Kansas Jayhawks defeat Illinois Fighting Illini 34-23 in a weird game
After starting off hot against the Illinois Fighting Illini, the Kansas Jayhawks had to hold on for a win on a night where the defense stole the show. Thanks to that defense they didn't need all of the 21 point lead they held at the half.
The Jayhawks started out hot, jumping to a 14-0 lead after two drives by each team. Jalon Daniels and the Jayhawks moved quickly down the field in each of their first two drives, while the defense completely shut down what the Illinois offense wanted to do.
The third Kansas offensive drive saw the first problems, as Jalon Daniels took a sack and then couldn't complete a third down pass. A short punt seemed to give Illinois a perfect opportunity to score, starting from the Jayhawks' 46-yard line.
Once again, the defense clamped down, with Jereme Robinson getting his first of two sacks to push Illinois back onto their side of the field, the drive fizzled to give the ball back to Kansas.
From there, the Jayhawks went on their longest drive of the game, an 11-play, 94-yard march down the field where Devin Neal punched it in from 5 yards out.
But Illinois wasn't ready to call it a night yet. They answered with their first points of the night, marching down the field themselves to score a touchdown and leave only 41 seconds until the half. But that was plenty of tie for Jalon Daniels, as he completed a 48-yard pass to Luke Grimm before Daniel Hishaw dove into the end zone.
Kansas fans felt good going into the half, and it looked like everything was rolling. But some early hiccups allowed Illinois to get back into the game.
A couple missed throws led to a field goal instead of a touchdown. A Lawrence Arnold catch gets fumbled. A penalty nullifying another touchdown. A random missed assignment opening up a huge hole for Luke Altmyer to run through, leading to a 72 yard touchdown run.
And then the officiating made the game even weirder. Austin Booker was called for targeting on a tackle to the midsection of Altmyer. Then just a single drive later, Cobee Bryant was also tabbed for a targeting penalty. Barring a successful appeal, both players will miss the first half of the Nevada game next week.
Ultimately, it was the defense that sealed the victory for Kansas. The Jayhawks turned it over on downs trying to seal the game with 3:33 left in the game, and a Kwinton Lassiter interception (for the second straight week) ended the final threat.
Kansas moves to 2-0 for the second straight season. Up next, they travel to face the Nevada Wolfpack for their first Saturday game of the season.
