Kansas running back Devin Neal celebrates after scoring a touchdown Thursday against Lindenwood. (Jimmy Gillispie/Kansas Sports Tribune) 
Mello Dotson returns an INT 33 yards for a score. (Jimmy Gillispie/Kansas Sports Tribune) 
Luke Grimm celebrates after scoring on a 58-yard touchdown catch. (Jimmy Gillispie/Kansas Sports Tribune) 
Jalon Daniels points to the sky during pregame warmups. (Jimmy Gillispie/Kansas Sports Tribune) 
KU coach Lance Leipold argues with an official. (Jimmy Gillispie/Kansas Sports Tribune) 
Daniel Hishaw gets to the edge. (Jimmy Gillispie/Kansas Sports Tribune) 
Doug Emilien celebrates his touchdown in the fourth quarter. (Jimmy Gillispie/Kansas Sports Tribune)
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Devin Neal only played a half, but he made the most of his opportunities.
Neal had eight carries for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the first 30 minutes as the No. 22 Kansas Jayhawks routed Lindenwood 48-3 in their season opener Thursday at Children’s Mercy Park.
“We came out of the gates, and I thought Devin and Daniel (Hishaw) ran the ball hard,” KU coach Lance Leipold said. “I thought all our running backs ran hard tonight. And that’s good to see because we’re going to need them.”
Neal got KU on the board early with a 5-yard run, capping a nine-play, 65-yard drive on the Jayhawks’ opening possession. The KU offense then sputtered as a fumble and an interception stalled momentum.
Neal, though, energized the KU faithful with a 53-yard run in the second quarter and later finished the drive off with an easy 1-yard touchdown off left tackle.
KU (1-0) went on to score 27 points in the second quarter, blowing the game open and leading 34-0 at the half. Neal and quarterback Jalon Daniels got the second half off as KU inserted many of its backups.
The running game, however, didn’t slow down. Hishaw and Sevion Morrison also found the end zone as KU’s ground game churned out 331 yards on 44 carries (7.5 yards per carry).
Hishaw had nine carries for 66 yards, Morrison had eight carries for 28 yards and Johnny Thompson Jr. had five carries for 32 yards.
“Hishaw got a little dinged up, and Sevion carries the ball seven times on one drive,” Leipold said. “And then we don’t play him again because we thought we better keep him fresh. So let’s go to Johnny.
“It was good there to get some of those guys opportunities because they all may be needed before it’s over.”
With the ground game running on all cylinders, KU threw the ball just 21 times. Daniels playing in his first game in nearly a year went 9 for 15 passing for 148 yards and a touchdown and one pick before taking the second half off.
Daniels, though, did get hit on a few plays, but he said he was just glad to be back out there.
“This is a game I’ve played my whole entire life,” Daniels said. “And I’ve been known as being able to be the running quarterback, and I feel like college football now is being more of a passer than a runner.
“So it definitely felt great to go back out there, but at the end of the day I’m trying to stay clean.”
