Bounce-back game that was not. Kansas Jayhawks jumped out of the gate but the wheels completely fell off and the plane caught on fire in the second half and KU lost its second straight, this time 23-20 to UNLV.
Key Plays
After a three-and-out forced by the KU defense, the Jayhawks gave the ball to Devin Neal on the first offensive play (to fans’ rejoicing), which he ran for eight yards. Lawrence Arnold and Luke Grimm got involved, picking up first downs and getting KU into UNLV territory. Then Jalon Daniels took matters into his own hands and scored on a speed option run.
Neal continued to get fed the ball into the second quarter, as KU once again started a possession inside their own 20 and finishing in the end zone. And once again it was Daniels who took it himself on a speed option for the touchdown to make it 14-3.
After a huge rush by Sluka late in the second quarter (see below), Jereme Robinson got his first sack and pressure on third down forced Sluka to throw it away and attempt a 51-yard field goal, which was missed.
Kansas started on its own two yard line up 1 at the end of the third quarter. Facing a third and seven at the 23, Daniels scrambled for a first down. He then hit Trevor Kardell and Arnold and Neal picked up good gains. Though the drive stalled out, KU did get its first points of the second half on a 41-yard Tabor Allen field goal to go up 20-16.
Eye-Catching Stat Lines
Neal was his typical excellent self, even when UNLV stacked the box against him in the second half. Neal ended with 120 rushing yards on 23 carries.
Daniels also rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns, which was better than his passing stats of 12/24 for 153 yards and two picks.
Sluka only completed 7/18 passes for 86 yards but ran it 18 times for 113 yards. Still, the 4.4 yards per carry for UNLV was less than the 6.3 it averaged coming into the game.
Eye-Covering Moments
The screen game involved some close misses early. Missed blocks by receivers nearly led to a couple of Daniels interceptions, and big gains were only the result of missed tackles. KU has to shore that up moving forward against better defenses. KU then dodged another bullet when what would have been an Arnold fumble was ruled an incomplete pass.
Kansas had a chance to score again in the last two minutes of the first half when Daniels was picked off trying to force a throw and the ball was returned to the KU 33. Then after terrible Rebels clock management, the defense completely botched a coverage and UNLV scored as time expired to make it 17-13.
The start of the second half got worse for Daniels. After missing an open Grimm for what would have been a first down and instead was a punt, Daniels threw interception No. 2 on the night that gave UNLV the ball on the KU five.
Down four in the fourth, KU stripped the ball from Sluka on a run but even though five Jayhawks had a chance to dive on the ball, none could and UNLV recovered.
Then the refs gave UNLV a first down on a fourth and one that was questionable whether he made it, which was followed by confusion on whether or not a penalty to make it first and goal or first and 10.
On fourth and goal from the one with two minutes left, UNLV scores a touchdown to take its first lead of the game, 23-20. It capped off a 9:30-minute drive that went 14 plays.
The game ended in as bad a way as possible. On fourth and one, KU was called for a chop block to make it fourth and 16. Then Daniels took a sack to end the game.
Takeaways
The last 32 minutes of game time were one where you wish the mind-zappers from Men in Black were real so we could collectively forget that mess. The offensive play calling was dreadful and the execution was just as bad. There’s so much to fix to salvage this season. The quarterback has zero confidence, the play calling is terrible, and even though the defense played really well, it made costly mistakes (a bad PI in the end zone, not getting that fumble, etc.).
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