Time and again during its 2024 Big 12 Conference slate, the Kansas football team suffered pre- and post-halftime setbacks that hampered its ability to build and maintain leads.
If Saturday’s league opener against West Virginia was any indication, 2025 could be quite a bit different.
KU scored a first-half touchdown just before the two-minute timeout, added a field goal as time expired and then got a 94-yard kickoff return touchdown from Emmanuel Henderson Jr. to open the second half and complete a 17-point swing in the Jayhawks’ favor.
A WVU defense that provided some resistance early sputtered later on, and KU routed the Mountaineers 41-10 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
KU running back Leshon Williams picked up speed over the course of the game and finished with 19 carries for 129 yards and a score, plus a 39-yard touchdown catch. Jalon Daniels was uneven but still finished with a combined 207 yards rushing and passing and three total touchdowns — one each to Williams, Boden Groen and Levi Wentz.
Playing without its two most productive running backs, WVU struggled to accomplish much on the ground until it benched starting quarterback Nicco Marchiol for Jaylen Henderson late in the the third quarter. Marchiol finished 15-for-27 for 126 yards.
KU’s defense made its presence felt early. Dean Miller dragged down Marchiol for a third-and-short sack to force an immediate punt that Tate Nagy returned to midfield.
KU nearly stalled out too, but Wentz was not only wide open on fourth down but didn’t have any defenders remotely near him. Wentz took a short pass from Daniels 41 yards for the game-opening touchdown.
WVU false-started on third downs on consecutive drives, both of which resulted in punts, but KU didn’t gain much traction either. A mishandled snap on the Jayhawks’ fourth drive nearly resulted in disaster, but Williams was able to recover it for a 15-yard loss.
The Mountaineers ran their offense so quickly and so ineffectively in the first quarter that they punted five times in the first 15 minutes of game time.
KU finally moved the ball on offense early in the second quarter with catches by Cam Pickett and Emmanuel Henderson Jr. With the Jayhawks facing third-and-12 on WVU’s 38-yard line, Daniels scrambled for 15 yards and a first down and took a late helmet-to-helmet hit from Fred Perry after he slid. Perry got ejected for targeting, but the penalty offset with a personal foul on KU’s Kobe Baynes. The drive ended with a 42-yard field goal by Laith Marjan.
WVU crossed midfield on a 23-yard catch-and-run by Cyncir Bowers but did not gain another yard on its drive. After Finn Lappin’s fourth punt, though, Marchiol completed three straight passes for 35 yards. The Jayhawks forced a third-and-7 from the 8-yard line on which Marcus Calvin prevented Marchiol from getting off a clean pass, and the Mountaineers settled for a short field goal to make it 10-3.
Henderson returned the kickoff close to midfield and KU got into scoring range in short order. Then Daniels faked a speed option to his left, pivoted to the right and lofted a 39-yard touchdown pass to Williams to double the Jayhawks’ lead.
In its two-minute drill, WVU got down the field with a pair of catches by Rodney Gallagher III. Bangally Kamara got Clay Ash short of the marker on third down, forcing the Mountaineers to attempt a fourth-and-2 from KU’s 37, on which Marchiol couldn’t find Grayson Barnes.
The Jayhawks didn’t get much going in the passing game, but a 28-yard run by Daniels, bouncing off WVU’s Darrian Lewis, got KU to the edge of the red zone with 13 seconds left in the half. Marjan continued his perfect start to the season with a 44-yard field goal that stretched the Jayhawks’ lead to three scores.
After Henderson’s touchdown to open the half, a sack by former Mountaineer Trey Lathan derailed WVU’s first drive. Williams finally started to gain some ground in the run game on a slow, methodical series for the Jayhawks. He carried the ball nine times for 36 yards and Daniels capped it off with a short touchdown pass to Groen.
Lathan then intercepted Marchiol on the next drive, but KU failed to convert on its sudden-change situation as Leshon Williams couldn’t get a yard on fourth-and-1 at WVU’s 5-yard line.
The Mountaineers changed to Henderson and made some progress down the field late in the third quarter. Henderson took a designed quarterback run for 32 yards on third-and-3 deep into KU territory. He eventually scored WVU’s first touchdown of the night on a 13-yard rush at the start of the fourth period.
Williams provided a quick response for KU, shaking off a series of Mountaineers and showing significant burst on his way to a 62-yard touchdown run.
Daniels gave way to Cole Ballard and Henderson to Khalil Wilkins. Jalen Dye forced a fumble by Tyler Jacklich that Blake Herold recovered to cut off Wilkins’ first drive.
KU will host Cincinnati (2-1) at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The Bearcats are coming off a bye week.
Notes and observations
KU safety Devin Dye was ejected for targeting in the third quarter and will have to sit out the first half of the Jayhawks’ game against Cincinnati as a result. He was replaced by his brother, Jalen Dye.
Another KU safety, Taylor Davis, emerged as a game-time decision on Saturday’s pregame availability report after he had been listed as probable on all three previous reports. He did not start the game, as Mason Ellis slid over to safety with Syeed Gibbs starting as a nickel cornerback. However, he appeared late in the first quarter.
Running back Daniel Hishaw Jr., who was listed as probable on Wednesday and Thursday and had no designation on Friday or Saturday, exited the game early after carrying the ball twice for nine yards.
WVU’s running back Tye Edwards, meanwhile, had a breakout 25-carry, 141-yard, three-touchdown performance in the Mountaineers’ win over Pittsburgh, but he did not play on Saturday, and their other backs struggled in his absence.
Linebacker Joseph Sipp Jr. made his KU debut and recorded a tackle in the final minute.
KU won a coin toss for the first time since Oct. 5, snapping a streak of nine consecutive coin-toss losses. The Jayhawks deferred to the second half.
KU was not able to sell out its conference opener, but came close with an announced attendance of 40,320.
How they scored
First quarter
11:57 — Levi Wentz 41-yard pass from Jalon Daniels. Laith Marjan PAT good. Four plays, 50 yards, 1:27 TOP. KU 7, WVU 0.
Second quarter
10:25 — Marjan 42-yard field goal good. Ten plays, 48 yards, 4:35 TOP. KU 10, WVU 0.
3:43 — Kade Hensley 26-yard field goal good. Nine plays, 49 yards, 3:20 TOP. KU 10, WVU 3.
2:11 — Leshon Williams 39-yard pass from Daniels. Marjan PAT good. Three plays, 56 yards, 1:24 TOP. KU 17, WVU 3.
0:00 — Marjan 44-yard field goal good. Seven plays, 38 yards, 0:40 TOP. KU 20, WVU 3.
Third quarter
14:48 — Emmanuel Henderson 94-yard kickoff return. KU 27, WVU 3.
6:43 — Boden Groen 7-yard pass from Daniels. Marjan PAT good. Twelve plays, 69 yards, 7:00 TOP. KU 34, WVU 3.
Fourth quarter
14:31 — Jaylen Henderson 13-yard run. Hensley PAT good. Eleven plays, 95 yards, 4:08 TOP. KU 34, WVU 10.
12:52 — Williams 62-yard run. Marjan PAT good. Four plays, 75 yards, 1:39 TOP. KU 41, WVU 10.
