Oklahoma State Cowboys at Kansas Jayhawks Statistical Recap - Plenty to Go Around.
The Kansas Jayhawks got back to their winning ways on Saturday as they demolished the Oklahoma State Cowboys from start to finish. And while the main story is the hometown Devin Neal, there were plenty of great performances to go around the entire squad.
So here is a look around the box score to highlight some of those top performances.
Offense
The Jayhawks absolutely dominated on the offensive end, scoring on 7 of the 10 drives they had on the day. With multiple long drives in the second half, Kansas dominated the time of possession. They got 23 first downs, converting on just 6 of 14 3rd down attempts but on both of their fourth down attempts. They outgained the Cowboys by 139 yards.
Passing
While the big story offensively for Kansas was the running game, the Jayhawks were very prolific in the passing game as well. The offensive line didn't allow a sack, as quarterback Jason Bean had many opportunities to show of his legs and ability to escape pressure. Kansas seems to have started to focus their efforts into a fewer number of key receivers, with only five players catching passes and seven players being targeted in this game. However, it appeared that Bean didn't need to look past his first or second read on most plays, which likely had a lot to do with concentrating targets to a smaller group.
Bean was an efficient 18-23 for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns. His longest passing play was one of the two shovel passes he had to Devin Neal who was left wide open just past the line. That play went for 53 yards and was on the last scoring drive of the day for the home team.
Luke Grimm led the team in receptions, with 7 catches on just 7 targets and gaining 65 yards. While he didn't get a touchdown in this game, he was the go-to option early in drives to get the first downs rolling.
Neal led the team in total yards, with 110 on his 6 catches (on 7 targets). receptions, with 26 catches for 300 yards and three touchdowns.
Lawrence Arnold caught 2 of his 3 targets, but only had 18 yards. However, he did score a touchdown on a fantastic catch in the corner of the end zone.
Jared Casey had just 2 catches for 6 yards, but they couldn't have been in bigger situations. His first was on a fourth and one play and he gained four yards with a spectacular one-handed catch. The second was a two-yard pass over the middle for a touchdown on a throw that was reminiscent of his big play against Texas last season.
Mason Fairchild did have a 30-yard catch in the game, but it was nullified by an offensive penalty. He was officially targeted 2 times on the day.
Quentin Skinner had a single catch for just 4 yards.
Torry Locklin was targeted once.
Rushing
The running game was the star of the day here, with six total rushing plays of 19 yards or greater (and five of those in the first half). And while Neal was impressive enough to be named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, Jason Bean had a handful of good runs as well.
Neal dominated the Oklahoma State offensive line, routinely breaking tackles and hitting big holes to gain yards in chunks. He totaled 224 yards on 32 carries, with just one touchdown. But 5 of the long rushing plays were his, and he started the Kansas scoring on their first drive with his 31 yard touchdown run.
Bean had 4 carries for 93 yards. His longest run was a winding 73 yard touchdown scramble with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half that put Kansas up 17-7.
Ky Thomas had 34 yards on 10 carries.
Defense
The defense got back to its opportunistic ways, as they gave up plenty of yards through the air but got big stops when it really mattered. Oklahoma State got 25 first downs, but they turned the ball over 4 times, with three of those when they were deep in Kansas territory.
The Jayhawks held Oklahoma State to 5-11 on third down and 0-1 on fourth down.
Rich Miller did a bit of everything today, tying for second in total tackles with 6. He also had a sack and an interception, and his 69 tackles on the season gives him the most on the team.
Not to be outdone, Kenny Logan Jr. led the team with 8 tackles in this game, putting his season total at 69 as well.
Cobee Bryant made his return to the lineup and immediately made an impact with a diving interception on the first drive of the game. He also finished with 6 tackles on the day.
Ra'Mello Dotson only had 3 tackles on the day, but he intercepted the ball on an overthrown pass on the second drive of the day for the Cowboys.
Lorenzo McCaskill had 5 tackles, but his biggest play was jumping on a fumbled snap with Oklahoma State down at the goal line to end the last serious chance Oklahoma State had to get back into the game.
The Jayhawks only had 2 sacks on the day, with Miller getting one. The other was shared by Craig Young and Tommy Dunn Jr.
Special Teams
The special teams played well in this game, although the return units didn't really get an opportunity to do much.
Reis Vernon had three punts on the day, with one dropping inside the 20, one going into the end zone for a touchback, and another shanked badly and going out of bounds. Oklahoma State did not return any of them.
Tabor Allen had 5 touchbacks on his 8 kickoffs, and the other 3 resulted in fair catches in the field of play.
Jacob Borcila was a perfect 3-3 on field goals, bringing his season numbers up to 7-10, with no kicks blocked.
The only return on the day came on a 15-yard kickoff return by Kenny Logan.
The Jayhawks look to improve their bowl standing this Saturday as they travel down to Lubbock to take on an ailing Texas Tech Red Raider squad. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00pm Central.
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