It is another season without a win against Missouri for the Kansas Jayhawks. While it may not be as gut-wrenching as last year’s 42-31 defeat, Friday night certainly leaves fans feeling more down overall.
Here are the four biggest winners and losers from the Jayhawks’ disappointing loss.
Winner: Leroy Harris III
Harris will go down as an absolute recruiting gem. All night long, Harris was in the opposition backfield, stopping runs out wide, single-handedly cutting off one side of the field for Missouri. Combine that with a field goal block and all the hype that was given to him over the preseason feels fulfilled now. Harris finished the game with 4 tackles and two passes defended
Loser: Complementary football
Problems from last season are beginning to rear their ugly heads again. Last year, the Jayhawks would do something great on one side of the ball just to take steps backward on the other.
Friday night felt very similar. For example, to begin the third quarter, KU quickly forced a three-play drive to get the ball back at their own 32, just the start they could want with the game tied at 14-all. Only one play later, quarterback Isaiah Marshall fumbled the ball, which led to a Mizzou touchdown.
Kansas gets the ball back, and then another turnover ensues; Missouri scores, and it's a 14-point game out of nowhere, beginning the snowball.
Winner: Special teams
If special teams is used as a winner, more than likely, it was a bad game. But two blocked field goals and a few nice punts, genuinely provided more promise than anyone could have expected. Kansas’ special teams put up a third of the points scored today; not a great day.
Loser: The offense
We understand that a majority of the blame from tonight will go to Marshall, and it could be understood why. Throughout the game, he struggled to get into a rhythm, often dropping passes short at a wideout’s foot, and some of his decision-making was highly questionable, even if it paid off. But he is not alone in the blame. Marshall was under pressure from snap No. 1, having to constantly throw out of sacks, break tackles, and do everything he can to not lose yards.
Kansas’ rushing offense was largely non-existent as well. And this wasn’t a case of going down by a bunch, so the only option was to pass. Far from it, actually. The game was only out of reach around the 4:35 mark in the final period, meaning there was plenty of time to try and get Yasin Willis or Dylan Edwards into the game. Instead, the pair combined for just 57 yards.
Final thoughts
Lance Leipold is now 0-7 against Kansas State and Missouri, not a good read, and while the competition won’t necessarily get a lot better, it won’t get that much worse either. And now what awaits KU is a trip overseas to launch Big 12 play against Arizona State in the Union Jack Classic. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on September 19, with streaming available on Fox Sports 1.
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