Via Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Cincinnati scored the go-ahead touchdown with 29 seconds remaining as the Bearcats defeated Kansas 37-34 in front of a sold out crowd at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
The loss drops Kansas to 3-2 (1-1 Big 12) on the year, while Cincinnati improves to 3-1 (1-0 Big 12) this season.
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels completed 19-of-28 passes for 445 yards and four touchdowns. Daniels’ yardage is the second-highest single-game total of his career and the fifth-best mark in program history. He completed a team high five passes to Emmanuel Henderson Jr. and Boden Groen, with Henderson totaling 214 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Groen and Levi Wentz also had receiving touchdowns for the Jayhawks.
Leshon Williams led the Jayhawks with 64 rushing yards on 10 attempts, while Daniels added 55 yards on the ground to finish with exactly 500 yards of total offense. This output marked the fourth-highest single-game total in KU history.
Lyrik Rawls led the Jayhawks defensively with 10 tackles, while Trey Lathan added nine and two quarterback hurries. Blake Herold had a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and three of KU’s eight hurries.
Cincinnati got one first down on their opening drive before punting and pinning KU at its own seven-yard line. The Jayhawks offense came out firing as Daniels went deep to Henderson on the first offensive play of the game, connecting for a 93-yard touchdown to go up 7-0 at the 11:42 mark of the opening quarter. The Bearcats answered, however, going 75 yards in 13 plays to tie the game at 7-7 following a 2-yard touchdown run with 6:10 to play in the quarter.
Kansas was held without a first down on its next drive and Cincinnati took their first lead of the game with a 29-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Daniels and the Jayhawks quickly responded with a nine-play scoring drive, which ended with a 27-yard Laith Marjan field goal that made it 10-10 with 10:00 remaining in the half.
The back and forth scoring continued as the Bearcats put together a 10-play touchdown drive, regaining the lead, 17-10, before Kansas added a 35-yard field goal from Marjan. Cincinnati added a field goal on the last play of the half to take a 20-13 lead into the break.
KU’s offense got back in the scoring column on its opening drive of the second half. KU needed just 3:22 to drive 75 yards in eight plays, capped off with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Boden Groen, which tied the score at 20-20. The team’s again traded touchdowns on their next drives, with UC needing five plays to cover 82 yards for a score before Daniels connected with Henderson for another one-play drive, this time covering 75 yards. The Bearcats added a field goal on their final drive of the quarter to lead 30-27 as the game entered the fourth quarter.
Kansas appeared poised to regain the lead before a fumble at the goal line led to a turnover, and allowed Cincinnati to maintain their lead. After allowing two first downs, KU’s defense got the stop it needed, getting the ball back into Daniels’ hands with 8:02 to play.
The Jayhawks senior signal caller then engineered the clutch drive, marching his team 85 yards in 12 plays while draining 6:17 off the clock. Daniels’ final act of the possession was a six-yard touchdown pass to Wentz that put KU back on top with 1:45 to play in the game.
KU forced Cincinnati into a fourth and 10 on its final drive, but the Bearcats converted and scored the go-ahead touchdown three plays later.
The Jayhawks will now hit the road for the first time in Big 12 Conference play on Saturday, Oct. 4, traveling to UCF to take on the Knights at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2. The game will be Kansas’ first game at UCF in program history and the second played in Orlando all-time (2003 Tangerine Bowl vs. NC State).
