KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Perhaps it’s fitting that Devin Neal saved his best for senior day.
The Kansas running back and Lawrence native was unstoppable, rushing for 207 yards and four total touchdowns to lead KU to a 37-21 win against No. 16 Colorado on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium.
“He’s truly a special back,” KU coach Lance Leipold said. “It was a special day for a special guy.”
At game’s end, Neal made the heart signal to the fans as he listened to them chanting his name — a thank you that he will always remember.
“I already feel it, for sure,” Neal said. “It was special for me because that was my last home game or whatever you want to call it. But it was special all around.”
Entering KU’s last drive, Neal was six yards shy of the 200-yard mark, and Leipold asked him if he wanted to go in and go for it. This time Neal, who usually isn’t one to talk about himself or personal accolades, couldn’t resist and got the mark after a couple attempts, finishing with 37 carries.
KU (5-6) jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first half as Neal accounted for a pair of touchdowns. Neal scored on a 51-yard catch-and-run from Jalon Daniels on KU’s opening possession then finished off a drive early in the second quarter with a nine-yard run off left tackle.
The Buffaloes, however, fought back as two Shedur Sanders’ touchdown passes cut the KU lead to 20-14 with 1:46 to go in the half. KU, though, marched down the field, fueled by a 31-yard run by Daniels to the 15-yard line. But the drive stalled from there, and KU had to settle for its third short field goal of the half, taking a 23-14 lead at the break.
Colorado (8-3) scored on its opening drive of the second half as Sanders found Travis Hunter for a 26-yard strike to make it 23-21 but that was as close as the Buffaloes would get as Neal found the end zone on KU’s next two drives.
In all, KU rushed for 331 yards on 57 carries as Daniels added six carries for 72 yards that featured several highlight spin moves and Sevion Morrison added 11 carries for 47 yards.
Through the air, Daniels completed 14 of 21 passes for 189 yards and the touchdown to Neal, who finished with four catches for 80 yards, giving him 287 yards of total offense.
“Everybody here as seen it,” Daniels said of Neal. “He’s done this since high school. It just shows how eager he is to go out there and help the team win. He’s the one who wants to make the play. He’s not saying, ‘I need the ball,’ but when the ball goes to him, he makes plays.”
KU easily won the time of possession battle, holding the ball for more than 40 minutes and limiting the time Sanders and Hunter were on the field. Sanders threw for 266 yards and three scores while Hunter added eight catches for 125 yards and two scores.
But their performances paled in comparison to Neal, who now has 1,133 yards rushing this season. Neal, who is also KU’s all-time leading rusher, now has three 1,000-yard rushing seasons in his career — something no Jayhawk has ever done.
Neal, though, couldn’t bask in his own glory for long. He said the Jayhawks need to focus on Baylor as the Jayhawks will become bowl eligible with a win — something that seemed unthinkable just a few weeks ago.
“We need to flush this,” Neal said. “Baylor’s a ranked team, and we want to keep playing together for as long as we can.”
