NCAAF

Kansas Jayhawks at BYU Cougars

· NCAA - Football
4-6, 1-4 Away
Final
17 - 13
9-1, 4-1 Home

Kansas upsets No. 7 BYU 17-13, handing the Cougars their first loss of the season

BYU's special teams blunder sets up a Devin Neal TD for Kansas

The Jayhawks (4-6, 3-4 Big 12) beat ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks for the first time in school history and improved to 3-0 against the Cougars. Neal surpassed 4,000 yards rushing in his career, finishing with 52 yards on the ground.

The victory over BYU kept alive hopes of Kansas qualifying for a bowl game for a third consecutive season following a 1-5 start.

"I feel like our team has always done a great job being able to stay the course," Daniels said. "I feel like a big staple within our program is being able to trust the process."

Jake Retzlaff threw for 192 yards for BYU (9-1, 6-1, No. 6 College Football Playoffs). LJ Martin ran for 76 yards for the Cougars, who were held to a field goal in the second half.

BYU totaled 354 yards but went just 2 of 4 in the red zone and came away with no touchdowns on all four drives inside the 20.

"They had a really good game plan," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. "Looking at the stats, we just didn't make enough plays and (made) way too many mistakes to come out with the victory. "

Trailing 13-10 entering the fourth quarter, Kansas went ahead on Neal's 3-yard run.

Daniels quick-kicked on fourth-and-14 when the drive stalled at BYU's 36. His kick deflected off Evan Johnson's helmet and when Jakob Robinson dove to secure it, the ball squirted out of his arms. Quentin Skinner pounced on the loose ball at the 3 to set up the go-ahead score.

"We found a way this time," Kansas coach Lance Leipold said.

BYU drove to the Kansas 15 with two minutes left. The Cougars stalled on offense coming out of the two-minute timeout. They gained four total yards on three straight runs and a false start penalty backed them up to the 16. BYU turned it over on downs with 46 seconds left when Chase Roberts was tackled 3 yards short of a first down.

"We had all the confidence in the world in our defense to be able to go out there and make a stop," Daniels said.

Both teams scored a touchdown in the first half. Kansas took a 7-0 lead on its opening drive following Neal's 7-yard burst up the middle. BYU went ahead 10-7 in the second quarter on a 30-yard strike along the sideline from Retzlaff to Hinckley Ropati.

The Cougars had a chance at another go-ahead score before halftime when they drove 70 yards over a minute down to Kansas 5. Mello Dotson intercepted Retzlaff in the end zone on a fade route to keep BYU from putting another touchdown on the board.

"We can't score in the red zone," Roberts said. "I feel like we struggled a little bit in practice this week in the red zone, and it carries over. You got to lock in. You got to be prepared when you come out and play a good team like Kansas."

Takeaways Kansas: The Jayhawks took care of the ball and made smart decisions against an opportunistic BYU defense that ultimately forced only one turnover.

BYU: A turnover prevented a potential go-ahead score before halftime. A second one led to a late Kansas lead.

Longest yards BYU opened the third quarter with a 17-play drive that covered 66 yards and took 10:26 off the clock. The drive culminated in a 35-yard field goal from Will Ferrin that ended up being the Cougars' only second-half points.

"It didn't seem like it was going to ever end," Leipold said. "That might be one of the longest drives I've seen in my career. 17 plays. But to hold them to that field goal was huge."

Poll implications BYU will likely drop out of the Top 10 following its first loss.

Up next Kansas: Hosts Colorado on Saturday.

BYU: At Arizona State on Saturday.

How To Watch

How can I watch Kansas Jayhawks vs. BYU Cougars?
  • TV Channel: Jayhawks at Cougars 2021 College Football, week 12, is broadcasted on ESPN.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Cougars: 61.6%
Jayhawks: 38.4%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

KU TD 1st Period 9:07 Devin Neal 8 Yd Run (Tabor Allen Kick)
BYU FG 2nd Period 14:11 Will Ferrin 33 Yd Field Goal
BYU TD 2nd Period 8:48 Hinckley Ropati 30 Yd pass from Jake Retzlaff (Will Ferrin Kick)
KU FG 2nd Period 1:46 Tabor Allen 25 Yd Field Goal
BYU FG 3rd Period 4:30 Will Ferrin 35 Yd Field Goal
KU TD 4th Period 13:19 Devin Neal 3 Yd Run (Tabor Allen Kick)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2305.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originKU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/252.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBYU
13 1st Downs 23
4-12 3rd down efficiency 3-10
1-1 4th down efficiency 1-2
242 Total Yards 354
169 Passing 192
12/19 Comp/Att 18/29
8.9 Yards per pass 6.6
73 Rushing 162
33 Rushing Attempts 34
2.2 Yards per rush 4.8
2-10 Penalties 2-10
1 Turnovers 2
0 Fumbles lost 1
1 Interceptions thrown 1
28:57 Possession 31:03

Game Information

LaVell Edwards Stadium

Location: Provo, UT
Attendance: 62,704 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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