See our Kansas Jayhawks football grades from Big 12-opening win vs. West Virginia
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas opened Big 12 play with a 41-10 win over West Virginia in Lawrence.
- Running back Leshon Williams totaled 129 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
- KU defense held WVU to 3-of-15 on third downs and forced two crucial turnovers.
The Kansas football team started Big 12 play with a dominant win on Saturday.
The Jayhawks defeated West Virginia 41-10 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
“It’s important to get off to (a good start) in conference play,” KU coach Lance Leipold said. “This is probably the most lopsided of all those (matchups against WVU), and for us to be able to do that means a lot.”
Here are our grades for all three phases of Saturday’s game for KU (3-1), plus a player of the game ...
KU offense: B
The Jayhawks’ offense was good but unspectacular Saturday.
It just seemed at times that KU was leaving points on the board. After scoring on their first drive, the Jayhawks were stalled offensively until the second quarter.
Quarterback Jalon Daniels has had better days. On several occasions, his passes floated too high — especially when he was on the run and his receivers were wide-open. He did just enough for KU to get a comfortable win.
Daniels finished 12-of-24 for 138 passing yards and three touchdowns. He added 69 yards on the ground.
The real star of KU’s offense was running back Leshon Williams. After struggling badly against Missouri, KU’s rushing attack bounced back big in this one. The Jayhawks had 242 rushing yards Saturday.
Williams racked up 129 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. He also also added a receiving score. It was the exactly the type of play Kansas needed from him, with starting running back Daniel Hishaw sidelined by injury after the first quarter.
KU defense: A
The Jayhawks’ defense was dominant.
KU limited WVU to 319 yards of total offense, much of which came when the game had already gotten out of hand. KU limited West Virginia to 3-for-15 on third-down opportunities.
On top of that, Trey Lathan recorded his first career interception — against his former squad — and KU forced a fumble. The only downside was cornerback Devin Dye’s ejection for targeting in the second half.
Overall, this was the best defensive outing KU has had this season. The defense gave KU’s offense excellent field position all game.
Special teams: A
It’s not often you see special teams have this much impact on a game.
Receiver Tate Nagy, son of the Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, started strong by returning the game’s first punt 30 yards. He averaged 8 yards per return.
Kicker Laith Marjan remained perfect this season, converting two field goals with a long of 44 yards.
Heck, even kickoff return man Emmanuel Henderson had a special day. On the first play of the second half, Henderson took a kickoff to the house. And that 94-yard return touchdown essentially sealed the game in KU’s favor.
Jayhawks punter Finn Lappin averaged 46.2 yards on six punts.
Player of the game: Leshon Williams
Williams was a catalyst for the sluggish Jayhawks offense. He had a great game after running for negative-5 yards vs. Missouri.
His most impressive carry came on a 62-yard touchdown, when he showed great vision and broke multiple tackles. KU’s run game has been suspect at times this season, so it was good to see there are signs of hope.
