both teams.
“We look at how we’re getting better,” Leipold said after the resounding victory. “Obviously a come-from-behind close game against an FBS school (in South Dakota) as opposed to jumping out to a commanding lead and going with it is a step in the right direction.”
Neal, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound sophomore running back out of Lawrence High, scored on a 19-yard burst on first down and KU led 7-0 just 3 1/2 minutes into the season. He also had an electrifying 80-yard run for a score in the third quarter.
Running back Hishaw, part of KU’s four-man RB unit, carried the ball 9 yards on a first down for a TD and KU led, 14-0, with 9 minutes, 6 seconds left in quarter No. 1. QB Jalon Daniels connected with Quentin Skinner on a 56-yard bomb to set up that score.
“It wasn’t perfect. He (Skinner) actually had to come back to get that ball,” Daniels said with a smile, referring to what may have been the most exciting play of the game.
Next, defensive end Jereme Robinson blocked a long field-goal attempt. Bryant, a sophomore cornerback picked up the ball and returned it 61 yards for a score. KU led 21-0 with 4:42 left in the first.
A Luke Grimm fumble on a punt led to a 28-yard Devin Parker field goal and KU’s lead was 21-3 with 14:07 left before half.
Daniels then raced 11 yards for a TD on a third-and-goal play and the Jayhawks were in command 28-3 with 3:23 left before half.
Daniels, who played three quarters, completed 15 of 18 passes for 189 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He rushed for 29 yards on three carries and a score.
KU scored with 7 seconds left in the half on a 2-yard pass from Daniels to tight end Mason Fairchild and KU led 35-3 at the break.
Daniels in the first half completed 14 of 15 passes for 182 yards and one TD. He also rushed for 5 yards on 1 carry.
Former Nebraska running back Sevion Morrison scored on an 11-yard run with 13:25 to play to give KU a 49-3 lead. Morrison’s score, as well as a 7-yard fourth-quarter run for a score by backup QB Jason Bean, gave five KU ballcarriers a score on opening night.
Neal had two TDs (108 yards, four carries), while Hishaw, Daniels, Morrison and Bean had one apiece on a night the Jayhawks outgained Tennessee Tech 502 yards to 190.
Morrison had 70 yards on 8 carries and a TD; Hishaw 56 yards on five carries with a TD and Ky Thomas 15 yards on 7 carries.
“The running backs had a great game,” Daniels said. “They gave a glimpse of what they are able to do.”
KU’s defense was led by newcomer defensive end Lonnie Phelps, who had three sacks, seven tackles (six solo, four for loss). Linebacker Rich Miller had six tackles. Eric Gilyard, a linebacker transfer from UCF, had an interception in the fourth quarter.
Phelps, a transfer from Miami (Ohio) was the obvious defensive player of the game.
“It’s the same stuff we’ve seen at practice. He’s quick off the ball, has a relentless motor,” Leipold said. “He loves to play hard, is coachable and is a great addition to this team.”
Phelps celebrated in a unique way after his three sacks and seven total tackles — by screaming.
“I’m just yelling. I’m not saying any words. When I get a sack I go crazy, that’s all,” Phelps said with a smile.
KU will hope to ride the momentum of a week-1 win into success the next two weeks — at West Virginia and at Houston.
KU will meet the Mountaineers at 5 p.m., Central time, a week from Saturday, in Morgantown, West Virginia. West Virginia lost to Pitt, 38-31, Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Summarizing week one, Leipold said: “I’m very pleased at a lot of things that happened tonight. Our ability to create explosive plays; to score on short drives. We played the run better. Our defense played faster and downhill better than we have in the past. Lonnie Phelps showed up. We’re going to need that from him. And we had others who showed themselves in a physical attack. We had good play from our linebackers as well.”
Leipold added: “We played a lot of guys, a lot of guys in the first half. We’ve talked many times about the depth and competition at positions. You can see we’re rolling guys in and out on both sides. There’s not a dropoff. That’s encouraging.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2022 at 10:28 PM.
