How big is Saturday’s game at Kansas’ David Booth Memorial Stadium?
The Jayhawks, who are ranked for the first time since Oct. 18, 2009, will host fellow ranked and undefeated TCU in a Big 12 game in Lawrence, Kan. Kansas also will host ESPN’s “College GameDay” for the first time ever.
The bottom line: It will be No. 19 Kansas (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) vs. No. 17 TCU (4-0, 1-0).
Kansas, which entered its game against Iowa State on Saturday as one of the nation’s leading offensive teams, had to do it with defense against the Cyclones. The Jayhawks raced to a 14-0 lead in the first half but didn’t score again. They stopped Iowa State on multiple drives, forcing field-goal attempts. The Cyclones missed three, including a 37-yarder that would have tied the score with 27 seconds left.
“I don’t know if this team could have even done this a year ago, overcome those things,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “We had unfortunate penalties (seven, 56 yards), other things, a lot of different ways that a team that doesn’t have a lot of confidence would have folded a year ago (during 2-10 season).”
Even with the 14 points against Iowa State, Kansas still ranks 16th nationally with an average of 40.4 points per game. The Jayhawks usually score touchdowns when they’re in scoring position.
Jalon Daniels leads the Kansas offense. Despite a subpar 102 yards of total offense against Iowa State, he’s still averaging 263.6 yards per game.
The Jayhawks will have to adjust to the loss of sophomore running back Daniel Hishaw, who was hurt on a fourth-quarter running play against Iowa State. He was taken off the field on a cart and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital with an undisclosed injury.
“I don’t have specifics yet,” Leipold said. “(Extended period) is probably the best I can give you at this time. He seemed to be in decent spirits, considering everything. I’ll let you know more as we move along.”
Kansas is getting plenty of attention, but TCU has been just as impressive. The Horned Frogs manhandled then-No. 18 Oklahoma 55-24 on Saturday.
TCU quarterback Max Duggan is averaging 249.2 passing yards per game this season. He threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Oklahoma.
Duggan became the second FBS player in the past 15 years (Lamar Jackson, 2016) to have a TD pass and TD run of at least 60 yards in the first quarter of a game.
“I’m as proud of Max as any player I’ve been around,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. “He has a coaching change, he loses his job, which is really hard, he’s about to be a senior. And he never blinks. He never had a bad practice, never pouted. Never thought of himself one time.
“How many people can you say that about that you know in your life? You can say it about Max Duggan, that’s for sure.”
–Field Level Media