Kansas Jayhawks football grades: Report card from KU’s rivalry loss to K-State
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas State dominates Sunflower Showdown, Kansas drops 17th straight loss.
- KU offense sputters: Daniels posts 129 yards, four sacks and two turnovers.
- Defense limits rushing but yields big passing plays; special teams mixed.
The Sunflower Showdown was a complete and utter domination in favor of Kansas State.
The Jayhawks entered as favorites and scored the game’s first seven points. But Kansas State took control the rest of the way, as Kansas fell 42-17.
KU has now lost 17 straight games in this series.
“Major step backwards,” coach Lance Leipold said. “It’s definitely a major step backwards. We have to own that. We were thoroughly outplayed. They executed better than us. They were more physical than us. That’s very disappointing.”
Here are our grades for all three phases of Saturday’s contest for KU (4-4, 2-3 Big 12), plus a player of the game:
Offense: D+
It was a horrid performance from the Jayhawks’ offense on Saturday.
Quarterback Jalon Daniels had his worst game all season. His accuracy was all over the place and KU’s offensive line didn’t do him any favors. Daniels was sacked four times.
He looked skittish all game, and it reflected on the stat sheet. He finished 17-of-35 passing for 129 yards with one rushing touchdown. He also had two turnovers and a couple of near interceptions.
The Jayhawks had three turnovers total, with backup quarterback Cole Ballard throwing an interception in the fourth quarter. Kansas only had 247 yards of total offense.
The lone bright spot was running back Daniel Hishaw. He finished with 67 rushing yards on 19 carries and one touchdown. But even he only averaged 3.5 yards per carry.
Defense: C-
KU’s defense had its own share of issues.
Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson picked the secondary apart with deep balls. Wide receiver Jayce Brown finished with four catches for 160 yards and one touchdown.
Johnson finished 11-for-17 passing for 231 yards with two passing touchdowns. He also had two rushing touchdowns.
That said, KU’s defense limited K-State to 140 yards rushing, an area of concern entering the game. That didn’t really matter because the Wildcats’ passing game was so effective.
Special teams: C+
KU’s special teams unit was a mixed bag on Saturday.
The Jayhawks started the game by forcing a fumble on the opening kickoff, which led to a touchdown a few plays later. But that same quarter, Kansas fumbled on a punt that K-State turned into a touchdown.
Kicker Laith Marjan remained perfect on the season, converting one field goal from 47 yards out. And punter Finn Lappin averaged 47.3 yards on his three punts.
So there was some good — and some bad.
KU player of the game ...
For the first time in this series, we’re not awarding a player of the game. The only potential candidate was Hishaw, but even he didn’t have a standout game.
No, there was no KU player worthy of that recognition in Saturday’s blowout loss to rival K-State, which Leipold acknowledged when asked postgame was “embarrassing” to fans considering the context of the 17-year streak.
