How the Kansas Jayhawks lost Saturday’s game vs. TCU at GEHA Field at Arrowhead

Kansas football coach Lance Leipold had publicly professed confidence in his Jayhawks ahead of Saturday’s Big 12 showdown against TCU at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Even with his team 1-3 after three straight losses, Leipold spoke about a potential bounce-back game against the Horned Frogs, saying, “Some books and movies start off really slow, but they end up being quite a story at the end. I plan on this team being one.”

Well, KU’s present isn’t looking great and the ending is shaping up to be a nightmare.

A team that came into the season with Big 12 Championship aspirations has now lost four straight games, the most recent a 38-27 defeat at the home of the Kansas City Chiefs.

KU (1-4, 0-2 Big 12 play) thus opens league play with two straight losses for the first time since 2021 — Leipold’s first season in Lawrence.

Daniels finished 15-of-34 passing for 179 yards. He threw for one touchdown and was intercepted once, on KU’s final possession.

Daniel Hishaw Jr. and Devin Neal were co-leaders for Kansas on the ground, Hishaw going for 85 yards on 13 carries with a TD and Neal gaining 70 yards with a TD on 14 carries.

And offensively, the Jayhawks started red-hot. KU scored touchdowns on its first two drives. But it didn’t take long for TCU to tie the game at 14-all.

KU safety OJ Burroughs picked off TCU QB Josh Hoover, and the Jayhawks converted that turnover into three points on Tabor Allen’s 24-yard field goal. The Horned Frogs would answer with a touchdown to go into halftime with a 21-17 lead.

The back-and-forth action continued in the second half. KU answered with a touchdown on its first possession and led again, 24-21. Then TCU regained the lead on a big play by JP Richardson, who returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown.

Allen drilled a 42-yard field goal, but TCU answered again with another TD for a 35-27 lead with 11:20 left in the game. Down 38-27 after the Frogs tacked on a field goal of their own, KU got the ball back a final time with 1:45 remaining, but the Jayhawks turned it over on Daniels’ pick.

Up next: Kansas will travel to Tempe, Arizona, to play Arizona State on Saturday, Oct. 5.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead:

TCU QB Hoover torches KU

Entering Saturday’s game, TCU quarterback Josh Hoover had completed 111 of 167 passes (69.2%) for 1,418 yards and 11 touchdowns through four games.

Hoover’s solid season continued in Kansas City. In the first half, he went 21-of-26 for 227 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Hoover stood steady in the pocket, went through his progressions and picked apart KU’s secondary. The Jayhawks struggled to put hands on him, closing out the half with just one sack and one QB pressure.

A rare bright spot for KU defensively in the opening half: safety OJ Burroughs undercut a route and picked off Hoover.

KU’s defense didn’t fare much better in the second half. Hoover finished 28-of-37 for 356 yards and three touchdowns, plus two interceptions.

TCU tight end Jack Bech was Hoover’s favorite target Saturday, which made him a recurring thorn in KU’s side. Bech pulled in a team-high 10 catches for 131 yards and a pair of athletic touchdowns.

KU rushing attack not enough

It’s no secret that TCU has one of the worst run defenses in the Big 12.

In fact, before playing KU, the Horned Frogs had allowed opponents to average 176.2 yards per game on the ground.

KU? The Jayhawks had piled up 105 rushing yards by halftime. They finished with 167.

Kansas’ offensive line did a great job opening holes for the Jayhawks’ talented backfield mates — Neal and Hishaw. Each scored a TD on Saturday.

Unfortunately for KU, that wasn’t enough.

Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels had a rough first half, going 4-of-11 for just 40 yards. He did throw a TD.

Daniels had a better second half, but it still wasn’t great. After not throwing a single interception for most of the game, he was picked off with 54 seconds to go.

Replay review is used often

There was a mountain of chaos in the second half.

KU had two potentially game-changing plays reviewed in the third quarter. The first came on the Jayhawks’ second drive of the second half.

Daniels threw a dart to wide receiver Lawrence Arnold, who then lost the ball. It appeared to be a catch and fumble. Initially it was ruled a catch. But the referees were still chatting.

After the refs’ discussion on the field, it was ruled incomplete. Upon a review in the booth, that remained the ruling.

On TCU’s next drive, KU defensive end Deshawn Warner sacked Hoover and he appeared to fumble the ball. Initially called as a fumble, that ruling was overturned upon review.

Leipold was visibly frustrated after both calls. In a well- (or perhaps ill-) timed ESPN interview on the sideline before the start of the fourth quarter, the exasperated coach said, “We can’t get a call right now.”