There will be no more unbroken streaks.
Kansas football entered this game with an unsightly 56-game losing streak on the road in conference play (their previous Big 12 road win came in October of 2008). In addition, KU had dropped 18 consecutive road or home Big 12 games.
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The Good News is the Situation has Resolved Itself.
Only South Dakota, Southeast Missouri State, Central Michigan, and… Texas have lost several times against Kansas since 2011.
The Jayhawks were a 30-point underdog despite starting their third-string quarterback, Jalon Daniels. If you were watching the game on silent, though, you might not have noticed. The Longhorns won the coin toss and elected to defer, and Kansas State’s first drive of 13 plays ate up almost the entirety of the first quarter.
The Jayhawks took a surprising 14-0 lead at halftime after recovering a fumble by Texas. And then, with the score tied at 14 with under two minutes left in the half, Kansas scores three times in 85 seconds to take the lead. KU took a 35-14 advantage into halftime after completing another lengthy drive, recovering another Texas fumble, and scoring on a pick-6.
Kansas continued to struggle in the third quarter, as they had all season. Texas was able to control the tempo of the game while KU’s offence sputtered, and the Longhorns entered the fourth quarter down by only seven points.
The score was 49-35 after a spectacular pass from Daniels to Kwamie Lassiter at 8:47 remaining, but Texas went right back down the field to cut the deficit to two points with 3:57 remaining.
And here’s Where KU Football Started being KU Football.
KU took over with the lead and the ball, needing only a few first downs to seal the deal and win. The University of Kansas, meanwhile, was unable to secure even one. Leipold made the (in my opinion) right call by going for it on 4th-and-1 from the KU 34-yard line with 2:34 remaining.
In any case, the QB sneak was stopped because of a terrible play call. Texas had 3 timeouts left and only needed to drive 49 yards to tie the game after being penalised 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.
UT’s Casey Thompson was picked off in the end zone by KU’s OJ Burroughs after a series of strong runs by Roschon Johnson. There was 1 minute and 10 seconds left in the game, and Kansas had possession of the ball at their own 20-yard line.
However, Kansas University’s offensive coaches once again opted for a conservative, mindless approach. Texas ran out the clock in only 26 seconds as they gained a total of one yard on three handoffs up the middle. The KU defence was once again put in an impossible position after a punt of 38 yards was returned for 25 yards.
With only 22 seconds remaining, Texas scored on the next play and added the extra point to tie the game. KU decided to take a knee and play extra time.
Kansas took the field on defence after winning the coin toss. Texas scored on three plays and added the extra point, but a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty would move the ball to the 12-yard line for KU’s next drive instead of the 25-yard line. On third-and-7, Jalon Daniels converted on a quarterback draw up the middle to gain the first down; the next play, Devin Neal punched it in for a touchdown. It was time for Leipold to make a choice once more.
Made the Right Choice by Opting to Try for it
Furthermore, he once again made the right choice by opting to try for it. Team Kansas got in position to attempt a 2-point convert.
At least they weren’t going to try to take the ball to the middle of the field this time! The three-step drop and shotgun position that Jalon Daniels adopted were promptly countered, and he was pushed out of the pocket to his right.
Near the goal line, he located fullback Jared Casey and delivered a perfect strike that had the Kansas supporters going wild.
Again, it wasn’t the play call I would have made (to roll him out and give him an RPO), but it was effective nonetheless.
As a Result, The Citizens of Mudville Celebrated Vigorously.
Even though the coaching and clock management in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter were terrible (KU had a 96.5% win probability on 1st-and-10 with 1:10 to go), Kansas still managed to pull out the victory in overtime, to the delight of everyone here at RCT.
The mocking “SEC” chants from the DKR Memorial Stadium visitors’ section were a highlight of the broadcast for me. Let’s quit acting like Texas is a decent football team for real, as Kansas has split the last six meetings with the Longhorns, 3-3*.
