Untimely turnovers, defensive gaffes doom the Jayhawks in 43-28 loss to Red Raiders
There were a lot a things that quarterback Jason Bean did right for the Kansas Jayhawks against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock on Saturday, but it was perhaps the throw that he didn't make that sealed the result. As Bean surveyed the field on first and 10 at the Kansas 25, down by 8 with just over 4 minutes to go, he misjudged the speed of Texas Tech's Jesiah Pierre, pulling down a pass to try and find a better one. Instead, he got sacked and fumbled, which set up a very short field for the Red Raiders. Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks scored three plays later to put the home team up 43-28 and seal the victory.
Once again, the Kansas defense got off to a slow start, allowing the Red Raiders to score on their first four drives of the game and build a 24-7 lead. For a while, it looked like the Kansas Jayhawks wouldn't be able to get any stops at all, but after a Bean led the offense on a long drive capped off by a quarterback keeper to the end zone, the defense came up with some big stops.
But after the Jayhawks pulled the margin within three and then held on a fourth down attempt to get the ball back, a poor throw over the middle into quadruple coverage was ruled as an interception (questionable as it was), which gave the Red Raiders time to drive down for a field goal to end the half.
The third quarter turned into a defensive battle, with neither team able to score any points. The Jayhawks drove all the way down to the Texas Tech 19 yard line, but Jacob Borcila's field goal try was tipped and hit the upright, his second missed kick of the night.
Texas Tech opened the scoring on the first play of the fourth quarter, and it looked like the rout was back on. But Kansas stuffed the 2-point try, and then a touchdown on a tiptoe catch on the right side of the end zone by Quentin Skinner got it back within 5. A Texas Tech drive stalled out in the red zone, and a field goal gave the Jayhawks hope. But then the fumble and ensuing score ended any hope for good.
Overall Bean had a decent game, including a fourth down pass to Jared Casey for a 66-yard touchdown on the opening drive. But for the second straight game, the star of the show was Devin Neal. He routinely ran through and around defenders to pick up extra yards. He ended the night with 190 of the 242 Kansas rushing yards. He was used as a decoy several times to set up big plays for other players. With the exception of an Ethan Vasko pass into the flat that was counted as a rushing attempt for Ky Thomas, Neal was the only running back to rush the ball in this game.
It was a poor night on the defensive end for Kansas, with only 1 sack and 3 tackles for loss, but the secondary was particularly active. But while Kansas was able to make momentary stops, they were not able to string together enough to get off the field routinely, and they suffered the consequences, giving up over 500 yards of offense. But it was the inability to force a turnover that ended up dooming Kansas, as they weren't able to overcome the two offensive turnovers to get their second conference road game of the season.
The Jayhawks will come home for Senior Day this Saturday, November 19th. Kickoff time and broadcast information will be announced on Sunday.
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