Kansas defeated Oklahoma on Saturday for the first time since 1997. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Oklahoma’s undefeated season is over.
Kansas RB Devin Neal scored with 55 seconds left to give the Jayhawks a 38-33 victory over the No. 6 Sooners on Saturday.
Oklahoma appeared to let Neal score after he kicked the ball back to Kansas with 2:06 left. Kansas quickly got to midfield on its final drive and converted the ball to the Oklahoma 10-yard line in the fourth when Jason Bean found a wide-open Lawrence Arnold for a 37-yard catch-and-run.
The Sooners had two timeouts left on their final possession and reached the Kansas 21-yard line with three seconds left. But Dillon Gabriel’s pass into the end zone failed incomplete.
The win is Kansas’ first over Oklahoma since 1997 and the Jayhawks’ first home win over a top-10 team since 1984. The team they beat this season? Oklahoma.
The Sooners had a phenomenal chance to tie the game with under three minutes left after an incredible play from defensive lineman Ethan Downs. Kansas attempted a delayed screen on third down, and Downs recognized the play immediately. Kansas QB Jason Bean somehow made the decision to throw the ball anyway despite acknowledging downs and threw it straight to downs.
But the Sooners went wide on a three-pointer and committed a false start on fourth down to bring the punt team onto the field and give the ball back to KU for the game-winning drive.
The game featured six lead changes, an errant kickoff by both teams and a Kansas drive in which Oklahoma committed three personal fouls.
Jason Bean’s ups and downs game
Downs’ interception was Bean’s second in two drives. The Kansas QB started his fifth game of the season in place of Jalon Daniels as the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year is out with a back injury.
Kansas fans will attest that the Bean experience is a roller coaster ride. He is capable of making plays that will have both heads shaking in frustration and excitement.
Bean finished the game with just 15 of 32 passes for 218 yards and those two interceptions, but had four carries for 62 yards and a TD on a 38-yard run, giving Kansas a 26-21 lead in the third quarter.
The win means Kansas is now 6-2 and bowling for the second straight season. It’s a remarkable turnaround for a school that had the worst Power Five program in the country before coach Lance Leipold’s arrival.
Oklahoma’s playoff hopes are significantly diminished
The Sooners survived a shock at home against UCF a week ago and flirted with danger throughout Saturday’s game against the Jayhawks.
Kansas jumped out to an early 14-0 lead before Oklahoma scored 21 straight points in 10 minutes to take the lead before halftime. But the Jayhawks took the lead on that Bean TD run after Jalil Farooq made a mistake late in the third quarter.
The Sooners responded well after Bean’s run, but the offense wasn’t good enough down the stretch. The Sooners punted after KU missed a field goal in the fourth quarter that would have extended the lead to eight, and the drive lost two yards after Downs’ interception.
The loss will certainly keep Oklahoma out of the top 10 in Tuesday’s first College Football Playoff rankings of the year, but the Sooners’ playoff hopes aren’t quite dead yet. An undefeated finish to the regular season could lead to a rematch with Texas lead in the Big 12 title game. And the winner of this game could be in the playoffs.
But the Sooners need to get through Week 10 before they can worry about the playoffs. Oklahoma travels to Oklahoma State next week in what could be its last Bedlam rivalry game for the foreseeable future.