Hawking Points: Kansas Secures Winning Season With 28-21 Win Over Iowa State

The Jayhawks avoided a letdown on the road against a dangerous Cyclones team.

There would be no letdown in Ames a week after knocking off No. 6 Oklahoma. Instead, the Kansas Jayhawks went into Jack Trice Stadium and beat Iowa State 28-21 to move to 7-2, KU’s first seven-win season since 2008.

Key Plays

The defense came to play early. Iowa State found itself with a third and four on the first possession and Rocco Becht scrambled but a review showed he was short of the first-down marker and the Cyclones punted after a three and out.

Jason Bean got to work early, finding Quentin Skinner for 31 yards. On fourth and 10, Lawrence Arnold skied to bring down a Bean pass to keep the drive alive. What looked like a Bean touchdown to Arnold was called back due to an ineligible man downfield, but then Devin Neal took a direct snap six yards to pay dirt to give KU an early 7-0 lead.

After having to punt early in the second quarter, Mello Dotson got his second pick-six in consecutive weeks, taking the interception 50 yards to give Kansas a 14-0 lead.

On the kickoff after the Dotson pick six, Iowa State took the return all the way down inside the Kansas five yard line. But the official ruled he stepped out just before the Kanas 30 yard line. But the Kansas defense again stepped up and forced the Cyclones to punt.

KU got the ball to start the second half and took full advantage. The running game got going behind Devin Neal and the Jayhawks were helped by an unnecessary roughness call against the Cyclones at midfield. Neal capped the drive off with a one-yard TD run and Kansas led 21-3 early in the third quarter.

With KU’s once 21-3 lead cut to 21-18 and the Cyclones having all the momentum, Bean hit Arnold on an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the drive to immediately put the Jayhawks back up 10.

On the next drive, Iowa State got deep into KU territory thanks to a pass interference and a couple of big passes by Becht. But the Jayhawks were able to hold the Cyclones to a field goal with just under five minutes left to keep the lead at a touchdown.

On third and eight and the clock KU’s friend, Bean found Grimm for a huge first down. And then on another third and three, and with the Cyclones down to one timeout, Kansas faked the run and Bean floated a pass over the defense to Jared Casey for the first down. The Jayhawks were then able to run out the clock for the win.

Eye-Catching Stat Lines

Jason Bean had one of his best games passing, going 14-23 for 287 yards and a touchdown. The biggest recipients of those passes were Arnold, who led the team with 112 yards and a TD, and Skinner with 84 yards.

The lethal Kansas rushing attack was mostly held in check, gaining only 74 yards and two touchdowns, led by Neal’s 57 yards.

The KU defense came to play, especially in the first half. At the end of the first quarter, Iowa State had 39 yards of offense and 31 penalty yards. Penalties would be key for both teams. Kansas ended with eight penalties for 80 yards and ISU seven for 64 yards.

Becht struggled in the first half but was incredibly resilient, going 10-10 to start the second half. He ended completing 20 of 26 passes for 216 yards and a rushing touchdown.

The Jayhawks also did a great job containing the Cyclones’ rushing attack, holding ISU to 2.6 yards per rush and 75 yards on the ground.

Eye-Covering Moments

Does Kansas have a kicking problem again? Another drive into Iowa State territory – which included a dart of a sideline pass from Bean to Luke Grimm on third and 10 – stalled out after Bean sailed a pass over Daniel Hishaw to bring up fourth and three. The Jayhawks elected for a 41-yard field goal attempt but Seth Keller missed it wide and short.

On fourth and four from the KU 35, Iowa State went for it and Becht scrambled but was wrapped up short of the sticks, giving KU the ball back up 14 with 4:37 left in the half. On another third and six, Bean goes deep to Doug Emillion to the ISU 34. Kansas was shut down and attempted a 50-yard field goal, which again was wide again, giving the Cyclones the ball back with 43 seconds left in the half.

Then Iowa State went down the field, reaching the KU red zone as Dotson got injured with eight seconds left. On the next play, Becht was pressured and was hit as he threw and the refs ruled it a fumble but then overturned the call. The Cyclones were able to knock in a 35-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half to go to the locker room 14-3.

With a 21-3 lead, the Kansas defense gave Iowa State an extension when Gage Keys was called for roughing the passer. The Cyclones then connected on a third-down pass inside the Kansas 10. ISU was able to capitalize with an Eli Sanders touchdown run and two-point conversion to cut the KU lead to 21-11.

After the Iowa State touchdown, Bean found Skinner in double coverage for a huge first down, but then Bean was injured later in the drive and freshman Cole Ballard came in for a play before Bean returned for third and 16 but an incomplete pass forced KU to punt.

The Cyclones wasted no time taking advantage, running a trick play lateral to Jaylin Noel who then found Higgins for a big gain to the Kansas 20. The Jayhawks couldn’t stop the run on third and three and then Becht took a designed run into the end zone from two yards out to make it a three-point game with 8:09 left in the game.

Takeaways

It wasn’t always pretty, and the defense took a bit of a hit after Dotson’s injury in the second half. But Andy Kotelnicki’s play calling was exceptional and the Jayhawks found a way to win for the second consecutive week. KU is still clearly in the hunt for a Big 12 championship game appearance and are on pace for an incredible season.