LAWRENCE — Kansas football’s 2022 regular season continues Saturday at home against Duke.
The Jayhawks came in after opening the season with wins against Tennessee Tech, West Virginia and Houston. That had head coach Lance Leipold’s squad at 3-0 with a 1-0 mark in Big 12 Conference play. And it’s going up against a Blue Devils program that’s also 3-0 with wins against Temple, Northwestern and North Carolina A&T.
Is junior quarterback Jalon Daniels continuing to star for Kansas as he has all season long? Are senior safety Kenny Logan Jr. and more on the defensive side of the ball making the key plays that helped deliver the win last week against Houston? Are the Jayhawks avoiding the slow starts that they have had to overcome the past two games?
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Here’s what’s happening at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium:
Kansas takes the lead again
Daniel Hishaw Jr. broke tackle after tackle on the way to a 73-yard touchdown, after catching a pass from Jalon Daniels. After the extra point, Kansas leads 14-7 with 12:35 left in the second quarter. The drive went 76 yards in two plays and took one minute off of the clock.
Kansas’ defense keeps turnover from costing Jayhawks
Although Kansas gave the ball away offensively on a fumble, it didn’t lead to points for Duke. The Jayhawks stopped the Blue Devils before midfield and forced a punt. It’s an important response from a Kansas defense that had struggled in the first half at times the past couple weeks.
END 1Q: Kansas 7, Duke 7
Kansas loses a fumble
The Jayhawks are the victim of the game’s first turnover, as Devin Neal fumbled the ball away not long before the end of the first quarter. The turnover ended what was a promising Kansas drive that was nearly into the red zone. Duke, which saw the fumble forced by Anthony Nelson and recovered by Jaylen Stinson, took over at its own 21 yard line.
Duke answers
Duke is on the scoreboard now after a 66-yard drive that lasted four plays and took 1:39 off of the clock. Jaylen Coleman ran the ball in from five yards out for a touchdown, and with the ensuing extra point it’s a 7-7 score with 3:40 left in the first quarter. The drive included a heck of a catch by Eli Pancol on a pass from Riley Leonard that went for 49 yards and got the Blue Devils into the red zone.
Kansas opens the scoring
This Jayhawks drive wasn’t going to be denied. Not long after Jalon Daniels completed a pass on fourth down near midfield to Devin Neal for a first down, Daniels found Trevor Kardell for a six-yard touchdown pass. After the extra point, Kansas leads 7-0 with 5:25 left in the first quarter. The drive took 3:16 off of the clock and went 57 yards in seven plays.
Duke’s opening drive ends with a punt
The Blue Devils didn’t come close to enjoying the same success the Jayhawks did offensively. Duke went 3-and-out on its first possession, as it was unable to do much in the shadow of its own end zone after starting the drive at its own 1 yard line. Now, after the punt, Kansas will have another chance to take the lead.
Kansas’ opening drive ends with failed 4th down attempt at the goal line
Kansas’ opening drive went right up to the end zone after starting at its own 25 yard line. Multiple times, the Jayhawks came close to crossing the goal line for the score. But on fourth down, Duke stopped a run by Devin Neal and was able to force the turnover on downs.
Jalon Daniels and Neal were both running the ball well. Daniels hit Trevor Kardell for a 22-yard pass at one point. The drive just didn’t end with points.
The coin toss
Duke won the toss and chose to defer. Kansas will receive to start the game.
Here’s a look at the crowd about 5 minutes before kickoff
An update for Kansas football’s offensive line
Here’s a look at the depth chart
Kickoff is approaching
Kansas has arrived
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism