No. 17-ranked TCU edges No. 19 Kansas. QB Jalon Daniels injured, Jason Bean stepped in
Kansas lost its first game of the season — and a quarterback, at least for the time being — on Saturday at Booth Memorial Stadium.
Early to midseason Heisman Trophy candidate Jalon Daniels went down with a shoulder injury late in the first half of No. 19-ranked KU’s 38-31 loss to No. 17 TCU before a third straight sellout crowd that included ESPN’s GameDay crew, which broadcast its pre-game show before thousands of fans on KU’s Campanile Hill.
Daniels watched most of the second half on the sidelines in street clothes as backup quarterback Jason Bean took over. Coach Lance Leipold confirmed after the game Daniels, who was tackled and fell onto his shoulder on the play that forced him out of the game, indeed had a shoulder injury. However he said Daniels was still being evaluated and no determination had been made on the severity of the injury and Daniels’ status for upcoming games.
KU fell to 5-1 (2-1 in the Big 12) with the loss. TCU improved to 5-0, 2-0 in the Big 12.
“I’m proud the way we battled, being down, losing Jalon,” Leipold said. “I think we left some opportunities out there. We hurt ourselves with penalties in the fourth quarter. It’s not as clean as it needs to be. We’ve got to be better,” added Leipold, noting it’s “hard to win a game” when a team has five penalties to the opponent’s one.
Bean, who started nine games a year ago before Daniels took over for the final three contests, was sensational in throwing for four touchdowns, including two to Quentin Skinner.
Bean completed 16 of 24 passes for 262 yards and four TDs plus one interception. TCU’s Max Duggan hit 23 of 33 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
Bean brought KU back from a 10-3 halftime deficit, tossing TD passes of 12 yards to Mason Fairchild and 8 yards to Luke Grimm. He also fired a 38-yard strike to Skinner that erased a 24-17 deficit and tied the game with 1:50 left in the third quarter.
Bean also tossed an ill-timed interception that led to a five-play, 26-yard drive that had given the Horned Frogs a 24-17 lead in the third quarter. TCU also scored on a 51-yard pass from Duggan to Derius Davis, a play that tied the game at 17. And Duggan hit Taye Barber on a 25-yard pass that gave TCU a 31-24 lead late in the third period.
“I had a good game, but obviously it wasn’t good enough,” Bean said. “We needed one more (TD) and couldn’t get it. It’s one more motivation to come back this week and work even harder.”
KU’s Jacob Borcila had a crucial miss on a 31-yard field-goal attempt with 8:03 to play. TCU’s lead remaining 7 points entering crunch time.
Bean’s second TD pass to Skinner, a 29-yard pass on a first-and-10 call from the 29, tied the score at 31 with 4:21 left. TCU scored the winning points on a 24-yard pass from Duggan to Quentin Johnston.
KU had the ball with a final chance to tie but ran out of downs on Bean’s incomplete fourth-down pass at the TCU 34 with 41 seconds left.
“Our margin of error is still pretty small. That’s reality,” Leipold said. “That’s OK. We can embrace that, but we’ve got to be better in certain situations.”
KU’s Borcila connected on a 40-yard field goal with 36 seconds left in the half, and KU went to the locker room down 10-3.
The Jayhawks, one win from bowl eligibility, will travel to Oklahoma next Saturday for an 11 a.m. kickoff.
This story was originally published October 8, 2022 at 2:42 PM.
