Kansas football: Jayhawks and Dearmon shine against Texas

It’s official: the promotion of Brent Dearmon to offensive coordinator is by far the best decision Les Miles has made since he’s been at Kansas. The offense looked spectacular against Texas last Saturday, and Kansas football can prove it wasn’t a fluke this week against Texas Tech.

Brent Dearmon has come a long way from being an offensive consultant on the Kansas football staff like he was earlier this season. The new offensive coordinator has the Jayhawk offense firing on all cylinders, and it’ll be exciting to see what the Jayhawks do next week against Texas Tech at home.

Let’s look back at that Texas game though. The Jayhawks lost to the Longhorns on the road by a score of 50-48, but it may have been the most winnable loss of the season for Kansas. The Jayhawks had a field goal and extra point blocked, and run back for two points in Texas’ favor. The special teams will have to improve next week, but let’s get back to that incredible offensive performance.

Quarterback Carter Stanley played one of the best games of his Kansas career, throwing for 310 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. He looked fearless running the ball too, picking up 65 yards on the ground for the Jayhawks. Stanley’s passion is evident in the way he plays, and it makes him so much fun to watch. If Stanley can play like he did against Texas week in and week out, Kansas will have a shot in their next five games.

Running back Pooka Williams looked spectacular as well. The sophomore rushed for 190 yards and averaged over seven yards per carry.  He picked up two touchdowns on the night and added a bunch of runs to his highlight reel.

The Kansas receiving corps also made some pretty big plays throughout the game. Andrew Parchment and Takulve Williams both caught a touchdown pass, while Stephon Robinson Jr. caught two. Daylon Charlot and Kwamie Lassiter II didn’t score, but both had a significant amount of receptions and yards. Charlot, in particular, had a fantastic catch on a fourth-down play that set up a Kansas touchdown late in the game.

Most of the credit has to go to Brent Dearmon though. The offensive explosion via the RPO (run-pass option) was so much fun to watch for Kansas football fans. The play calling and product on the field was something fans can be proud of and have confidence in, which is a pretty big step up from where things were before Dearmon took over.

READ MORE: Will Brent Dearmon’s offense work for the Jayhawks?

Overall, the Kansas offense put up 569 total yards of offense, didn’t turn the ball over, and picked up 27 first downs. One area that saw a definite improvement was fourth-down. Prior to the Texas game, Kansas was 0-7 on the year in fourth-down conversions. That all changed when the Jayhawks went 2-2 last night on fourth-down against Texas.

Next week is homecoming in Lawrence as Kansas will host Texas Tech for a primetime game at 6:00 PM on FS1. The Red Raiders are coming off of a 34-24 home loss to Iowa State, and the Jayhawks have a real shot to beat Texas Tech as well. It should be a fun game, so make sure to get to the game and support the Kansas football team under the lights!