Hawking Points: Kansas Drops the Ball in 31-27 Loss

The Jayhawks made mistake after mistake in the second half to fall on Senior Day at The Booth.

The most competitive Sunflower Showdown in the past few years ended in heartbreak for the Kansas Jayhawks as it fell 31-27 to Kansas State. 

Key Plays

After a three and out to start the game, KU let freshman Cole Ballard sling it, and he delivered. Ballard found Lawrence Arnold for 12 yards to start the drive, found Luke Grimm on third and seven, and hit Quentin Skinner on fourth and two to keep the drive alive. Devin Neal made multiple Wildcats miss as he scampered 36 yards to the end zone for KU’s first touchdown.

The Kansas defense forced a KSU three and out and then KU got some luck on its side. Ballard was hit on a run and fumbled, but the ball bounced forward about 10 yards, hit off multiple players’ hands, and finally landed in the hands of KU offensive lineman Dominick Puni, who recovered it for KU. Ballard hit Grimm for a beautiful back-shoulder catch to the KSU four and Neal again punched it in.

Trailing again late in the first half, Ballard was sacked on first down but Neal made most of the yards back on second down. Ballard found Sevion Morrison to get to midfield, then Hishaw with a nice outside run down to the KSU 20. Ballard went to Arnold in the end zone, who was interfered with and made it first and goal from the five. On third and goal and the blitz coming, Ballard stood strong and found Arnold in the back of the end zone for the touchdown with 26 seconds left.

K-State’s kickoff to start the second half went out of bounds, giving KU excellent starting field position. Then Andy Kotelnicki dialed up a play-action pass to Mason Fairchild for 59 yards down inside the KSU 10. Two plays later and Neal found pay dirt for the third time in the game to go up 27-16 just a minute and a half into the second half. It was KU’s first double-digit lead over the Wildcats since 2015.

The role reversals from the start of the first half to start of the second completed when the Kansas defense forced a three and out on the next KSU possession.

With all the momentum with K-State and the Wildcats with the ball down three, Mello Dotson picked Howard off right after Ballard threw an interception.

Trailing in the fourth quarter, Neal took the first two runs to midfield and then Ballard found Skinner to the 34. Ballard then scrambled inside the 20 to the 16. On third and 15, Ballard ran it himself down to the 10, getting hit and helicoptering down five yards short. KU went for it on fourth down and Ballard threw an interception.

Eye-Catching Stat Lines

KSU has not been good against the run in Big 12 play, and KU took full advantage early. Kansas rushed for 144 yards in the first half, with Neal accumulating 81 yards and two TDs on eight carries. Neal ended with 138 yards and three touchdowns, as KU as a team racked up 234 yards on the ground.

And what about the freshman QB? Ballard was a cool 8-10 for 83 yards and a TD in the first half and finished at 11-16 for 161 yards – along with 55 yards rushing – but the two second-half interceptions were too much.

Howard ended with 165 yards passing and two touchdowns and a pick, while Giddens was the most productive Wildcat, gaining 102 yards on the ground on 21 carries.

Eye-Covering Moments

It was a rough start for the Jayhawks. K-State got the ball first and Will Howard found Jace Brown for 46 yards on the first play of the game. The Wildcats would score four plays later to take the lead just 1:16 into the game. KU did not have the same luck, going three and out on three straight runs on the first possession.

Strangely enough, it was a KU touchdown that took away its momentum. After Neal’s second touchdown, K-State blocked the extra point and returned it to the end zone for a two-point conversion. So instead of 14-7 KU, it was 13-9.

DJ Giddens got going on the ground on the subsequent possession and KSU got deep into KU territory. Going for it on fourth and three from the KU 23, Howard overthrew his receiver but a flag was thrown for holding on KU to keep the drive alive. Howard found Keagan Johnson two plays later to take the lead 16-13 with 7:26 left.

Kansas pinned KSU back to their own 13 early in the third quarter and Rich Miller had a pick go right through his hands that he could have taken for a touchdown and blow the doors open. Instead, Treshaun Ward made him pay with a big run of 50 yards to the KU 34. The Wildcats capped off the drive with a Giddens touchdown and Howard kept it for a two-point conversion and all of a sudden Kansas led by just three.

On the next possession, Ballard floated a ball on third and 13, which was intercepted.

It was not the best day for KU’s special teams. After the Dotson interception, Kansas had to punt it away and looked to pin KSU back inside the 10 but an interference call gave the Wildcats 15 more yards of room. The defense forced a three and out but Trevor Wilson muffed the punt and gave the ball back to the Wildcats at midfield. KSU made the most of it, taking the lead on a Howard designed run with 10:22 left in the game.

Takeaways

K-State wasn’t necessarily the better team. There wasn’t a big talent disparity. Kansas shot itself in the foot too many times. The blocked PAT, muffed punt, and dropped pick-six were too much for Kansas to overcome with a third-string, freshman quarterback. You have to wonder if Jason Bean is in this game, Kansas might be leaving victorious, but the special teams has to get cleaned up because it once again was a major factor in the Jayhawks losing a game.