Kansas went conservative in big moments vs. Mizzou. Lance Leipold explains why
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas punted twice on key 4th downs, sparking criticism of conservative approach.
- Missouri exploited late-half clock errors and conservative calls to shift momentum.
- Coach Leipold cited momentum and defensive hopes despite KU’s time-control issues.
Kansas running back Daniel Hishaw had just made a critical error.
With KU clinging to a three-point lead over Missouri in the final minute of the first half, the sixth-year running back ran out of bounds.
That not only stopped the clock but forced Kansas to take a timeout and regroup.
On the ensuing third down, Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels gained 4 yards but failed to get the first down. Missouri took a timeout with 38 seconds left. Kansas punted the ball back on 4th-and-3.
It was a conservative approach against KU’s biggest rival. The Jayhawks had decided, coach Lance Leipold said postgame, to run out the clock rather than trying to score in the final minute — a sharp departure from the aggressive play-calling KU had employed in the first quarter.
And it proved costly.
With just 28 seconds left, Missouri marched down the field and tied the score at 21-all. The score capped off 15 unanswered points by the Tigers, who ultimately won 42-31.
It was not the last time the Jayhawks went conservative.
Saturday’s result, by itself, does not sink the Jayhawks’ 2025 campaign. As Leipold noted postgame, there’s plenty of season left, and much to play for.
But the fashion in which the Jayhawks lost — losing a 15-point lead and punting at critical points while Missouri went 4-for-5 on fourth down — should raise some eyebrows.
Game management, especially at the end of halves, was an issue for KU last season. The Jayhawks went 1-5 in one-score games, and they dropped several close calls in starting last season 1-5.
They’ll hope those numbers don’t persist this season.
What happened in Saturday’s Kansas-Missouri game?
Starting with the end-of-first-half sequence, Leipold gave his explanation postgame.
“We just felt momentum-wise, where it was, that we were going to try to ride it out,” Leipold said. “We didn’t do a good enough job coaching Daniel Hishaw about making sure we stay in bounds. I thought he was in bounds. It sure looked like he was.
“We were going to run the ball and run the clock out. A fair question about what we’re thinking, but a little bit about momentum. We hadn’t really been doing much. And again, to give them that opportunity by burning timeouts and giving them the ball back with much time left was not where we wanted to be at that time.”
The Jayhawks had a chance to redeem themselves in the second half.
Trailing 35-31 with 4:14 left, the Jayhawks took over on offense. KU failed to gain much ground on the first two downs.
On third-and-7, Jayhawks receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr. was open in space for a first-down, but he dropped a pass from Daniels. The Jayhawks faced a fourth-and-7 with 2:48 left, and again chose to punt.
The next time they touched the ball, they trailed by two scores. Missouri running back Jamal Roberts found room on the outside and broke free for a 63-yard rushing touchdown.
Leipold defended the decision to punt postgame.
“Between the two-minute timeout and our three (timeouts, the thinking) was that if we can get a stop — which again, you’re probably going to say, ‘Well shoot, they’ve run 80-some plays, you haven’t stopped them yet,’” Lance Leipold said, “which is probably fair criticism.”
He continued: “But at the same time, at that time, with that much time in the game, we thought if we could get a stop with that we’d have a chance then to go win the football game.”
As Leipold alluded to, the Jayhawks’ defense struggled to get off the field against Missouri. The Tigers had the ball for 40:27 of game time. KU possessed the ball for 19:33.
Daniels’ play, in particular, was a primary reason for Kansas still being in the game, but he wasn’t given one last chance to take the lead. When he got the ball next, down two scores, he forced a fourth-down throw that was intercepted.
Daniels finished 18-for-30 passing for 223 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for another score. In addition to the late interception, he also fumbled twice.
The Jayhawks will attempt to learn from their mistakes during an upcoming off week. KU returns on Sept. 20 against West Virginia, as Big 12 play gets underway.
“In life, you’re always going to have adversity at one point, and it’s all about how you handle adversity,” Daniels said. “Today, we ran into a lot of adverse situations. Coming from this game, we are going to have to go back into the lab.
“Come Monday, we believe in having a 1-0 mentality. So we are going to go ahead and put our heads down, go to work and get ready for Big 12 play.”
