LAWRENCE — With just three games remaining in the regular season, the Kansas football team will have to win out to qualify for a bowl game.
That leaves no room for error, but KU coach Lance Leipold said that might actually help the Jayhawks play to their full capability down the stretch.
“I feel this is a still a good football team no matter what disappointment we’ve had to go through,” Leipold said. “And we have an opportunity to finish strong. And if that means we’re a spoiler along the way, so be it. It’s challenging but it can be exciting.”
KU (3-6) kept its postseason hopes alive with a 45-36 win against Iowa State on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. Devin Neal became the school’s all-time leading rusher and set the career rushing touchdown mark as well.
Jalon Daniels threw for a season-high 295 yards and two touchdowns, and Quentin Skinner had four catches for 135 yards and a touchdown, while Luke Grimm added two catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.
KU had 532 yards of total offense (295 passing and 237 rushing) in another balanced attack against an Iowa State defense that was in the top 15 nationally.
“For a team that prides itself on not giving up a lot of big plays and really forces you to drive the field, we were able to find some seams and get behind some people,” Leipold said. “I thought Jeff (Grimes) had a really good feel for what he wanted to do and got a nice rhythm, and a lot of things were working.
“And again, the ability to balance that with a run game and some of the things really got us off to the start that we needed.”
After the Cyclones scored on their opening drive, the Jayhawks outscored them 31-6 the rest of the half. The Jayhawks were coming off their second bye week of the season and made the most of it by getting a win. KU also defeated Houston after its bye last month.
“I feel like the bye week allows us to take a step back and look at how we lost that last game and be able to take the steps that we need to take,” said Daniels, who also ran for 68 yards and a touchdown against ISU. “Our last win was coming off a bye week as well. So I feel it helped us a lot as far as being able to maintain health but also being able to lock in and get that extra preparation for the team ahead.”
Next up is a road game this Saturday at 9-0 BYU.
“No matter how this plays out the next three, I’ll always be proud of this group for handling it the way they have,” Leipold said.
