Kansas football: Air Raid offense missing in Ames
By Stan Unruh
The Kansas football team needed a Big 12 win on the road. There is plenty of blame for the shutout loss in the rain on Saturday at Iowa State.
In July, many Kansas football fans circled the Iowa State game as a possible win. When the Cyclones upset Oklahoma on October 7, I thought the Jayhawks would find them still reading their headlines from Norman. As a matter of fact the Jayhawks only lost by 45 points. They lost by 46 to Texas Tech a week ago. I certainly expected a different outcome.
On a day Clint Bowen’s defense came to play, the offense stayed in Lawrence. Peyton Bender threw another interception. Unfortunately, it came on the Jayhawk’s first offensive play and led to a Cyclone touchdown.
Carter Stanley’s first pass wasn’t intercepted but should have been. He threw it right into the chest of an Iowa State player. Bender and Stanley combined for just 44 passing yards in the rain. The Kansas offense was anything but Air Raid on Saturday.
Next: Tough day for KU in the rain at Iowa State
The Jayhawk running game never did get going Saturday. Would Kahlil Herbert have done any better? We will never know. Taylor Martin struggled for 53 yards on 19 carries. The Jayhawks gained only 106-yards on the afternoon and earned only five first downs. The stats are bad but it was even more difficult to watch the game.
The Jayhawk offense looked as bad as any team in Division-one football Saturday. They didn’t have a play in Iowa State territory until midway through the fourth quarter. Head Coach David Beaty needs to find an answer. The most difficult Big 12 games are still on ahead.