Playing with its backup quarterback Jason Bean, and entering as a home underdog against Big 12 Conference newcomer UCF, the Kansas football team dominated in all three phases from the opening whistle on its way to a resounding 51-22 victory.
KU ran for 399 yards and five touchdowns, as the Knights couldn’t do anything to stop either Devin Neal, Daniel Hishaw Jr. or Dylan McDuffie. Bean was only needed for 12 passes overall on the Jayhawks’ 63 plays.
UCF ran the ball pretty well itself, and RJ Harvey in particular had 16 carries for 133 yards and a touchdown, but didn’t spend enough time on the field to match KU’s pace.
The Knights opened with quarterback John Rhys Plumlee at the helm. He returned after missing three games due to a leg injury. But he landed awkwardly a few plays in and was replaced by Timmy McClain. Plumlee came back for the next drive, only to leave the game again midway through the second quarter.
KU, for its part, played the time-of-possession game beginning with its first drive, chewing the clock with nine rushing plays and flipping the field, but squandering a third-and-3 from the UCF 8-yard line when Bean overthrew Quentin Skinner and settling for a Seth Keller field goal.
Linebacker Craig Young ran way downfield in coverage to break up a deep pass for Xavier Townsend on a UCF third down, winning the ball back for the Jayhawks. Then, hard running from Neal and Hishaw fueled another lengthy scoring drive for KU, as the Knights frequently found themselves in position for tackles but got either juked by Neal or trucked by Hishaw.
UCF’s Josh Celiscar tackled Neal for a loss to force a third-and-3 deep in Knights territory, but Lawrence Arnold made a leaping snag and stretched across the goal line for a 5-yard score from Bean, Arnold’s first of the year, to make it 10-0 early in the second quarter.
KU was just as clinical next time it got the ball, using an eclectic range of plays from a Lawrence Arnold reverse to a third down bullet from Bean to Mason Fairchild to get into scoring range. That set up a short touchdown run for Hishaw that extended the advantage to three possessions.
The Knights had a glimmer of hope on their next series after an 18-yard run by Harvey, but an unsuccessful third-down tight-end screen led to another punt, which Trevor Wilson promptly took back 82 yards for the Jayhawks’ first punt-return touchdown in nine years. Then the KU defense got involved when Austin Booker strip-sacked McClain to halt the ensuing drive.
Whatever halftime adjustments the Knights may have made were not evident on the first play from scrimmage of the second half, when Neal patiently waited for a hole to open and zoomed through it at top speed for a 75-yard touchdown.
UCF managed its first real response of the afternoon, though, with Harvey scampering for 58 yards to set up a touchdown pass from McClain to a wide-open Alec Holler.
There were no signs of a slowdown from the Jayhawks’ offense, either, though, as it was Hishaw’s turn to break off a long run, then Bean converted a third-and-6 via a quarterback draw, and finally third running back McDuffie got in on the act with a 1-yard plunge.
The game did take a slightly bizarre turn as KU brought in second-choice kicker Owen Piepergerdes for an extra point following a long injury stoppage, only for a bad hold to result in a fumble and Demari Henderson 91-yard defensive conversion that made it 37-8.
The Jayhawks couldn’t get off the field on third down on what became a 17-play drive for UCF, but the Knights ate up eight minutes with the clock working against them on their way to a Harvey touchdown run. That was for naught as a long kickoff return by Kenny Logan set up Hishaw for his second score soon after.
But UCF found the end zone again on a second touchdown pass from McClain to freshman tight end Randy Pittman, and despite recovering an onside kick in excellent field position, KU came up empty when Seth Keller missed a 32-yard field goal.
Taiwan Berryhill Jr. wrapped up McClain on a fourth down and set up one last touchdown for McDuffie.
KU will travel to Stillwater next Saturday afternoon to face Oklahoma State, which shocked Kansas State with an upset win Friday night.
How they scored
First quarter
3:44 — Seth Keller 25-yard field goal. 13 plays, 82 yards, 7:05 TOP. Kansas 3, UCF 0.
Second quarter
13:34 — Lawrence Arnold 5-yard pass from Jason Bean. Keller PAT good. Nine plays, 69 yards, 4:22 TOP. Kansas 10, UCF 0.
6:31 — Daniel Hishaw Jr. 3-yard run. Keller PAT good. 12 plays, 72 yards, 6:13 TOP. Kansas 17, UCF 0.
3:26 — Trevor Wilson 82-yard punt return. Keller PAT good. Kansas 24, UCF 0.
Third quarter
14:48 — Devin Neal 75-yard run. Keller PAT good. One play, 75 yards, 0:12 TOP. Kansas 31, UCF 0.
13:01 — Alec Holler 13-yard pass from Timmy McClain. Conversion no good. Four plays, 75 yards, 1:47 TOP. Kansas 31, UCF 6.
7:02 — Dylan McDuffie 1-yard run. Conversion no good. 10 plays, 75 yards, 5:59 TOP. Kansas 37, UCF 6.
7:02 — Demari Henderson defensive conversion (91-yard fumble return). Kansas 37, UCF 8.
Fourth quarter
13:57 — RJ Harvey 4-yard run. Colton Boomer PAT good. 17 plays, 75 yards, 8:07 TOP. Kansas 37, UCF 15.
11:48 — Hishaw 7-yard run. Keller PAT good. Four plays, 54 yards, 2:02 TOP. Kansas 44, UCF 15.
10:09 — Randy Pittman Jr. 23-yard pass from McClain. Boomer PAT good. Five plays, 75 yards, 1:39 TOP. Kansas 44, UCF 22.
0:53 — McDuffie 1-yard run. Owen Piepergerdes PAT good. Seven plays, 35 yards, 3:20 TOP. Kansas 51, UCF 22.
Game Stats
UCF 0 0 8 14 – 22
Kansas 3 21 13 14 – 51
UCF | Kansas
First downs 21 | 25
Rushing yards 202 | 399
Passing yards 169 | 91
Total offense 371 | 490
Fumbles lost 1 | 0
Interceptions 0 | 0
Penalties-yards 5-40 | 2-20
Individual Stats
Rushing: UCF – Harvey 16-133; Richardson 8-47; Townsend 2-14; McClain 10-5; Johnson 2-3; Kansas – Neal 12-154; Hishaw 19-134; McDuffie 13-91; Arnold 1-10; Bean 6-10.
Passing: UCF – McClain 12-15, 136; Plumlee 3-7, 33; Kansas – Bean 8-12, 91.
Receiving: UCF — Baker 4-85; Holler 3-19; Pittman 2-29; Richardson 2-7; Magwood 1-13; Townsend 1-8; Hudson 1-5; Richards 1-3; Kansas — Fairchild 3-19; Grimm 2-41; Neal 1-14; Kardell 1-12; Arnold 1-5.
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World
