Halftime Musings: Kansas Overcomes Slow Start to lead Kansas State 20-16 at the half

The Jayhawks have come alive on offense but still have a tough second half to complete against the Wildcats.

The Kansas Jayhawks have had the best Sunflower Showdown performance in years to this point, which isn't something that you might have thought coming in. The Jayhawks hung tough against some big adversity to come back for a halftime lead. They lead the Kansas State Wildcats by four at the half.

That first half had pretty much everything you could ask for (and a bunch you didn't ask for). So let's run through some big takeaways 30 minutes into Senior Day.

Slow Start Isn't Insurmountable

It's the second straight week that the Jayhawks have struggled out of the gate. The Kansas defense gave up multiple huge plays to Kansas State on their first drive and quickly found themselves down 7-0. And it didn't get better when Kansas came out on offense. The Jayhawks ran three straight times and went three and out.

But as we've seen multiple times this year, both of these units can flip the switch and turn their fortune around. The defense forced two straight punts and the offense scored three straight touchdowns to end the half.  

Ballard Is a Baller

Yes the Jayhawks have Jalon Daniels for at least one more season (maybe two). But Cole Ballard has shown why the coaches were so excited about him in the preseason. He has shown a level of poise well above what you would expect from a freshman. He still has a ways to develop, but his deep balls have been on point, his short passes have been in the right spots, and his decision making has gotten better. He is the second leading rusher in this game, has some huge throws to convert first downs and stood in the face of pressure to deliver a huge touchdown to take the lead right at the end of the half.

Special Teams Can't Decide What They Are

The Jayhawks have been pretty good this year in most phases of the game. Special teams was at one point the highest rated unit according to several advanced stats metrics. But recently, they have either struggled or been lights out. Today is a bit of both. Tabor Allen has been fantastic on his kickoffs, not giving Kansas State a chance to do anything. But Seth Keller had one of his extra points blocked and returned for a touchdown, a three point swing that seemed to be huge for most of the first half. It is still the difference between a 7-point halftime lead and the current 4-point lead. They can't afford any more special teams gaffes today if they expect to win.

An Electric Crowd

There have been a lot of comments about the Kansas crowd over the season, but the student section showed up early and in force, as did the rest of the stadium. Sure there are a lot of Kansas State fans as well, but it's decidedly a pro-Jayhawk crowd.

Post halftime update. #KUfball https://t.co/6zRgFc3n7L pic.twitter.com/aQzUjhRUZL

— Michael Swain (@MSwain247) November 19, 2023