Hawking Points: Kansas Moves to 4-0 With 38-27 Win Over BYU

It was a total team effort in the win at a sold-out Booth on Saturday.

The Booth was sold out for an ESPN broadcast of two undefeated teams. And the Kansas Jayhawks moved to 4-0 in a second-straight season for the first time since 1915 after a 38-27 win over the previously undefeated BYU as Big 12 play kicked off Saturday.

Key Plays

The beginning of the halves belonged to the KU defense. After having to punt on its first possession, Kansas struck first from the defensive side of the ball when Cobee Bryant laid a vicious hit on Parker Kingston, forcing a fumble and then returning it for a touchdown:

Welcome to Kansas, meet Cobee Bryant 😤😤😤

HIT. FUMBLE. TD. ROCK CHALK.

📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/fuCEpBPSCW

— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 23, 2023

Then, with BYU receiving the ball to start the second half, OJ Burroughs nearly had a pick six on the first play. Then two plays later, a tipped pass was picked off by Kenny Logan and returned for a TD to give Kansas a 21-17 lead.

Daniels used the Bryant play to get going in the first quarter, taking Kansas on an 8-play, 86-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to tight end Trevor Kardell.

After BYU cuts the lead to one with a field goal early in the third quarter, Daniels keeps it himself and scrambles on third and six to pick up a first down and then ran into BYU territory on an option the next play. Daniels fired the ball to Luke Grimm in the back of the endzone on third and four to give KU a 28-20 lead.

On the next possession, Bryant got his second interception of the game when BYU went for it on fourth and seven from the KU 34. The Jayhawks offense then moved the ball down immediately and Daniels again found Grimm in the endzone for a 13-yard TD and a 35-20 lead.

After BYU cut it to eight, Daniels kept the drive alive with a run and Hishaw broke off a 24-yard run to get deep into BYU territory.

Eye-Catching Stat Lines

Because of the play from the defense turning turnovers into points, Kansas didn’t run nearly as many plays as BYU. But still, the offense was efficient. Daniels was 14-19 for 130 yards and three touchdowns, while Devin Neal led the running backs with 17 carries for 91 yards.

Daniels was also incredible with his legs, converting multiple third downs with scrambles and ending with 54 yards on the ground. Daniel Hishaw also chipped in 60 yards rushing as KU as a team put up 222 rushing yards against the Cougars’ defense. Luke Grimm caught two passes Saturday, but they were both touchdowns, one for 13 yards and another for five yards.

The Kansas front seven was all over the BYU offensive line. At halftime, BYU only had eight rushing yards and was averaging 0.7 yards per carry. And at the end of the game, BYU had only run it 21 times for 19 yards, or 0.9 yards per carry. BYU was one-dimensional, leaning on veteran quarterback Kedon Slovis. Slovis was 30-51 for 357 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.

Cobee Bryant ended with a forced fumble, fumble recovery, and interception, while Austin Booker had 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Eye-Covering Moments

For the second-straight week, penalties really hurt the Jayhawks. The opening drive stalled when a third and one turned into third and six. KU would turn a third and one into third and six a second time. Several holding and illegal hands calls kept BYU drives alive while hurting KU. Kansas had five penalties for 50 yards in the first half.

The penalties were better but not completely fixed in the second half. A third and 20 for BYU down 15 became an automatic first down with a pass interference that kept a drive alive and led to a BYU touchdown with 8:02 left in the game. BYU was going to go for two but got called for a 12-men-on-the-field penalty and settled for an extra point and a 35-27 deficit.

The KU defense got pressure but Slovis was still efficient in getting the ball out and was at his most successful with deep shots down the field in the second half. Still, this was an overall win for the defense.

Takeaways

This was a good test for Kansas against an undefeated team with a veteran quarterback. And the Jayhawks overcame adversity to make plays. We saw Kansas win the turnover battle and capitalize on big plays by the defense with long, deflating drives by the offense. The Jayhawks are for real and off to a historic start.

Kansas should be ranked on Monday heading into a big matchup in Austin against Kansas.