Kansas 37, No. 16 CU 21

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November 23rd – at Arrowhead Stadium      Kansas 37, Colorado 21

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Kansas running back Devin Neal ran for 207 yards and three touchdowns, caught four passes for 80 yards and another score, leading Kansas to a 37-21 victory over No. 16 Colorado. KU quarterback Jalon Daniels threw for 189 yards and a touchdown, and the Jayhawks scored on every offensive series but their last, amassing 520 yards of total offense.

CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders finished with 266 yards passing and three touchdowns, setting the Colorado single-season record with 30 touchdown passes (Sefo Liufau had 28 in 2014), while Travis Hunter finished with eight catches for 125 yards and two scores. But the two-way standout did little on defense — nor did anyone else wearing all-white uniforms — as the Jayhawks beat a ranked team for a school-record third straight week.

“You can’t win when a team rushes for 331 yards on you,” Coach Prime said. “That’s not indicative of who we’ve been and who we are. That is certainly not who we are and we could not stop the bleeding. Hats off to them. They were physical. They out-physicalled us, they outplayed us. They wanted it a lot more than we did.”

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Game Story … Kansas took the opening kickoff, and quickly jumped on the Buffs. After converting a third-and-three for a first down with a three-yard run near midfield by running back Devin Neal , KU quarterback Jaylon Daniels threw a short pass to Neal, who turned it into a 51-yard touchdown. Three minutes into the game, the Jayhawks were up, 7-0.

CU’s offense responded with a quick three-and-out, gaining six yards in three plays.

Taking over at their 33-yard line after a Mark Vassett punt, the Jayhawk offense set out on a 13-play drive which consumed over half of the first quarter clock. A Devin Neal one-yard run on third-and-one at the KU 42 kept the drive alive, the Kansas offense didn’t face another third down until they were in the CU red zone. A first-and-goal at the Buff 10-yard line, though, turned into a fourth-and-goal at the six. The Buffs had held, but, after a 24-yard field goal by KU kicker Tabor Allen, it was 10-0, Kansas, late in the first quarter.

The Buffs picked up their first first down of the game on an eight-yard completion from quarterback Shedeur Sanders to LaJohntay Wester, with Sanders picking up another first down near midfield on a six-yard run. The next four plays, though, netted only nine yards, with running back Dallan Hayden picking up only two yards on fourth-and-three at the Kansas 39.

Eight plays and 61 yards later, the Jayhawks were up, 17-0. A eight-yard run on third-and-two by quarterback Jalon Daniels, followed by a 23-yard completion from Daniels to Trevor Kardell on a third-and-nine gave KU a first-and-goal at the CU nine. On the next play, Devin Neal took it in. With nine minutes remaining in the second quarter, the new score was 17-0, Kansas.

Down three scores, the Buff offense quickly responded for the first time in the game. A 17-yard run by Shedeur Sanders was followed two plays later by a 51-yard touchdown connection between Sanders and Travis Hunter. Midway through the second quarter, the Buffs were on the board, though still down, 17-7.

The Kansas offense then made it four-for-four on first half scoring drives, going 69 yards on eight plays. A Devin Neal 47-yard run gave the Jayhawks a first-and-goal at the Buff eight yard line. The CU defense again stiffened, forcing another short field goal. Kicker Tabor Allen was again successful, this time on a 23-yarder. With less than four minutes left before the break, it was now 20-7.

CU’s four-play, 75-yard drive on the previous possession was then followed up by a five-play, 75-yard drive. Completions of 15 yards from Sanders to Hunter and 16 yards to Drelon Miller got the ball near midfield. After a 25-yard completion to Hunter, Sanders connected again with Miller, this time for a 19-yard touchdown. With less than two minutes remaining before halftime, CU was back within a touchdown, at 20-14.

In the next 1:39 of game clock, though, the Jayhawks were able to run 12 plays. The Colorado defense, for the fifth time in five Kansas drives, was unable to get off the field. The Kansas offense was again unable to convert inside the Buff ten yard line, settling for another Tabor Allen field goal, this time from 25 yards out, with seven seconds left in the half.

Halftime score: Kansas 23, No. 16 Colorado 14

After a four-play touchdown drive, followed by a five-play touchdown drive, the CU offense opened the third quarter with a six-play touchdown drive. A 43-yard kickoff return by Isaiah Hardge set the Buffs up near midfield to open the drive. A 15-yard completion from Shedeur Sanders to running back Dallan Hayden opened the drive, with an eight-yard run by Sanders on third-and-seven at the KU 33 keeping the drive alive. Two plays later, Sanders hit Travis Hunter for the second time, with this touchdown going for 26 yards. Less than four minutes into the second half, the Buffs were back in it, with Kansas now ahead, 23-21.

The Colorado defense, scored upon on five consecutive drives to open the game, made it six-for-six, as the Buffs were again unable to keep Kansas from scoring. Ten plays and 80 yards were chewed up by Kansas against a CU defense noted for halftime adjustments. The Buffs did force a third-and-nine at the CU 37, but a nine-yard run by running back Devin Neal moved the chains. On a third-and-goal at the one, Neal took it in for his third score of the game. Kansas 30, Colorado 21.

The Buff offense responded by … going three-and-out for the second time in the game. On a third-and-one, Shedeur Sanders was sacked for a loss of five, with CU punting the ball back to the Kansas offense.

Taking over at their 30-yard line, the Kansas offense made it seven-for-seven, scoring on a 70-yard drive which took 14 plays, but, just as importantly, over eight minutes of game clock. The Buff defense almost got a three-and-out, but Kansas converted a third-and-four with a seven-yard completion from Jalon Daniels to wide receiver Luke Grimm. Later, a third-and-two at the CU 34 became a first down after Jalon Daniels completed a 15-yard pass to Devin Neal.

The Buffs did force a fourth down a few plays later, but Neal converted a fourth-and-one at the CU ten. Then, on third-and-goal at the one, Neal scored his fourth touchdown of the game. With 11:47 remaining, Kansas was up, 37-21.

With the game on the line, the CU offense put together its longest drive of the game. An eight-yard completion from Sanders to Hunter on a third-and-three netted the first first down, with a 27-yard completion to LaJohntay Wester putting the ball on the KU side of the field. A 15-yard completion from Sanders to Micah Welch on third-and-12 at the KU 32 gave the Buffs a red zone opportunity. From there, however, the Buffs went backwards, with incompletions and penalties leaving CU with a fourth-and-22 at the Kansas 29. With no options but to go for it, a Sanders’ incompletion on fourth down ended the drive, giving the ball back to Kansas with a two-score lead, and only six minutes remaining.

The game already out of hand, the CU defense still couldn’t stop the Kansas offense. Taking over with 6:17 to play, the Jayhawks ran out the clock, going 53 yards on ten plays, as the Buff defense was unable once again to stop the Jayhawks. A conversion of fourth-and-one at the CU 20-yard line with two minutes to play was the final insult.

The Buffs finished with a red zone stop, but only because the Kansas offense stopped trying.

Final score: Kansas 37, No. 16 Colorado 21

“Some folks, you can’t put behind microphones and you can’t give them podcasts,” Coach Prime said. “You can’t do that because they get intoxicated with the success. And you know who that is. So you try your best to eliminate that, but they can’t stop reading the stuff about who we are … So you try to humble everything around you and including yourself. You try your best.”

But Sanders also stressed that it will be up to the coaching staff to address the issues in time for next Friday’s regular season finale against Oklahoma State. CU is still in the picture for a title game berth but Friday’s game becomes a must-win.

“We got to do better,” Coach Prime said. “We got to do a better job as coaches. We got to do a better job as players. We just got to do a better job.”

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Game Notes … 

— The loss to Kansas left CU with a 42-26-3 lead in the all-time series. The game, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, was just the second played in a “neutral” site between the two teams, with CU winning, 15-0, in a game played in Denver in 1905;

— Shedeur Sanders finished the game going 23-for-29 passing, for 266 yards and three touchdowns. The three passing scores gave Sanders 30 for the season, surpassing the school record of 28 set by Sefo Liufau in 2014 (Sanders had 27 passing touchdowns in 2023, but missed the final game-and-a-half of the season with injuries). The 266 yards gave Sanders 3,488 for the season, surpassing his own single season record for passing yards, 3,230, set in 2023;

— Travis Hunter had eight catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter finished the game with 1,036 receiving yards for the season, becoming just the 11th CU receiver (and the first since Laviska Shenault in 2018) to surpass 1,000 yards receiving in a season. His two touchdowns gave him 11 receiving scores for the year, one short of the school record of 12, set by Nelson Spruce in 2014.

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This post, about the Kansas game, from the 2024 Season, is filed under Article.
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