Kansas lost its first blowout of 2022. Here’s why one senior was particularly miffed
On his own senior day, sixth-year Jayhawk and Abilene, Kansas-native Sam Burt took a step back.
It was halftime of the Jayhawks’ eventual 55-14 loss to Texas. The Jayhawks (6-5, 3-5 Big 12) had just surrendered a 1-yard touchdown run from Texas’ Bijan Robinson on the final play of the half. Down 31-0, the day set aside to honor the KU players who had stuck with the program already had a dampened mood.
Inside the Anderson Family Football Complex, it was anything but quiet.
“We have a lot of passion in the locker room. Lonnie (Phelps) was trying to get people going,” Burt said, referring to KU’s defensive end transfer from Miami (Ohio). “Honestly, I just let him go, because what he was saying was right.”
That was particularly notable because, despite the on-field energy Phelps brings — often throwing his head back and letting out a yell after making a big play — the transfer edge rusher isn’t always the most vocal in the locker room.
“Lonnie doesn’t talk much, and when he does people listen,” Burt said. “It was pretty much that we’re a better team than being down 31-0 at half, and we know that and need to play like it.
“He’s a good player. He had a right to be emotional and he showed it.”
One could understand why the halftime setting on Saturday lent itself to some fireworks.
Burt noticed some of the issues that plagued Kansas bubbling throughout the week. He said he didn’t think Kansas was as focused as was needed in practice. Burt specifically mentioned the job he could do making sure others were watching film and keying in on the details.
The super-senior was also unhappy with KU’s job “wrapping up and tackling,” praising a “really special running back” in Texas’ Robinson while also noting KU hadn’t “stepped up to the plate as well as we should have.” Robinson finished with 243 rushing yards (9.7 yards per carry) and four touchdowns. His backup, Jonathon Brooks, rushed for 108 yards (9.8 yards per carry) and two scores.
Flash back to the penultimate play in the first half: Up 24-0, Texas had the ball at the Kansas 26-yard line with 10 seconds left. The Longhorns could have taken a shot at the end zone before settling for a field goal. Instead, they decided to run.
Robinson started to his right, where he shed an arm-tackle from linebacker Lorenzo McCaskill. Robinson cut back to his left and juked past a diving tackle attempt from linebacker Craig Young. Then, he easily skated past cornerback Mello Dotson and safety OJ Burroughs and was finally forced out at the 1 by Kenny Logan.
Logan, who made the tackle, ran all the way across the field to do so. After a review — which deemed Robinson was out of bounds with 1 second left — the Longhorns gave the ball back to their star running back, who jumped over the line to score.
“Start to finish, I don’t think effort was what it needed to be,” Burt said. “I think at times that this team really plays hard, but I don’t think we lock in on all the details that we need to. I think this week, I just don’t think that we did a good enough job with effort.
“I think it just comes down to confidence. I don’t think we came in as the more confident team. I don’t think we weathered the storms as well as we should have. That just comes back to on us and our daily habits and that’s what we’re going to try to get corrected this week.”
Kansas head coach Lance Leipold had his own thoughts, too. While he said he would not specifically fault the team’s effort level or strain “at all” without seeing the film, Leipold did speak generally about KU’s intensity.
“There’s guys on the sidelines literally in tears they want to compete so bad, and they’re frustrated and want to see us do better because they care so much,” Leipold said. “That means a lot. It means a lot to me and our coaches and to other guys. We’ve got to make sure that we have that spread throughout this program.”
Leipold said he didn’t know if KU was matching the intensity “punch for punch” of other teams around the conference who had played the Jayhawks coming off of losses. Texas (7-4, 5-3), of course, lost to TCU a week before facing the Jayhawks on Saturday. The Longhorns needed a win to remain alive while chasing K-State for a spot in the Big 12 title game.
Two other examples:
- Oklahoma lost to Texas, 49-0, before defeating Kansas, 52-42; the Sooners led Kansas by 21 at multiple points in the game.
- Baylor fell to West Virginia, 43-40, before defeating Kansas, 35-23; Baylor led 28-3 at halftime of that game.
Leipold did acknowledge one first-half sequence that he felt “really deflated” Kansas. The Jayhawks had a touchdown called back on an ineligible-man-downfield penalty and then missed an ensuing field goal. At the time, KU trailed 17-0. Texas scored twice before the half to go up 31.
“The disappointing thing is we have people from bowls and things coming to check out this football team. They didn’t get a chance to really see what this team’s about. But they’ll see how we respond and go,” Leipold said. “We’re going to be better.”
Those chances will come away from David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, which featured a lively crowd of 38,246 that didn’t have much to cheer for — aside from quarterback Jalon Daniels making his return from injury — until most of the fans had filed out. For the first time all season, the Jayhawks lost a game by more than two scores.
Kansas’ biggest margin of defeat before Saturday? Fifteen points. Today’s margin? Forty-one.
“I don’t think we were as focused. I don’t think we were as physical,” Burt said. “I think that showed today.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2022 at 8:41 PM.
