Kansas football: Jayhawks loss to K-State hurts extra badly this year

Kansas football had the Kansas State Wildcats dead to rights on Saturday — until they didn’t.

As the game clock dwindled during a long drive toward the end of the first half, Devin Neal punched one in to take a 20-16 Kansas lead with 26 seconds to go. Then, it took just three plays for the Jayhawks to open the third quarter with Neal’s third score of the day.

Those were the last points they would score.

Everything began to trend downward when senior linebacker Rich Miller dropped a sure-fire pick-6. Will Howard threw it directly into his hands in stride, yet he could not come up with it. Instead of the score being 34-16 Kansas football, Treshaun Ward ran for a 52-yard gain and K-State cut the lead.

Following that possession, Cole Ballard threw a pair of interceptions, one coming on an end-zone heave that would have put the Jayhawks on top. But the real damage came when wide receiver Trevor Wilson muffed a K-State punt — it led to the go-ahead touchdown run by Howard.

Kansas State didn’t win this game themselves. Kansas handed it to them. Unlike in past years when KU had an embarrassing product on the field and was uncompetitive, they had a real chance to break the losing streak on Saturday. And they only lost because of mistakes that could have been easily avoided.

Wildcat fans will gloat and shout “Every Man A Wildcat” on every possible occasion. That isn’t where the pain will be felt by the Jayhawk faithful though. The real pain is knowing that it was winnable and that Kansas SHOULD have won, not could have won.

It was just the second time Kansas lost by one possession since 2009. But no matter how you spin it, there are no moral victories in a rivalry. This loss is going to sting for a long, long time.