Analysis of Kansas Jayhawks’ upset loss against UNLV: Week 3 football grades
The Kansas Jayhawks suffered their second loss of the season on Friday, falling 23-20 to UNLV at Children’s Mercy Park.
It was the second straight week that Kansas lost a winnable game. Naturally, coach Lance Leipold wasn’t pleased postgame.
“I’m not going to sit up here and make excuses,” Leipold said. “That’s not right. ... We have to own that we aren’t playing well enough to win. … It starts with the head coach. I need to do better and our staff needs to do better and we will find a way.”
Here are grades for all three KU units against UNLV, plus our Kansas player of the game:
Kansas football offense: C-
For the second straight week, KU’s offense was underwhelming.
The offense started hot by scoring touchdowns on its first two drives. It’s clear the emphasis was on running the ball, and Kansas did just that. KU had 19 rushes for 160 yards and two touchdowns through two quarters.
It was near the end of the second quarter when disaster struck.
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels was picked off with 31 seconds left and UNLV turned the interception into a touchdown right before halftime.
Then, the offense was lethargic in the second half.
Including his last drive in the first half, Daniels had a stretch of 0-for-9 passing with two interceptions between completions.
He already has six interceptions on the season and hasn’t looked like himself all year.
Daniels needs to figure it out fast, as the Jayhawks play West Virginia to open conference play on Saturday.
Kansas football defense: B-
It wasn’t an incredible game by KU’s defense, but it did enough to give KU the chance to win the game.
Kansas held UNLV to 23 points. KU forced one turnover and limited the Rebels to 267 total yards. The defense also had five quarterback hurries and two sacks.
Plus, KU’s defense limited a lethal UNLV rushing attack to 181 yards on the ground.
Still, the defense wasn’t perfect.
Kansas star cornerback Cobee Bryant tried to jump a route and got burned over the top for a passing touchdown. The defense also allowed Rebels QB Matthew Sluka to convert key first downs with his legs. He finished with 124 rushing yards.
The most glaring error came on the forced fumble by defensive end Jereme Robinson. Multiple KU players tried to dive on the ball, but safety OJ Burroughs attempted to scoop the ball and instead knocked it to a UNLV player.
The Rebels would later score the game-winning touchdown on the drive.
Kansas football special teams: A
KU’s special teams unit did its job well on Friday.
Kicker Tabor Allen went 2-for-2 on field goals, with a long of 41 yards. Return man Trevor Wilson averaged 18 yards per return, with a long of 24.
KU punter Damon Greaves averaged 46.3 yards per punt, with a long of 51.
Player of the game: Jereme Robinson
Besides the forced fumble, Robinson also had 1.5 sacks, five tackles, and 3.5 tackles for loss. It was a monster of a game against UNLV.
Next week: Kansas football at West Virginia, 11 a.m. Central, Saturday, Sept. 21, ESPN2
