Bears Maul Jayhawks

Well, it didn't turn out nearly as ugly as it looked like it would. Early on, it looked like Kansas was badly outmached by their opponents in Waco. The offense under Jason Bean simply looked incapable of getting anything done against Baylor while the defense continued their brutal stretch of recent play. The Bears never punted the entire first half, and if not for a pair of turnovers, they might have put this one away early. The Jayhawks got an early field goal but otherwise accomplished virtually nothing on the offensive side of the ball, and it looked more like a 2010s Kansas game with the Jayhawks down 28-3 at the half.

There was noticeable improvement after halftime. Jerome Robinson nearly earned himself a scoop-and-score, sacking Baylor QB Blake Shapen, forcing a fumble, and rumbling down the field inside the 10, which led to a Devin Neal touchdown to make it 28-10.

On the following possession, the Jayhawks finally forced a punt, and followed with a 95 yard touchdown drive, capped off by a great diving touchdown catch by Quentin Skinner. The 2 point conversion failed, but the game wasn't over with a 28-16 score. Baylor went right back to gashing the defense and hope quickly started to fade. However, KU came up with a massive 4th and short stop at the 9:25 mark to keep hope alive.

On the next drive KU got a 28 yard gain on a pass to Lawrence Arnold to get the ball near midfield. The next play was even more incredible as Trevor Wilson reeled a pass in at the Baylor two yard line. After a false start backed them up, Jason Bean ran in it to make it a one score game, down just 28-23 with 6:29 to go.

Sadly, the ensuing drive all but ended it. A 37 yard run got Baylor inside the 10, and they scored two plays later, going up 35-23 with only 2:37 on the clock. There just wasn't enough time left to try and complete a comeback, and despite Kansas' best efforts, the Jayhawks fell to 5-3 with a 12 point loss in Waco.

Obviously this was a disappointing result after Kansas clawed all the way back with a single possession, but this looked like it could turn into a Beaty-era beatdown at halftime. Kansas made some adjustments, a few plays went their way, and they made this a real game in the 4th quarter. Next up is a badly-needed bye week as some key Jayhawks hope to get fully healthy as a win and bowl eligibility are still on the table with four games remaining.