Kansas football stunned by UNLV at Children’s Mercy Park. Here are instant takeaways

Throughout fall camp, Kansas coaches warned the players that four to five plays can make the difference between a 9-3 season and going 3-9.

That message was relayed by receiver Luke Grimm in a preseason interview with The Star, as the Jayhawks began a season with sky high expectations — the highest in some time.

But through three games, the Jayhawks have been on the wrong side of those key plays, including in Friday night’s 23-20 loss to UNLV at Children’s Mercy Park.

The Jayhawks (1-2) had multiple opportunities to put the game away. Instead, for a second straight week, Kansas lost a winnable game.

KU had the ball trailing 23-20 with 1:51 left and two timeouts. Needing to drive for the tie (or win), the Jayhawks burned both timeouts on the first series. They committed a penalty on their initial fourth-down attempt and quarterback Jalon Daniels was sacked on a second try at 4th-and-15 to end the game.

Here’s what happened before that.

With Kansas leading 20-16, UNLV began a long drive with 11:22 left that lasted until after the two-minute warning. With the ball on the 1-yard line, UNLV scored a rushing touchdown on fourth down.

Daniels finished 12-of-24 passing for 153 yards with no passing touchdowns and two interceptions. Devin Neal had 120 rushing yards on 23 carries.

The Jayhawks scored 17 of their 20 points in the first half. KU amassed 113 yards on the ground in that time, leading to two touchdowns

Meanwhile, Kansas held UNLV to two first-half field goals … until 31 seconds remained in the period. Daniels threw an ill-advised pass that UNLV defensive back Jalen Catalon picked off. Two plays later, UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka threw a 27-yard passing touchdown as time expired.

Kansas went into halftime leading 17-13, rather than being up double-digits.

Up next: Kansas will travel to Morgantown to face West Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 21. It’ll be the Big 12 home opener for both sides.

Here are three takeaways from the game...

Run, run and run some more

After only 21 carries for Neal and Daniel Hishaw vs. Illinois, Kansas offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes admitted that he hoped to run the ball more against UNLV.

Despite Hishaw missing the game due to illness, the Jayhawks ran the ball plenty — especially in the first half.

Kansas had 19 rushes for 160 yards on the ground and two touchdowns through two quarters. Neal led the way with 12 carries for 97 yards in the half. Against Illinois, he had 14 carries all game.

Daniels showed off his legs as he had six carries for 54 yards, including a nifty 33-yard touchdown run. (He had two rushing scores in the half.)

But like the scoring, the offense, as a whole, cooled.

Kansas finished the game with 199 yards on the ground and two total touchdowns.

Jalon Daniels struggles with turnovers … again

The start of the season has been a nightmare for Daniels.

After playing only three games last season due to a back injury, Daniels hasn’t looked like his usual self when passing.

His struggles continued on Friday. Daniels was picked off with 31 seconds left in the first half. UNLV turned the interception into a touchdown right before halftime.

Daniels didn’t complete a pass in the second half until the 1:53 mark in the third quarter.

Including his last drive in the first half, he had a stretch of 0-for-9 passing with two interceptions between completions.

Perhaps most perplexing: There wasn’t one specific issue. His struggles were caused by a mix of bad decision-making, under- or overthrowing footballs and perhaps trying to do too much. He already has six interceptions on the season.

The Jayhawks’ defense kept them in the game

KU’s defense did its job well for most of the game.

The Jayhawks held UNLV to 23 points. Kansas forced one turnovers and limited the Rebels to 267 total yards. The defense also had five quarterback hurries and two sacks.

UNLV came into the game after for rushing for more than 500 yards vs. Utah Tech, but the Jayhawks limited them to 181 rushing yards.

That said — the defense wasn’t perfect. KU’s defensive backs got lucky a few times after getting burned on routes, only to have UNLV wide receivers dropped passes.

Additionally, at the end of the first half, Kansas star cornerback Cobee Bryant tried to jump a route, potentially for an interception, and got burned over the top for a passing touchdown.

KU’s defense also allowed Sluka to convert key first downs with his legs. He finished with 124 rushing yards.

Perhaps the most egregious mistake was when linebacker Cornell Wheeler forced a fumble and multiple Kansas players tried to dive on it, but safety OJ Burroughs attempted to scoop the ball and instead knocked it to a UNLV player.

The Rebels would later score on the drive.