The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in Kansas' grueling loss to Missouri
Objectively, when you look at the grand scheme of things, a 42-31 loss to an SEC side the caliber of Missouri, it's not bad. After all, it does just mean more, right? Okay, maybe not the time for jokes after that back-and-forth heartbreaker for the Jayhawks. Yet as we mentioned in our previous article, there were good things to take away from Saturday’s loss, but there were also some not-so-good things worth examining.
The Good: Kansas was really in this game
Okay, maybe this should go in the bad or possibly ugly tier, but it's true, Kansas shook off an early Missouri drive and was able to rattle off 21 unanswered points. In all honesty, this was a game that felt more like whoever made just one stop was going to win. That was proved by the fact that the Jayhawks were up 31-28 at one point in the fourth; it was just the slightest drop-off in focus that allowed the Tigers to put up two smooth offensive drives, which sandwiched a quick Kansas three-and-out. That sequence lasted from 8:45 to about the 1:49 mark, which killed the game off.
The Bad: Missouri’s time on the ball
It is hard to win a ball game when, at one point, Kansas had controlled 30 of the previous 31 snaps of the ball, like we saw Saturday. Missouri finished the day with over 40 minutes on the ball, something Kansas can not have happen again. The question is, who does this blame lie on? Is it on Kansas for not putting up stops and not being able to make drives count in a hostile environment? Is it to Missouri’s credit for simply always keeping Lance Leipold’s team on its heels? The answer is a bit of all three. While there do need to be question marks raised over a team giving up 42 points, the Tigers also just did an excellent job of maintaining the momentum the home crowd was feeding them.
The Ugly: The rushing game
Sometimes, articles write themselves, and it is hard not to pick at the obvious stat here. Missouri outgained Kansas 261-3 on net rushing yards. Alright, now this is going to be hard to pass over.
The Jayhawks averaged .2 yards per carry, compared to Missouri’s 5.6. Kansas’ leading rusher was quarterback Jalon Daniels, who gained 17 yards on 10 carries. Of course, it is worth mentioning that QBs do get rush yards taken off every time they get sacked in collegiate football, so Daniels did get 29 yards chopped off thanks to three sacks, but that is besides the point. Daniel Hishaw Jr., who toted just six carries yesterday, found just 11 yards. Leshon Williams, who handled three carries, saw zero yards
Meanwhile, for the Tigers, running backs Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts each tallied over 100 yards (112 and 143, respectively), which constantly gashed the Kansas frontline.
It is going to be a long break for Kansas football before Leipold’s team is able to redeem itself on the field, as the Jayhawks will take the field next on September 20th against the West Virginia Mountaineers in what will be the start of conference play for the Jayhawks