Morgantown, W.Va. — The Kansas football team carried a lead into Saturday afternoon’s two-hour weather delay and lost it not long after the sun came out.
In fact, the Jayhawks had taken a commanding 11-point advantage when wide receiver Luke Grimm ran for a 32-yard touchdown shortly after the stoppage, but continued to struggle with what had haunted them all game: explosive plays by WVU quarterback Garrett Greene.
Greene threw for 295 yards on just 15 completions while running for 87 more. He marched the Mountaineers down the field for back-to-back scoring drives, upending KU and sending the Jayhawks to 1-3 on the year with a 32-28 defeat.
Grimm accounted for 130 total yards and two touchdowns and Devin Neal posted his fourth straight 100-yard outing, but the Jayhawks couldn’t muster a key third-down conversion when they were clinging to a three-point lead ahead of the two-minute timeout.
“I think we let Garrett Greene get into a rhythm, and we were giving him way too many chunk plays,” head coach Lance Leipold said. “There’s some good signs statistically, but you got to be able to get first downs when you need them to run out a game.”
Added quarterback Jalon Daniels: “As a team it’s frustrating when you’re losing, especially when you feel like you’ve become accustomed to being able to win games, especially when it comes down to those tough end-of-game situations.”
Hudson Clement caught seven passes for 150 yards from Greene, but it was Rodney Gallagher III who caught the game-winning touchdown with 26 seconds to go.
“Sometimes it doesn’t roll your way, and we just didn’t execute in the final stretch,” Grimm said.
Both teams made progress on their opening drives before punting, but as soon as the Mountaineers’ high-tempo offense got a second chance, Greene hit Clement on back-to-back passes for a total of 77 yards and Jahiem White ran in a 1-yard touchdown.
Daniels had started 4-for-4 before he threw his seventh interception of the young season directly to WVU linebacker Tyrin Bradley Jr. CJ Donaldson Jr. sliced through the Jayhawks’ defense for 27 yards immediately afterward to set up the Mountaineers near the end of the first quarter.
The defense tightened up enough to force a fourth-and-5, but Greene was able to scramble and make an inside move on defensive end Dean Miller to convert. Two plays later, though, it was Greene’s turn to throw an interception to KU’s Cobee Bryant.
Neal started to get into a bit of a rhythm on the ensuing drive before the newly returned Daniel Hishaw Jr. took over and ran for a key first down just outside the red zone.
Daniels fit in a third-and-13 ball to Quentin Skinner on the sideline, and it was ruled a catch after review. Neal ran for an 11-yard game-tying touchdown on the next play.
Greene hit Clement twice more for an additional 37 yards as KU rotated through a variety of defensive reserves on its next drive. The Jayhawks were able to settle down after an injury to WVU’s all-conference tackle Wyatt Milum forced a timeout, and promptly forced a punt on their own side of the field. It was part of a sequence of several plays during which Aubrey Burks was carted off the field after an injury on the sideline and fellow defensive back TJ Crandall got hurt on special teams.
A pair of penalties forced KU to kick the ball back from its own end zone with 1:52 remaining in the half and the Mountaineers still holding a pair of timeouts. WVU was able to start the ensuing drive from KU’s 34-yard line.
Clement made a key third-down conversion for the Mountaineers, bringing his total to 123 yards in the first half. Greene ran 19 yards for a touchdown that got called back due to holding, but WVU was able to continue its last-minute drive with an 18-yard pass on third-and-14, and Greene got his rushing touchdown anyway to make it 14-7 at the half.
Neal picked up a fourth-and-2 across midfield to help sustain the Jayhawks’ opening series of the third quarter. Grimm added 26 yards on a reverse before hauling in a third-and-goal touchdown pass from Daniels.
Greene hit another deep ball to open WVU’s second half for 52 yards, setting up a go-ahead field goal by Michael Hayes II.
KU took its first lead soon afterward, however, with Daniels and Hishaw each posting runs of 20-plus yards before Hishaw punched it in to put the Jayhawks in front 21-17. Greene then threw his second interception of the game, this time to Mello Dotson as he sustained a massive hit from blitzing linebacker JB Brown, but the Mountaineers offset any potential momentum swing by making a quick stop.
Neither offense had much rhythm on either side of the fourth-quarter weather delay. The Jayhawks found themselves in another fourth-and-short opportunity and this time managed to convert with Hishaw on a speed option. KU ran the ball inside effectively enough that it set up another rush for Grimm, who zoomed around left end for the score.
The two-score lead didn’t last long, as the Jayhawks continued to give up deep passes and scrambles to Greene. He hit Kole Taylor for a touchdown, then led WVU into KU’s territory in the final minute of the game on a drive that featured three scrambles for 27 yards.
Dotson committed pass interference on Clement with 31 seconds remaining, giving the Mountaineers a first-and-goal. After a false start, Greene found Gallagher wide open at the far pylon for the touchdown.
“Y’all see the last two games, defense was on the field last, and we couldn’t finish to stop them,” Bryant said. “So I guess we just need to finish more.”
Daniels hit Lawrence Arnold for 36 yards in the final seconds, but got strip-sacked on the following play to bring the game to an end.
“It definitely hurts,” Daniels said. “… Every time the ball has ended in my hands, I haven’t helped us win the game. It’s definitely hard on me, but we got to keep on moving, we got to keep on focusing on the next week.”
The Jayhawks will host TCU in their first game this season at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium next Saturday. The kickoff time has not yet been announced.
How they scored
First quarter
5:16 — Jahiem White 1-yard run. Michael Hayes II PAT good. Three plays, 78 yards, 1:10 TOP. WVU 7, KU 0.
Second quarter
7:31 — Devin Neal 11-yard run. Tabor Allen PAT good. Thirteen plays, 83 yards, 6:16 TOP. WVU 7, KU 7.
0:25 — Garrett Greene 5-yard run. Hayes PAT good. Eight plays, 34 yards, 1:17 TOP. WVU 14, KU 7.
Third quarter
9:08 — Luke Grimm 7-yard pass from Jalon Daniels. Allen PAT good. Ten plays, 75 yards, 5:52 TOP. WVU 14, KU 14
7:03 — Hayes 40-yard field goal good. Five plays, 53 yards, 2:05 TOP. WVU 17, KU 14.
4:30 — Daniel Hishaw Jr. 11-yard run. Five plays, 75 yards, 2:33 TOP. KU 21, WVU 17.
Fourth quarter
5:39 — Grimm 32-yard run. Allen PAT good. Six plays, 54 yards, 3:40 TOP. KU 28, WVU 17.
3:27 — Kole Taylor 8-yard pass from Greene. Two-point conversion good (Taylor pass from Traylon Ray). Nine plays, 75 yards, 2:12 TOP. KU 28, WVU 25.
0:26 — Rodney Gallagher III 15-yard pass from Greene. Hayes PAT good. Seven plays, 67 yards, 1:56 TOP. WVU 32, KU 28.
Kansas defensive tackle D.J. Withers brings down West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels throws the ball against West Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
Kansas running back Devin Neal carries the ball against West Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.
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