Jalon Daniels passed to Mason Fairchild for a 2-point conversion in overtime as the Jayhawks stunned Texas 57-56 on Saturday in a wild Big 12 Conference game in Austin, Texas, to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Casey Thompson passed for 358 yards and six touchdowns, including an 8-yarder in overtime to Marcus Washington to give Texas its first lead of the game.
But the Jayhawks answered on Devin Neal’s 2-yard TD run, eschewed a kick that would have tied the game and went for broke, beating the Longhorns for the first time ever in Austin.
Daniels pass for 202 yards and three TDs for the Jayhawks (2-8, 1-6 Big 12), the final of which was a 2-yarder to Kwamie Lassiter II midway through the fourth quarter. Neal ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns, and caught a scoring pass in the win.
The Longhorns rallied from 21 points down to pull to within 49-42 on an 8-yard TD pass from Thompson to Xavier Worthy with 4:39 left. Thompson then hit Cade Brewer for a 25-yard TD with 22 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
Bijan Robinson ran for 70 yards and caught a TD pass before being injured in the second half. It’s the first time Texas (4-6, 2-5) has lost five straight games since 1956, when it had eight straight losses to close out the season.
Neal scored on a 3-yard TD run for the Jayhawks on their first possession. Kansas added an 11-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Fairchild that pushed its lead to 14-0 with just 36 seconds left in the first quarter.
Texas cut the KU lead in half with a 25-yard scoring pass from Thompson to Washington with 12:14 to play in the second quarter. The Longhorns then tied the game on their ensuing possession on a 33-yard TD toss from Hudson Card to Worthy.
Daniels put Kansas back on top with a 9-yard TD run with 2:25 left in the half. The Jayhawks re-established their 14-point lead on a 19-yard pass from Daniels to Neal after a fumble by Card at the Texas 23.
Card then uncorked an interception that was returned 31 yards for a touchdown by Jacobee Bryant with one minute to play in the half.
Thompson got the Longhorns back on track with a 1-yard TD on the first possession of the third quarter. But Kansas responded with Neal’s 10-yard scoring run.
Thompson’s second TD pass was a 25-yarder to Robinson with 3:50 to play in the third quarter. His third, for seven yards to Worthy 2 ½ minutes later, cut the Kansas lead to seven points.
–Field Level Media