Via Kansas Athletics
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Senior running back Devin Neal became the program’s all-time leading rusher and the Kansas Jayhawks took down No. 17 Iowa State 45-36 on Saturday afternoon at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
On his first carry of the game, Neal carried for 14 yards, breaking the all-time KU rushing yards record of 3,841 yards, previously set by June Henley from 1993-96. Neal finished Saturday’s game with 3,951 career rushing yards.
Along with becoming the all-time leading rusher in Kansas Football history, Neal now also holds the record for most rushing touchdowns in school history with 43. Neal was tied with Henley (41) heading into the contest and recorded two touchdowns on the ground against the Cyclones Saturday afternoon.
After Iowa State scored on its opening drive, Kansas responded with a quick score of its own, scoring on a 70-yard passing strike from redshirt junior quarterback Jalon Daniels to senior wide receiver Luke Grimm to even the score at 7-7.
The Kansas offense continued to move down the field to close out the first quarter, as Daniels dealt big first downs to tight end Trevor Kardell and wide receiver Quentin Skinner. With the ball at the 13-yard line, Daniels ran left and pitched to Neal for a 13 yard touchdown, marking Neal’s 42nd career rushing touchdown.
The Kansas defense found after both Jayhawk touchdowns, as Kansas held Iowa State to under 20 yards on ensuing possessions. In those drives, Kansas found success in pressuring Iowa State, sacking quarterback Rocco Becht twice.
Up 14-7 in the second quarter, Kansas’ offense struck again on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to wide receiver Quentin Skinner, marking Skinner’s fourth touchdown of the season and 11th of his career. The touchdown gave Kansas a 21-7 advantage with 10:31 remaining in the first half.
Iowa State would respond with a 22-yard field goal to bring the score to 21-10 with 7:06 to go in the first half.
Kansas quickly moved the ball down field again on the next drive, which included a 62-yard completion from Daniels to Skinner that put the Jayhawks inside the Iowa State 10-yard line. Two plays later, Daniels kept it himself and scored from two yards out, putting Kansas on top 28-10 with 4:43 to play in the half.
After KU’s defense forced a quick three-and-out, Daniels drove the Jayhawks into field goal range and Tabor Allen connected on a 47-yard field goal, the longest of his career, to make the Kansas lead 31-10. Iowa State put together a field goal drive to end the half, sending Kansas to the locker room with a 31-13 advantage.
Fresh out of halftime, Kansas’ defense came up big again. Facing a fourth-and-two, the Iowa State offense lined up to go for it, but was stuffed by the Jayhawk defense. Senior linebacker JB Brown held Iowa State’s Carson Hansen short, giving Kansas the ball up 31-13 with 12:06 remaining in the third quarter.
The Jayhawks capitalized on the defensive stop, as Kansas traveled 59 yards on 11 plays which finished with a 10-yard rushing touchdown from Neal to put Kansas up 38-13. The touchdown marked Kansas’ sixth-straight scoring drive of the game. Iowa State would respond with a 11-yard touchdown on its ensuing possession to make the score 38-20 with 4:06 remaining in the third quarter. The Cyclones continued to march back with a 27-yard touchdown reception to cut the Kansas lead to 10.
Kansas then retained possession of the ball, running eight plays before having to punt the ball back to Iowa State with 6:46 left in the fourth quarter. After a one-yard rush to open up the Cyclone drive, Becht attempted a pass that was intercepted by Mello Dotson for a 25-yard pick-six. Dotson is now tied for fifth in KU history with 11 career interceptions and he extends his own school record with his fourth career pick-six.
Kansas led 45-28 with 2:45 left in the fourth quarter as Iowa State took over on Kansas’ 42-yard line, resulting in a three-play, 42-yard scoring drive to make the score 45-36 Kansas.
Iowa State was unsuccessful with their onside kick attempt and the Jayhawks took over on the ISU 46 with 2:41 left in the contest. Kansas ran down the clock to secure its second Big 12 Conference win of the 2024 season and third ranked win under head coach Lance Leipold.
UP NEXT
Kansas will travel west to take on No. 9 BYU on Saturday, Nov. 16. Kickoff from LaVell Edwards Field in Provo, Utah is set for 9:15 p.m. CT with the game will be televised on ESPN. It will be the third meeting in the series history, with Kansas winning both matchups, including a 38-27 victory last season in Lawrence.
