Three takeaways from Kansas Jayhawks at Baylor Bears
The Kansas Jayhawks limped their way into the bye week, both figuratively and literally, with a loss to the Baylor Bears on Saturday. But despite the third straight loss and another slow start, the Jayhawks did have some positives that we can point to. With that in mind, here are the main takeaways from Saturday's game.
This team needs to get healthy.
It's no secret that the Jayhawks have been dealing with some very significant injuries this season. Daniel Hishaw went down against Iowa State, with an unclear timetable for his potential return this season. Cobee Bryant injured his ankle against Oklahoma in a way that looked pretty serious, although a return this season hasn't been ruled out yet. And of course, Jalon Daniels was injured against the TCU Horned Frogs on a routine run out of bounds. While Jason Bean has filled in fairly well, the drop-off in consistency has been noticeable.
And Saturday didn't help much either, as LT Earl Bostick Jr left the game with a leg injury and Rich Miller was also shaken up on a play late in the game. With both Lonnie Phelps and Kenny Logan dealing with some recurring injury concerns, it's fair to say that this team is just beat up all around.
But there is good news on the horizon, as Daniels warmed up with the team while in uniform on Saturday, and Leipold has indicated that Bryant is also trending towards returning sooner rather than later:
Leipold talked in the postgame press conference about how many players were missing from this game, so it will be important for the team to get healthy during the bye week to make a push for bowl eligibility.
Still plenty of playmakers
Some of the biggest stars for the Jayhawks being limited or out doesn't mean that Kansas is devoid of playmakers though. Jason Bean may not have quite the same consistency as Daniels this season, but he still has thrown for 759 yards and 9 touchdowns to go with his 100 yards and 1 rushing touchdown in the last three weeks
And on the defensive end, Jereme Robinson had probably the biggest play of the game for Kansas, as his sack of Blake Shapen forced a fumble, which he scooped up and almost ran all the way for a touchdown:
And there have been plenty of other players stepping up to fill big roles and make big plays while the starters are out. This experience will give them more confidence when those guys return.
This team is still way ahead of schedule
It's important to make sure that we don't allow the hot start for this team to obscure the fact that this team has greatly outperformed expectations this season. Even in the rosiest of predictions, I did not expect this team to head into the bye at 5-3. But a combination of players stepping up in big positions and catching a few teams at the right time, the Jayhawks have already blown past the number of wins that most people said would be an automatic success in the preseason.
And even in the losses, the Jayhawks have shown the improvement that we were expecting to see. Leipold himself has commented multiple times that last year's team would not have been able to mount comebacks in the second half against Oklahoma and Baylor. Add in that they have been this competitive while still dealing with some major injuries, and there is even more reason to be excited.
Even if the Jayhawks somehow don't make a bowl game this season, it's still impossible to think of this season as anything but a success.
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