Manhattan — Lawrence native Devin Neal will have to wait until the next game to become Kansas football’s all-time rushing leader.
Neal entered Saturday night with 3,769 career rushing yards and passed second-place Tony Sands (3,788) in the first half, but was not able to eclipse June Henley’s mark of 3,841 over the course of the Sunflower Showdown at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The Kansas State defense, which entered the night allowing just 83 yards per game atop the Big 12 and one of the best in the country, didn’t limit the Jayhawks as a whole but did a good enough job containing Neal to hold him well below his season average, and certainly below the 138 yards he produced against the Wildcats in Lawrence last season. He only managed 66, falling short by seven yards.
He had previously been limited to less than the 73-yard total he needed on Saturday in past games against TCU (70) and ASU (71).
Neal did continue his ascent toward other school records. With a 24-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter, he became the sole leader in total touchdowns with 44, passing June Henley, and equaled Henley for first place in another category with 41 career rushing touchdowns.
Secondary running back Daniel Hishaw Jr., who frequently spells Neal for extended stretches, did not play on Saturday night. Neal went into the blue medical tent, then to the KU locker room, during the Jayhawks’ opening drive, but returned after backup Sevion Morrison ran for a 38-yard touchdown.
Neal will now have to wait two more weeks to surpass Henley’s mark, as KU enters its second bye week in the span of a month before hosting Iowa State, a team that has had success against the Jayhawks’ run game in recent years, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 9. KU has four games remaining this season.
Neal, who has been one of the faces of KU’s broader turnaround in football under Lance Leipold, considered going to the NFL after his junior season, when he was a second-team all-conference selection, but decided to return for another year.
In the preseason and the weeks leading up to Saturday, he had not shied away from discussion of the record, which he has called “one of those dreams I had when I first committed here.” (Neal committed to Les Miles’ staff in March 2020 and was one of many players who stuck around under Leipold.)
As he waits to finish fulfilling that last dream, Neal will also have the chance to expand on the touchdown record and some additional records he’s pursued over the course of the season, including career 100-yard rushing games (he matched Sands for first place with 17 after KU’s victory over Houston).
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
