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Summary: KU stuns previously undefeated BYU in road thriller

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Summary: KU stuns previously undefeated BYU in road thriller

Vaseline November 17, 2024

AP Photo/Rick Egan

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels throws a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against BYU, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Provo, Utah.

Provo, Utah – The best play of the year for the Kansas football team was a punt.

Facing an unenviable fourth-and-14 at BYU’s 36-yard line, down 13-10, with quarterback Jalon Daniels having just taken a sack to push the Jayhawks out of field goal range, KU lined up as if it was going to try. for an extremely unlikely conversion.

Instead, Daniels took the snap and kicked. The ball bounced improbably off the head of BYU’s Evan Johnson, teammate Jakob Robinson failed to recover and wide receiver Quentin Skinner dove in to set up a go-ahead Devin Neal touchdown.

Marvin Grant stopped BYU’s Chase Roberts just short of the first-down marker on a key fourth-and-11 near the goal line in the final minute, and the Jayhawks held on to end No. 6 BYU’s undefeated season with a 17 -13 win on Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

KU’s offense was inconsistent, but Neal ran for a few scores to add to his school-record total. Luke Grimm caught four passes for 77 yards on an on-and-off night for Daniels. With the win, KU moves to 4-6 and can still reach the postseason by winning its final two games.

Kansas’ opening drive got a big boost when Daniels took a leap off the bounce and threw a jump ball 29 yards to Skinner, a play that stood despite both the objections of BYU fans who wanted offensive pass interference and a review by the officials for concern causes Skinner to get a foot in. That was the key play on a 10-play, 84-yard drive that ended, as it often does, with a rushing touchdown from Neal.

The teams traded points before BYU, despite missing a potential deep-shot touchdown on the opening play of their drive, moved within scoring range on a series of hard runs from LJ Martin.

But after the start of the second quarter, OJ Burroughs dragged quarterback Jake Retzlaff out of bounds on a quarterback keeper and then got coverage on a Retzlaff incompletion as BYU settled for a short Will Ferrin field goal.

The Jayhawks went three-and-out for a second straight drive, and Martin took the Cougars into KU territory again. Mello Dotson missed a chance to tackle Parker Kingston in the backfield on a third-down jet sweep, and instead Retzlaff threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Hinckley Ropati on the very next play.

KU finally got some momentum on offense thanks to an option keeper by Daniels for a first down, followed by receptions of 23 and 27 yards by Grimm, the latter on fourth-and-6. But after a delay of game penalty pushed the Jayhawks from third-and-goal at the 2-yard line back to the 7, Daniels threw incomplete and the Jayhawks tied the game with a Tabor Allen field goal.

In response, the Cougars’ two-minute offense needed just two plays to cross midfield and reached the KU 5-yard line with 50 seconds left. Without hesitation, Retzlaff threw a fade route to Mata’ava Ta’ase, which was easily intercepted by Dotson, and the Jayhawks took a knee to enter halftime tied at 10-10.

BYU relied heavily on the ground game from the break, to the point where it had an option on third-and-9 from midfield. Taylor Davis knocked Martin out a yard before the marker, but Martin converted the fourth anyway.

After spending nearly 10 minutes on the field, the Jayhawks finally earned a third-down stop by holding Retzlaff to three yards on a third-and-6 quarterback keep. The Cougars initially considered another fourth-down attempt, but instead Ferrin kicked another field goal to give BYU the lead.

After the extended absence from the field, the KU offense showed some promise, coming out of a second-and-long situation on a swing pass from Daniels to Grimm. The Jayhawks faced third-and-8 at BYU’s 46-yard line, but Daniels held his own against the blitz and found Jared Casey for a conversion on the final play of the third quarter.

From that point on, the ride got significantly worse for KU. After a short gain from Neal, Daniels nearly threw an interception and then took a sack while trying to escape an army of BYU defenders to push the Jayhawks back to fourth-and-14 at the Cougars’ 36-yard line.

That’s when Daniels’ special teams wizardry changed the game and helped KU take the lead.

BYU punted, and with a chance to run out the clock, Daniels forced a ball into coverage and was intercepted by Marque Collins – only for the Cougars to punt again.

The Jayhawks again couldn’t get particularly far down the field, giving the Cougars a chance for another lead with five minutes left.

This time BYU is capitalized. Retzlaff found Roberts for gains of 12 and 24 yards, and Ropati got the Cougars to KU’s 15-yard line after the two-minute warning. That’s when the Jayhawks made their last stand to keep BYU out of the end zone, doing what they couldn’t do after several losses earlier in the season.

The Jayhawks will host another ranked team, Colorado, on Saturday at 2:30 PM at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for their final home game of the year.

How they scored

First quarter

9:07 – Devin Neal 8-yard run. Tabor Allen PAT well. Ten plays, 84 yards, 5:49 TOP. KU7, BYU0.

Second quarter

14:11 – Will Ferrin 33-yard field goal. Eleven plays, 42 yards, 5:30 TOP. KU7, BYU3.

8:48 – Hinckley Ropati 30-yard pass from Jake Retzlaff. Eight plays, 69 yards, 4:31 TOP. BYU 10, KU 7.

1:46 – Allen 25-yard field goal. Eleven plays, 68 yards, 7:02 TOP. BYU 10, KU 10.

Third quarter

4:30 – Ferrin 35-yard field goal. Seventeen plays, 66 yards, 10:26 TOP. BYU 13, KU 10.

Fourth quarter

13:19 – Neal 3-yard run. All PAT well. One play, three meters, 0:04 TOP. KU 17, BYU 13.

Box score