Kansas football: Jayhawks give up home loss to Iowa State

Defensive issues and offensive line injuries plagued Kansas football throughout the game, resulting in a 52-22 loss at home.

Kansas football welcomed the No. 23 Iowa State Cyclones this morning, and despite some strong scenes from the offense, the Jayhawks couldn’t keep in it with Brock Purdy and the Cyclones.

Early on in the game, Kansas’ defense stepped up to the plate. They capitalized with major stops following a Daniel Hishaw touchdown. This score was a good look for the freshman running back, and the creativity from the Jalon Daniels led offense. This would have the Jayhawks at 20-7 going into the half.

Despite an ISU touchdown to begin the second half, Kenny Logan Jr. stepped up to make a big statement for the Jayhawks. The sophomore returned a kick for a touchdown, making the score 27-14.

Kansas seemed to be back in contention but would fall victim to both defensive mishaps and offensive struggles. Our pass rush failed us on crucial conversion, oftentimes by Brock Purdy’s tendency to hit wide targets for large gains. Another contributing factor would be the numerous injuries we saw on our offensive line, which has already been struggling severely this season.

The Jayhawks simply couldn’t sustain their role in the battle going into the second half, and that’s quite disappointing seeing how good that offense looked today. We saw sufficient numbers from the Jayhawks offense, including 15 first down completions and 240 yards of total offense. These are signs of improvement for this offense, and with 167 passing yards, Jalon Daniels is looking more comfortable throwing downfield. Hopefully, we can see the same life from this offense going forward.

There were multiple opportunities for Kansas to fight their way back into the game. Crucial stops in the first half that weren’t converted for any points, a Kenny Logan interception gave Kansas another unanswered opportunity to score later in the game, these are just some of the chances Kansas left on the field today. Finding a balance on both sides of the field has been a struggle this season, and finding momentum as we saw today is sure to be discussed in the locker room going forward.

Kansas football will need to fill in these grey areas going forward, especially if we expect to stay in it further into the second half. This is where we are going to find opportunities to win. Nevertheless, It was nice to see the Jayhawks contending for once, especially at home.