The Kansas football team succeeded on Saturday afternoon where it has so often struggled.
The Jayhawks took a one-point lead with just over a minute remaining at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, then Blake Herold blocked a potential game-winning 45-yard field goal attempt by Baylor’s Rhett Armstrong to seal a 25-24 win.
Dylan Edwards took a career-high 30 carries for 156 yards, and Isaiah Marshall bounced back from a brutal interception in the third quarter to run for the eventual game-winning touchdown. Tight end Carson Bruhn caught five passes for 63 yards and his first career score.
It was the Jayhawks’ first win over Baylor since 2007 after 14 straight losses. KU earned its first Big 12 win of the season and improved to 3-4 overall with the homecoming victory.
To open the game, KU crossed quickly into Baylor territory with a 33-yard pass from Marshall to Nahzae Cox, but an attempt to go for it on fourth-and-5 from the Bears’ 32-yard line went awry when Marshall threw an interception to Micah Gifford.
Baylor responded with a similar miscue when DJ Lagway was not on the same page as Louis Brown IV and threw the ball straight out of bounds on fourth-and-2 at KU’s 34.
On the Jayhawks’ second drive, a touchdown run by Edwards got called back due to holding by Bruhn, but Edwards converted a third-and-10 with a 15-yard sprint, and then Marshall hit a wide-open Bruhn up the seam for a 22-yard touchdown.
A 51-yard kickoff return by Jayden McGowan put the Bears in good position to respond. They stalled after reaching first-and-goal on KU’s 6-yard line, but Dawson Pendergrass was able to punch in a 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal. Herold blocked the ensuing extra point, but it still went in to even the score at 7-7.
After the two teams traded punts, the Jayhawks started to gain some traction in the run game with Edwards and Chase Belcher before a 32-yard toss from Marshall to Nik McMillan. However, Martin Connington missed a 49-yard field goal.
Lagway stiff-armed Trey Lathan on what could have been a third-down sack and converted with a pass to Michael Turner, then scrambled for another first down soon afterward. But Baylor opted for back-to-back pass plays by Lagway beginning on third-and-2. He misfired on one and was sacked for a turnover on downs on the other.
Marshall missed Cox for what could have been a wide-open touchdown, but he managed to find Bruhn underneath for another fourth-down conversion. McMillan dropped another potential touchdown two plays later, and once again KU faced fourth down after a carry by Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman. This time, Marshall escaped pressure and bought himself time but couldn’t connect with Leyton Cure.
Lagway completed a 27-yard pass to Tony Livingston, but Baylor didn’t get anything else out of its next drive. The Bears used all of their timeouts to get the ball back, but much-maligned Matt Gill’s 66-yard punt prevented Baylor from doing anything prior to halftime.
KU got another stop out of halftime, aided by a personal foul on the Bears. But Marshall threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Devon Jordan on the Jayhawks’ first offensive play, and another blocked extra point went through the uprights to make it 14-7.
To his credit, Marshall bounced back with a completion to Bruhn and drew a pass-interference call on a throw to Cox. But a 14-yard loss on a sack forced KU to settle for a field goal by Connington.
On third-and-12 on Baylor’s 26-yard line, Lagway stood in against initial pressure and lobbed a 38-yard bomb to Gavin Freeman. Combined with a personal foul on Trey Brown, it put Baylor at the edge of the red zone.
The Bears went backwards, but a sack by Dak Brinkley was wiped out after review by an illegal substitution penalty and Baylor was able to get a first down with Turner. Then McGowan made a diving catch for a touchdown and Baylor took its largest lead of the game at 21-10.
KU responded with a methodical and balanced drive, but one that faced a pivotal fourth-and-3 on the first play of the fourth quarter after a 3-yard run by Belcher. With KU operating out of a bizarre formation that included no linemen blocking for Marshall, he nonetheless rolled out and found McMillan for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed.
The Jayhawks got a quick stop and regained possession, with their field position aided by fair-catch interference and defensive holding. Marshall picked up one key first down with a quarterback sneak, but Connington had to kick a 42-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 21-19.
Lagway fended off Lathan on another key play that got the Bears across midfield, but Lathan got the last laugh when he hauled in the Jayhawks’ second interception of the season off a pair of deflections.
However, KU wasn’t able to get 10 yards with four straight runs by Edwards and immediately turned the ball over on downs. This time, Armstrong was able to add a field goal, necessitating that the Jayhawks attempt to drive for a game-winning touchdown.
A pass-interference penalty on Jordan brought KU across midfield. Edwards ran for 16 yards and Marshall scored from 15 yards out to put KU in front with 1:13 to go, although the two-point conversion was again unsuccessful.
Baylor took over with all three of its timeouts. After an initial holding penalty, Freeman snagged a 34-yard pass between three Jayhawk defenders to help set the Bears up. However, Armstrong couldn’t get away with a third blocked kick, and KU claimed the win.
The Jayhawks will face TCU (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) in Fort Worth, Texas, next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The Horned Frogs lost at home to West Virginia, 24-20, on Saturday.
How they scored
First quarter
6:03 — Carson Bruhn 22-yard pass from Isaiah Marshall. Martin Connington PAT good. Eleven plays, 66 yards, 5:01 TOP. KU 7, BU 0.
3:29 — Dawson Pendergrass 1-yard run. Rhett Armstrong PAT good. Six plays, 39 yards, 2:24 TOP. KU 7, BU 7.
Third quarter
13:29 — Devon Jordan 42-yard interception return. Armstrong PAT good. BU 14, KU 7.
10:30 — Connington 40-yard field goal good. Six plays, 50 yards, 2:52 TOP. BU 14, KU 10.
6:47 — Jayden McGowan 8-yard pass from DJ Lagway. Seven plays, 72 yards, 3:49 TOP. BU 21, KU 10.
Fourth quarter
14:53 — Nik McMillan 34-yard pass from Marshall. Two-point conversion failed (Edwards rush). Twelve plays, 75 yards, 6:48 TOP. BU 21, KU 16.
9:45 — Connington 42-yard field goal good. Ten plays, 42 yards, 3:36 TOP. BU 21, KU 19.
2:40 — Armstrong 42-yard field goal good. Six plays, 15 yards, 2:18 TOP. BU 24, KU 19.
1:13 — Marshall 15-yard run. Two-point conversion failed (Marshall pass). Six plays, 71 yards, 1:20 TOP. KU 25, BU 24.
