In the moments immediately following Kansas’ 14-11 win over Iowa State on Saturday, it was hard to tell what the prevailing emotion was among the players flooding the field.
There was much cheering – and much relief.
“It was just a smashing win,” said junior wide receiver Luke Grimm. “It’s good to be on the good side.”
In a game with all sorts of bizarre outcomes, some big and some small, it was a missed 37-yard field goal attempt by the Cyclones with 32 seconds remaining that gave the Jayhawks their first 5-0 start in 13 years.
Not only does the win mean they will likely return to the national rankings for the first time in October 2019. Incredibly, that means they’re even one win away from qualifying for the bowl.
“I don’t know if this team could have done anything like that a year ago, to overcome all those things,” said coach Lance Leipold. “Finding a path and completing it, I think says something else about this team.”
Things Kansas had to overcome included a pathetic offensive performance, the loss of the redshirt sophomore that put Daniel Hishaw Jr. back to a serious injury late on, and a string of penalties to leave David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium with a escape from an impeccable record.
Saturday’s game marked the first time this season things didn’t look particularly easy for Kansas, who finished with 213 yards, including 112 on the ground, but still was never behind. It has also committed seven penalties for 56 yards and uncharacteristically converted three of 10 third-down attempts.
Junior quarterback Jalon Daniels completed just seven of 14 passes for 93 yards and he ran just eight times for nine yards against an Iowa State defense, which came in after collecting just 14.5 points, 266 total yards and 75.8 rushing yards allowed per game.
In fact, Kansas gained just 43 yards and three first downs in the second half when Daniels completed just two of four passes.
This is where defense came into play. A maligned unit that allowed the Cyclones 59 points a year ago held them for 313 yards, including 26 on the ground, and 5-for-18 in third place. It had five sacks split between four players and eight tackles for the loss.
Crucially, Iowa State held on to field goal attempts on three of its last four drives, including two that missed attempts, stopping its opponent in a potential winning streak that ended when freshman kicker Jace Gilbert hit one Effort to equalize missed left.
“Throughout the game I preached to the defense that this game is coming to us,” said junior linebacker Rich Miller. “There weren’t too many games where we were the ones who had to get up and do the last game or whatever, so I told them just be prepared for that. No matter what happens, we have to be prepared for it. … We just did what we had to do, tried our best and prevailed.”
Hishaw, who appeared to have left the game in the fourth quarter with a right leg injury, was taken to hospital by ambulance. He struggled for extra yards in a second and 14th game with 9:20 left when he was tackled and ambushed by five Iowa State players.
He scored the first touchdown of the game when he tumbled into the end zone at the end of a 4-yard streak at 11:30 in the second quarter, which had to be checked by officials before it was confirmed.
Iowa State second quarterback Hunter Dekkers, who rushed for 287 yards and a 30-to-48 touchdown, was intercepted in third and twelfth place by sophomore cornerback Cobee Bryant, who skied a ball the Redshirt senior wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson didn’t know he was headed for him.
The Jayhawks turned that turnover, which rallied at Iowa State’s 19-yard line, into a 14-0 lead after Daniels ran 2 yards into the end zone before halftime and was 5:25 left.
But things changed quickly on the next drive when the Cyclones were 3rd and 8th from their 27-yard line. A pass interference penalty on Bryant earned them a fresh set of downs, and in the following game, Dekkers and redshirt senior wide receiver Dimitri Stanley connected for a 53-yard reception on a post route that took Iowa State to the 5-yard line routed from Kansas .
It took the Cyclones three more games to get over a false start and get into the end zone, with Dekkers connecting with redshirt junior tight end Easton Dean down the middle for a 9-yard touchdown reception. The extra-point snap was high, however, and redshirt senior quarterback Blake Clark, the defending champion, ran the ball into the end zone for the two-point conversion to cut Kansas’ lead to 14-8.
A 35-yard field goal by Gilbert at 5:27 in the third quarter, a game after Kansas senior safety Kenny Logan Jr. called off a pass in the end zone, kept Iowa State afloat.
Bryant appeared to have another interception at the Kansas 3-yard line with 12 minutes to play, but a review revealed Bryant failed to secure the ball before it hit the turf.
Then, when they were fourth and one from the Kansas 20-yard line, the Cyclones turned to Gilbert for a chance to go into overtime. He came on Saturday with 14:15 on extra points and 5:5 on field goals, but he previously missed 38- and 45-yard field goal attempts from the right post.
His attempt failed and the Jayhawks survived to face TCU (4-0) in an unbeaten fight next week.
“To keep pushing that and the defense, having confidence in the defense that they’re going to close it — and they did,” Grimm said. “Giving up 11 points is pretty good.”
How they met
2nd quarter
11:30 – Daniel Hishaw Jr. 4-yard run. Jacob Borcila enters.
The Jayhawks were the first team on the board in that game, rushing for 79 yards in seven games and 3:59 to get their first points of the day. The drive included a completed pass from backup QB Jason Bean, a pass interference call to Iowa State, and a perfect option pitch from Jalon Daniels to Devin Neal, who rumbled for 30 yards to set the TD. (KU 7, ISU 0).
5:25 – Jalon Daniels 2-yard run. Borcila kick. KU cornerback Cobee Bryant’s interception on the previous drive gave the Jayhawks a short field and KU hit it from there to the end zone in four games. The drive covered 19 yards in 2:31 and featured a Daniels finish for Quentin Skinner for 10 yards on the first down to create a first-and-goal opportunity. (KU 14, ISU 0).
2:51 – Easton Dean 9-yard reception from Hunter Dekkers. Blake Clark 2 point conversion run. After falling two points behind for the first time, the Cyclones responded with a six-game scoring drive for 75 yards that lasted 2:34. The drive included a pass interference call on Bryant by KU and a 53-yard pass by Dekkers to Dimitri Stanley to set up the touchdown. (KU 14, ISU 8).
3rd quarter
5:27 – 35-yard field goal by Jace Gilbert. After Iowa State held the Jayhawks in the opening second-half series, the visitors streaked 62 yards in 12 games to break into KU’s lead with a field goal. Iowa State almost got more on the drive, but a big hit by KU’s Kenny Logan Jr. against wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson in the end zone threw the ball loose and prevented a touchdown. (KU 14, ISU 11).