Instant Observations From Kansas Football’s 38-21 Win Over Oklahoma State

The Jayhawks moved to 5-4 on the season with a victory over Oklahoma State. Here are some observations from Kansas On SI.

Nov 1, 2025; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels (6) runs the ball during the first half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Kansas football team got back in the win column on Saturday evening with a 38-14 victory over Oklahoma State.

It wasn't pretty for much of the night, as the Jayhawks trailed for most of the first half, but the offense finally came together in the final 30 minutes and pulled away without giving the Cowboys much of a chance.

This was a much-needed win for a team that had dropped two straight and was on the verge of losing bowl eligibility. Here are three takeaways we gathered about the team.

The Secondary Continues to Struggle

The defensive line did its job for most of the game, but the secondary was flat-out bad. OSU quarterback Zane Flores entered the contest without a single career touchdown pass and finished 22-for-28 passing with 235 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover.

Gavin Freeman was open all game, and the KU defensive backs had no answer for him. It was one of the worst performances of the season from the unit, which is inexperienced and has yet to find its rhythm this year.

DJ Graham II, one of the more highly touted transfer additions of the offseason, was even benched at times due to his soft coverage amid his lackluster campaign.

The defense as a whole wasn't great by any means, but the secondary was especially poor, and much of the blame has to fall on D.K. McDonald.

Jalon Daniels Still Looks... Off

Daniels was coming off one of the worst outings of his collegiate career last week, throwing for 129 yards and an interception on 17-for-35 passing. Although he avoided turnovers today, he still played poorly.

He finished 13-for-19 passing for 110 yards and two touchdowns, adding 28 yards on the ground.

Nov 1, 2025; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels (6) throws a pass during the first half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

This modest stat line doesn't look bad on paper, but in the first half, Daniels missed several routine throws and didn't see Cam Pickett wide open up the seam for what would have been an easy touchdown. He also overthrew multiple receivers and struggled with accuracy throughout the night.

Daniels only has a few more games left as a Jayhawk, so he will need to fix whatever is off in the coming weeks. These kinds of performances simply won't and haven't been cutting it against better opponents.

Rushing Offense Is Performing Better

While Daniels didn't look great, the ground game finally came to life after struggling early in the season. The Jayhawks rushed for 234 yards and three touchdowns, two from Daniel Hishaw Jr. and one from Leshon Williams.

Hishaw was a tackle-breaking machine all night, while Williams made a big fourth-down conversion and capped off the Jayhawks' scoring with a red-zone touchdown.

Backup quarterback Isaiah Marshall also added an electric 43-yard run that set KU up deep in Oklahoma State territory. The offensive line was opening lanes, and the running backs were bouncing off tacklers en route to one of the team's best rushing performances of the season.