Why QB Jalon Daniels blamed himself for KU football’s blowout loss to K-State
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jalon Daniels accepted blame for Kansas' 42-17 loss and offensive failures.
- Daniels finished with 129 passing yards, two turnovers and limited accuracy.
- Daniels closed his KU career 0-5 vs. K-State, said he’ll have some regrets.
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels looked like he was on the verge of tears.
His Jayhawks had just lost 42-17 to in-state rival K-State. Daniels struggled through his worst game of the season Saturday — at the worst possible time against the worst possible opponent.
The sixth-year quarterback ended his college career winless (0-5) against K-State. The Jayhawks have lost 17 straight in the series.
Daniels shouldered responsibility for the loss postgame.
“A lot of people want to say the offense wasn’t able to get running, but at the end of the day, that’s my job,” Daniels said. “I’m the quarterback. I’m the offensive captain. When we’re not getting things right, I don’t want anybody pointing fingers at anybody besides me.”
The Jayhawks’ offense was held to just 17 points — seven of which were gift-wrapped after a K-State fumble to open the game. Daniels finished with 129 passing yards. He had a short rushing score but also two turnovers, and several other passes that could have been intercepted by Kansas State.
Daniels’ accuracy was lacking, and he didn’t get much help from his offensive line.
Instead of looking like the star quarterback he’s been most of the season, Daniels more closely resembled the teenager who took nine sacks vs. Oklahoma his freshman year.
He struggled to get into rhythm all game.
“I’m almost certain that there’s a lot of completions that are missing on that (stat) sheet right now,” Daniels said. “Guys that are in man coverage and they’re not getting the chance. As a quarterback, you have to put the ball in a position for guys to be able to go and make those plays.”
Kansas coach Lance Leipold defended his quarterback postgame, but also acknowledged he had issues with the K-State defense.
“I don’t think he was seeing things real clear at times,” Leipold said. “I know this: The young man battled all day for us. And I think probably some of those runs and those hits, just to kind of keep battling that way, probably took its toll on him a little bit more than we would have liked.”
Daniels’ play was a sharp contrast to K-State quarterback Avery Johnson. Johnson finished 11-for-17 passing for 231 yards and two passing touchdowns. He added two rushing scores.
And the final tally — Daniels finished 0-5 in games played against K-State. Only one of those games was decided by single-digits.
“A lot games where we had the chance to be able to win, and there’s a lot of games where they played great football,” Daniels said, reflecting on the rivalry. “After I’m done here at the University of Kansas, I’m going to always say there are a lot of things that I could have done better, not even just with this game — that’s with every game that we lose.”
