Kansas Football 2019: Pure Fire

We may have ourselves a football team after all! Kansas beat a Power 5 team away from Lawrence for the first time since 2008 in a victory over Boston College. The Jayhawks broke out a spread look with a heavy dose of RPOs and draw plays that took BC by surprise and led to a shocking upset for KU, who came in as 19.5 point underdogs.

It looked like it might be off to the races early for Boston College. They marched it straight down the field for a touchdown, picked off Carter Stanley's first pass attempt, and turned it into three more for a 10-0 lead. After some offensive difficulty early, Kansas adjusted (finally!) to the defense adding numbers to the box. They unleashed an even spread attack and made use of the space in the middle of the field to start playing respectable offense. They briefly took the lead late in the 2nd quarter, 21-17, but promptly allowed a touchdown drive. As it looked like they would be down three at the half, Khalil Herbert unleashed an 82 yard run to set the Jayhawks up at the BC 3. A touchdown pass to Andrew Parchment put KU on top 28-24 at the half.

For those of us expecting a second half letdown, we were pleasantly surprised. After taking the opening drive of the second half into field goal range, Kansas converted a field goal(!). After forcing a fumble near midfield, the Jayhawks drove it all the way, capped by an 11 yard draw play for Pooka, giving the Jayhawks a 38-24 lead. After Kansas forced a punt, Liam Jones hit a second field goal to make it a three possession game. After a solid BC drive, the Eagles missed a FG attempt and Kansas was in great shape.

KU played it ultra-conservative offensively, while Boston College's power running attack simply wasn't designed to make up ground late in games. The Jayhawks tacked on one meaningless score and KU won it 48-24 on the road against an ACC team.

Carter Stanley had a nice bounce back performance, going 20-27 for 238 yards and 3 TDs after the opening pick. Khalil Herbert and Pooka Williams combined for 308 yards on 33 carries. Andrew Parchment had another huge night with 8 catches for 100 yards and 2 TDs. Kansas is now 2-1 heading into a home game against West Virginia next Saturday.