Via Kansas Athletics
PROVO, Utah – The Kansas Jayhawks (4-6) upended No. 7 BYU (9-1) 17-13 on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 62,704 at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah.
With the win, Kansas has now defeated ranked opponents in consecutive weeks for the first time in school history with back-to-back ranked wins over No. 7 BYU and No. 17 Iowa State, who KU beat 45-36 on Nov. 9.
Kansas received the opening kickoff and marched 10-plays, 84-yard to take a 7-0 lead. The drive was propelled by a 29-yard pass from quarterback Jalon Daniels to senior wide receiver Quentin Skinner to set up Kansas in BYU territory. Senior Devin Neal capped off the drive with an eight-yard touchdown rush.
The Jayhawk defense held its ground on their opening possession, as redshirt junior Dean Miller recorded an opening-drive sack, giving him 5.5 sacks on the season.
After a Kansas three-and-out, BYU got on the board with a 33-yard field goal from Will Ferrin to make the score 7-3 with 14:11 remaining in the first half.
BYU would score again in the second quarter on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Jake Retzlaff to Hinckley Ropati to take their first lead of the game at 10-7 with 8:48 to go in the first half.
Kansas retained possession and marched down the field to tie the game at 10-10 after a successful 25-yard field goal from Tabor Allen. The 68-yard scoring drive took 11 plays and 7:02 off the clock as BYU got the ball back with 1:46 remaining in the first half.
With halftime nearing, BYU traveled down the field into the redzone, before senior Mello Dotson intercepted Retzlaff in the end zone to end the threat. For Dotson, it was his fifth interception of the season and 12th of his career. The interception sent Kansas and BYU into halftime tied at 10-10.
Out of halftime, BYU received the kickoff and reclaimed the lead with a 35-yard field goal from Ferrin, which made the score 13-10 with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Kansas moved the ball into BYU territory. Facing fourth and 14 at the BYU 36-yard line, Daniels punted the ball, which deflected off a BYU player and was recovered by Quentin Skinner at the 3-yard line. On the following play, Neal reached the end zone for his second score of the game, giving Kansas a 17-13 lead with 13:19 remaining in the game. The touchdown marked Neal’s 45th of his career.
Despite a Daniels interception with 8:27 remaining, the Kansas defense stood strong and forced a BYU three-and-out, giving the Jayhawk offense the ball at their own 13-yard line. After gaining one first down, Kansas punted the ball back to BYU, who started their final drive at their own 21-yard line with 4:47 to play.
BYU gained three first downs and moved the ball to the Kansas 11-yard line with under two minutes to play. However, KU’s defense held and forced a turnover on downs with 49 seconds to play, allowing Daniels and the offense to go into victory formation to close out the game.
UP NEXT
Kansas returns to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 23, against No. 18 Colorado. The game, which will be the first conference matchup between the Jayhawks and Buffaloes since 2010, will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and be televised on FOX with Jason Benetti, Brock Huard and Allison Williams on the call.
