Halftime Musings: Kansas leads Illinois 28-7 at Half

What a half for the Kansas Jayhawks. The offense started to show how high their ceiling is, the defense did everything you could hope for, and the Jayhawks are really showing out in their Blackhawk jerseys.

With Kansas leading the Illinois Fighting Illini 21-0 at the half, let's take a look at some early impressions.

Jalon Daniels!

The Jayhawks got off to a fast start with their unquestioned leader and never looked back. With three scoring drives of 82, 85 and 94 yards, Daniels showed the ability to sling the ball around the field, use misdirection masterfully and made a few big plays with his legs. Plus a 4 play 75 yard touchdown drive that only took 36 seconds was truly amazing.

And as we have come to expect, he wasn't afraid to use the entire field either. He passed to both sides of the field, while completing passes to 8 different receivers. It's safe to say that his return is huge for this team and greatly increases their ability to keep up with other offenses around the country.

Defensive Domination

With the exception of the final drive of the half, the Kansas defense was dominant, keeping the Illini offense from putting any sort of production together:

It only took 18 minutes and 23 seconds for Illinois to have their first offensive play on the Kansas side of the field.

And that was because of a short punt, not because of the defense.#kufball
— Rock Chalk Podcast (@RockChalkPod) September 9, 2023

When Illinois did finally have an offensive play on the Kansas side of the field, it was because of a short punt. The defense answered with a sack from Jereme Robinson, and Illinois had to punt again. They only allowed 122 yards in the first half.

That Protection

The offensive line had a huge test coming into the week, as the talent along that Illinois defensive line is expected to be one of the strengths of their team. But for the second straight week, the Jayhawks sealed off the pass rush for most of the half (save one sack) and gave Daniels and the running backs plenty of time to find plays down the field.

Nothing encapsulated this like the huge hole that opened up for Jalon on the second drive and the scramble during the final drive of the half.

JD finds A LOT of open space for a first down 💨 pic.twitter.com/f8QJAi5DmI
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 9, 2023

48 yards. On the run. On the money. Who else but @JalonDaniels6

and what a catch by @lukegrimm25 😱 pic.twitter.com/sKTbQRYCtR
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 9, 2023

If the offensive line keeps playing like this, the entire offense is going to benefit this season.

Let's see if they can keep it up in the second half.