UCF Knights at Kansas Jayhawks Statistical Recap: Total Domination

The box score agree with the eye test: Kansas obliterated UCF.

For those that want to worry about the rest of the season for the Kansas Jayhawks, the game against the Texas Longhorns would seem to provide some good evidence. Kansas kept it close until halfway through the third quarter, and then Texas blew the doors off of them the rest of the way.

But that doesn't account for a lot of context surrounding the unusual pregame situation. So let's dive through the box score, providing context along the way, to see just how much you should worry about what you saw last Saturday.

Offense

The offense in this game was the exact opposite of the offense in the prior week. Where everything failed against Texas, everything came up Jayhawks in the game against UCF. The offense averaged 7.8 yards per play, didn't turn the ball over and gave up just one sack. There were only 63 plays run, but a lot of that had to do with UCF having long drives and the some big hitting plays as well. They scored on 6 of 7 red zone trips, and led in time of possession by nearly 10 minutes.

Passing

If you thought last week's passing attempts were low, there were only 12 throws from the Jayhawks on the day. But the protection was good from the offensive line, and it was clear from the jump that this was a day where Andy Kotelnicki wasn't going to ask much from the passing game. Instead, we saw timely throws to keep the defense somewhat honest and a few big plays to extend key drives.

Jason Bean completed 8 of his 12 pass attempts for 91 yards and 1 touchdown. Unlike last week, the low numbers weren't because of a lack of success. It's just that running the ball as efficiently as Kansas was gives no reason to lean on the passing game. Instead, Bean had multiple pinpoint throws to guys exactly where it needed to be for a big gain. 

Mason Fairchild led the team in receptions with 3, although he only totaled 19 yards. His catches were great examples of just keeping the opponent honest against the run game.

Luke Grimm had two catches for 41 yards, including a fantastic catch on the sideline as Jason Bean was rolling to his left. It extended a drive and led to points.

Trevor Kardell and Devin Neal each had a single pass, for 12 and 14 yards, respectively.

Lawrence Arnold had the only touchdown catch of the day, where he caught the ball short of the goal line and stretched it across while being tackled.

Rushing

The running game was monstrous, totaling 399 yards on 51 carries on the same day that Kansas great Tony Sands was being inducted into the Ring of Honor. The Jayhawks averaged 7.8 yards per rush on the day, which is good enough for fifth among running backs with at least 50 carries this season.

Devin Neal got started on the first drive and never looked back, rushing for a total of 154 yards and 1 touchdown on just 12 carries. This was highlighted by a 75-yard touchdown run to start the second half.

Daniel Hishaw also started early, totaling 134 yards on 19 carries, with 2 touchdowns. His size served him well in this game, as he sought contact on his runs and punished defenders who tried to stay in his way.

Dylan McDuffie had a one-yard touchdown run in the middle of the third quarter, and then was the primary ball carrier for the final two drives. He ended the day with 13 carries for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Defense

The defense gave up 371 yards, including 202 on the ground, but a lot of those came in garbage time when the Jayhawks had their second and third string players in the game. There was pressure all game long, with 4 sacks, a forced fumble, and 2 additional hits to the quarterback.

Taiwan Berryhill made his return to the lineup and led the team with 8 tackles, including a sack and then a tackle for loss he shared with Rich Miller.

Austin Booker had only 4 tackles, but 1 was sack. He also force a fumble and had another tackle for loss. Other sacks came from Jayson Gilliom and Patrick Joyner.

Jerome Robinson and Gage Keys were each credited with a quarterback hit.

Kenny Logan Jr. and Cobee Bryant each had 7 tackles.

Special Teams

In a game where everything else was working, the Jayhawks had a few hiccups on the special teams. But the ridiculous performances from the return game more than overshadowed that.

Damon Greaves only punted once, pinning UCF inside their 20 with a 39-yard punt.

Tabor Allen had 9 kickoffs, with eight being touchbacks and none being returned.

Seth Keller was 1-2 on field goals, making a 25 yard attempt in the first quarter and missing a 32 yard attempt in the fourth quarter. One of his extra point attempts was bobbled by the holder and fumbled, being returned by UCF for 2 points.

Trevor Wilson returned 1 punt on the day, an 82-yard return for a touchdown that earned him Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week.

Kenny Logan Jr. returned one kickoff for 43 yards, getting tripped up when he tried to hurdle a blocker that had fallen during the play.

Up next, the Jayhawks head back on the road to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30pm Central time on FS1.

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