Things are not going as planned in Lawrence (or Kansas City), as Kansas’ offense managed just three points on their final seven drives and fell to UNLV, 23-20.
After two more costly interceptions from Jalon Daniels, Kansas finishes its nonconference slate with a 1-2 record and must now prepare to hit the road and head to Morgantown to take on West Virginia next week.
Let’s look at some of the biggest takeaways from this game and what it means for the Jayhawks.
Jalon Daniels’ Turnover Issues Continue
Coming into the 2024 season, Kansas fans had plenty of reason to believe they could play their way into a Big 12 title game appearance with an entire host of returning talent. However, getting Jalon Daniels back on the field was supposed to overcome a lot of the question marks that KU had on its roster.
Unfortunately, Daniels hasn’t been the player that we saw in 2022 and the beginning of the 2023 season. Daniels has six interceptions through three games, including two costly turnovers against UNLV on Friday night. The first one came with just under a minute left in the second quarter, and it led to a UNLV touchdown on the final play of the half, cutting KU’s lead down to just four points. His next turnover came early in the third quarter, which UNLV turned into a field goal and cut the lead to just one, 17-16.
It wasn’t the performance that Kansas fans were hoping to see after his struggles on the road last week, and now the Jayhawks enter Big 12 play on a two-game losing streak.
Spoiled Opportunites in the Fourth
UNLV’s game-winning drive in the fourth quarter spanned 14 plays and 75 yards, chewing up a total of nine minutes and 31 seconds. As frustrating as that is alone, what makes matters worse are the chances Kansas had to get off the field.
Four plays into the drive, Kansas forced UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka to scramble and actually stripped the ball. But, despite having multiple opportunities to fall on the ball and gain possession, Kansas defenders tried to pick it up and advance it, and it eventually bounced away from several Jayhawks and ended up back with UNLV.
Then, later in the drive, UNLV had the ball at the KU one-yard-line on a fourth and inches and managed to get the first down by the nose of the football. However, a 15-yard penalty on the Rebels moved the ball back to the 16-yard line. Three plays later, KU had Sluka dead to rights on a sack and he found a way to escape two sack attempts and get the ball back to the one-yard line. UNLV punched it in for their first lead on the next play, and Kansas wasn’t able to over come it.
The Transition from Kotelnicki to Grimes Is Not Working
After seeing Andy Kotelnicki turn the Jayhawks offense into a well-oiled machine over the last few seasons, KU fans have grown accustomed to a certain level of productivity. They aren’t seeing that productivity three games into the Jeff Grimes era.
Kansas has scored just 37 points over the last two games, 17 points in a loss to Illinois and 20 points in tonight’s loss. Considering KU averaged 34.8 points per game a season ago, that’s quite the fall. A graphic that came across the screen during Kansas’ final drive summed up tonight’s frustrations perfectly.
In KU’s first three drives of the night, they turned 27 plays into 233 yards (8.63 yards per play) and cashed in for 17 points. In their final seven drives, Kansas turned 34 plays into 119 yards (3.5 yards per carry) and just three points. That’s brutal, even against a UNLV team that is now 2-0 against Big 12 programs this season.
There were a few times in the second half when we heard the boo-birds come out inside Children’s Mercy Park when the offense was on the field, and unless things change in a major way next week, this thing could come off the rails.
