KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All season, Lance Leipold has said his biggest area of concern was that his Kansas football team hasn’t made the plays when it has mattered most.
Against TCU on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium, it was more of the same. The Jayhawks forced three turnovers, and the Horned Frogs missed a field goal. But the Jayhawks couldn’t capitalize and lost 38-27, extending their losing streak to four.
Leipold said his team’s mental state was “extremely down” following the game, and for good reason.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Leipold said. “If you’re not, you’re not a competitor. We’ve put all this time in and we talk about emphasizing things and we’re not making it happen and it starts with me. I’m not getting it done for this program and this fanbase.”
The backbreaker came early in the fourth quarter when TCU quarterback Josh Hoover connected with Eric McAlister on a 59-yard catch-and-run touchdown that gave TCU a 35-27 lead. A missed tackle by Mello Dotson allowed McAlister to break free and essentially break KU’s spirit.
That being said, there were several players who had a chance to stop McAlister, but no one could do so. There were also several dropped passes that could’ve made a difference and there were several calls that didn’t go KU’s way, including a block in the back on a TCU punt return for a touchdown.
Leipold was so upset with the officiating that after the game he said “the Big can fine me” and he was prepared to pay the price for criticizing the officiating.
“Did it drastically change the momentum of the game? Yes it did,” Leipold said. “But we still need to make plays. And I’m not wanting to take anything away from (TCU) but that was a factor in today’s football game. And if anybody was remotely paying attention they would have to agree.”
Now a season that started with such hope seems to be teetering on the brink. The Jayhawks (1-4, 0-2) struck first on a Jalon Daniels’ 15-yard touchdown pass to Luke Grimm and led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter after a 2-yard touchdown run by Devin Neal.
TCU (3-2) led 21-17 at the half, but a Daniel Hishaw touchdown put KU back in front 24-21 in the third, but it was all TCU from then on. Daniels finished just 15 of 34 for 179 yards and a touchdown and a pick on KU’s last play. Neal rushed for 85 yards and Hishaw added 70 yards but it wasn’t enough.
“We didn’t win,” Daniels said. “Your job as a quarterback is to win.”
