A 28-3 hole on the road proved to be too big for the Kansas football team to crawl out of and the Jayhawks lost their third consecutive game, 35-23 at Baylor’s McLane Stadium on Saturday.
The loss dropped Kansas to 5-3 on the season and 2-3 in Big 12 play and sends the Jayhawks into their bye week looking to find a way to get back on the winning track, still one win shy of becoming bowl eligible after a 5-0 start.
The Baylor offense torched Kansas in the first half, taking advantage of outstanding field position and several KU mistakes. That included a pair of fumbles by wide receiver Quentin Skinner that set up Baylor touchdowns.
The Bears nearly made it 35-3 just before halftime, but a Craig Young interception near the goal line ended the threat and set up a second-half surge for the Jayhawks. On the first possession of the second half, KU’s Jereme Robinson forced a fumble by BU QB Blake Shapen and then scooped it up and nearly scored.
That tremendous individual effort set up the Jayhawks’ first touchdown of the day and served as notice that KU was not going away.
While pitching a shutout for much of the second half on defense, the Jayhawks got touchdowns from Devin Neal, Skinner and Jason Bean in the second half to cut the Baylor lead to just five points (28-23) with 6:30 to play in the fourth quarter.
But BU answered with its first scoring drive of the second half to reclaim a 12-point lead and KU’s last-ditch effort on offense came up short with 2:02 to play.
The loss kept Kansas winless in Waco and moved Baylor’s overall winning streak over KU to 13 consecutive games.
BU (4-3, 2-2) finished the day with 437 yards of total offense, compared to 288 for Kansas, including 273 on the ground. Kansas gained just 56 yards on the ground while Bean was 16-of-27 through the air for 232 yards and a touchdown.
The KU defense forced three turnovers but allowed Baylor to convert eight of 15 third-down tries and three of four fourth-down conversions.
Next up, KU will look to regroup during its off week. The Jayhawks will not play again until welcoming Oklahoma State to town on Nov. 5.
Stay tuned to KUsports.com for more from today’s loss.
1st Quarter
11:05 – Monaray Baldwin 17-yard pass from Blake Shapen. John Mayers kick. After holding the Jayhawks to a three-and-out to open the game, the Bears took over in Kansas territory and drove 41 yards in seven plays for the game’s first score. (BU 7, KU 0).
10:15 – Richard Reese 14-yard run. Mayers kick. A Kansas fumble on its second drive of the game was recovered by Baylor and two plays later the Bears were back in the end zone after going 25 yards on two runs for the score. (BU 14, KU 0).
3:13 – Jacob Borcila 30-yard field goal. The Jayhawks settled down on their third drive of the day and marched 62 yards in 12 plays in 7:02 to get on the scoreboard. Jason Bean made a couple of key throws and aided Lawrence Arnold in drawing a key pass interference penalty to move into Baylor territory. (BU 14, KU 3).
2nd Quarter
11:18 – Kyron Drones 4-yard run. Mayers kick. The Baylor backup QB entered the game to cap off a 16-play drive by taking a direct snap and pushing it across to the right side. After two quick-strike scores, the Bears went 73 yards in 6:55 for their third TD in three possessions. (BU 21, KU 3).
0:42 – Jordan Nabors 10-yard run. Mayers kick. After stopping the Jayhawks near midfield on the previous drive, Baylor took over at its own 1-yard line and drove 99 yards in 15 plays to blow the game open. (BU 28, KU 3).
3rd Quarter
7:35 – Devin Neal 2-yard run. Borcila kick. The offense gets credit for this, but the whole thing was made possible by the defensive play by Jereme Robinson on the Bears’ opening drive of the second half. The KU D-Lineman attacked Shapen, forced the ball loose, fought him off to scoop it up and return it to the Baylor 9, almost scoring in the process. Three plays later, Neal walked in untouched for KU’s first TD of the day. (BU 28, KU 10).
4th Quarter
14:33 – Quentin Skinner 24-yard pass from Jason Bean. Two-point conversion try failed. After forcing the first Baylor punt of the game late in the third quarter, the Jayhawks drove 95 yards in 11 plays and 4:07 to cut into the BU lead with a quarter still to play. (BU 28, KU 16).
6:29 — Jason Bean 4-yard run. Borcila kick. The Kansas defense stuffed Baylor on fourth and inches inside the 10-yard line and then sprinted down the field behind big completions to Lawrence Arnold and Trevor Wilson to put KU on the doorstep. Bean did the rest and Kansas pulled to within five midway through the fourth quarter. (BU 28, KU 23).
2:37 – Reese 2-yard run. Mayers kick. With its lead down to five, Baylor drove 69 yards in seven plays and 3:52 to reclaim a two-score advantage and keep Kansas at bay. All seven plays on the game-clinching drive were running plays. (BU 35, KU 23).
