Kansas football moves to 4-0 behind big plays from Cobee Bryant, KU defense

For the first time in more than a century, the Kansas Jayhawks have started the season 4-0 in back-to-back years thanks to a double-digit win over the BYU Cougars.

Prior to Saturday’s game, the Jayhawks hadn’t started 4-0 in back-to-back seasons since 1914-15 – yet another long streak that has been broken under the tutelage of head coach Lance Leipold.

KU beat BYU in the teams’ first matchup as conference opponents and the teams’ first matchup since KU defeated BYU in the 1992 Aloha Bowl. KU now leads the series 2-0 all time.

While at first glance at the box score it may seem like the Kansas offense led the team to victory, it was the defense who came up big at opportune moments throughout the game.

The first major play of the game – and one that is worthy of a spot in SportsCenter’s Top 10 – came from KU’s Preseason First Team All-Big 12 cornerback Cobee Bryant.

Less than five minutes into the first quarter, Bryant laid a booming hit on BYU’s Parker Kingston, which caused him to fumble the ball, and it was recovered by Bryant who ran it into the endzone for the first touchdown of the game.

It was as good of a defensive play as you’ll see all year and it got the Jayhawks off to a roaring start. But the game-changing plays didn’t stop there.

Less than a minute into the start of the second half, with KU trailing 14-17, senior safety Kenny Logan Jr. picked off BYU’s Kedon Slovis and returned it 30 yards for the pick-six touchdown.

It was a huge momentum shift in the game with the Jayhawks trailing coming out of halftime.

Then, late in the third quarter as BYU was driving the field down 20-28, Bryant caused yet another huge turnover by intercepting Slovis and returning it 24 yards to the KU 36-yard line. The KU offense would eventually capitalize on that turnover by going 64 yards for another touchdown to put the team up 35-20.

In total, the KU defense caused two fumbles and two interceptions. They also added three sacks and seven tackles for loss. And perhaps most impressively, the defense held BYU to just nine yards total rushing – the fewest KU has allowed since 2009.

Although the KU defense did allow 357 yards passing, they made plays when it counted and caused multiple turnovers – which is often the great equalizer when it comes to winning football games.

Prior to the start of the 2023 season, KU defensive coordinator Brian Borland said that KU’s defense was “done being the weak link” for this team. Week after week, they continue to back that up.

Coming into this game, the Jayhawks ranked No. 10 in the country in passing yards allowed (152.7), No. 20 in total defense, and tied for 27th in team sacks (9).

If the defense can continue to do its part – combined with what we know is a potent KU offense – the ceiling for this team will only grow as the season goes on.

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