LAWRENCE, Kan. – Trailing by seven points with 2:48 to play in the game the Kansas defense provided the stop it had been searching for and allowed redshirt freshman quarterback Carter Stanley an opportunity to tie the game, but an interception on the second play provided Iowa State a 31-24 victory Saturday afternoon inside Memorial Stadium.
Kansas (1-9, 0-7 Big 12) held Iowa State (2-8, 1-6 Big 12) to a manageable 85 rushing yards in the first half as the Jayhawks claimed a 14-10 halftime lead. Locker room adjustments by the ISU coaching staff gave an avenue for the rushing attack to push post 153 second half yards on the ground and 238 on the day.
In the first start and extended action of his career, Stanley completed 26-of-38 passes for 152 yards – both career highs – and a touchdown. The running back tandem of senior Ke’aun Kinner and sophomore Taylor Martin took much of the pressure away from Stanley as the ground game provided a season-rushing-high 244 of KU’s 415 yards.
Kinner toted 18 times for 152 yards and a score, while Martin chipped in 17 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown. Three different wide receivers caught six or more passes as senior Shakiem Barbel had six for 60, junior LaQuvionte Gonzalez recorded seven for 39 and sophomore Steven Sims Jr., totaled a team-high nine for 37 yards and the lone aerial touchdown.
Iowa State’s quarterback Jacob Park was successful on 20 of his 26 pass attempts and registered 205 yards and two scores. Running back David Montgomery gave the Jayhawks trouble throughout the game, but mainly in the second stanza, on his way to 24 rushes and 169 yards.
Kansas’ defense surrendered a field goal after a muffed punt at the Jayhawk 8-yard line, but settled in to hold the Cyclones to just 10 points and 191 first half yards.
Following an interception by senior safety Fish Smithson, head coach David Beaty dialed up a series of quick-hit perimeter runs and passes to keep the chains moving. Kinner took a carry 20 yards off the left side and after 13-total plays, covering 88 yards – eight of which went for less than a gain of 10 – Stanley connected with Sims on a seven-yard pass in the end zone. Kansas claimed the 7-3 lead with 5:24 to play in the first quarter.
A steady dose of Kinner, Martin and Stanley short passes impressively marched the Jayhawks down the field again on their next possession. At the quarter change Martin plunged into the end zone from a yard away capping another 13-play drive, this one covering 76 yards for a 14-3 lead.
Iowa State responded to the back-to-back touchdowns with a 14-play, 80-yard sequence that saw Park find Allen Lazard for a four-yard score, 14-10, with 3:35 to play in the half. The 14-10 score held into halftime.
Kansas’ offense picked up right where it left off out of the locker room. Kinner and Martin shouldered the load down to the Iowa State 20-yard line before the drive stalled. The tandem combined for eight carries and 53 yards on the 11-play possession. Senior kicker Matthew Wyman connected on the 37-yard try to give the Jayhawks a touchdown lead, 17-10.
Iowa State managed to answer in 10 plays by covering 63 yards to as Park threw his second touchdown, this time a 12-yarder to Deshaunte Jones. A botched extra point resulted in Kansas clinging to the lead, 17-16, with 6:46 to play in the third period.
Kinner eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the next drive and simultaneously put Kansas up by eight points, 24-16, after he burst through the middle of the line and was untouched in the secondary for 39 yards.
Iowa State’s offensive halftime adjustment paid off as the Cyclones came out focused on the run. The seesaw scoring effect continued thanks to running back Mitchell Harger’s 59 rushing yards on the drive.
The possession consumed 10 plays and 80 yards as Harger capped it with a six-yard scamper, 24-22, with 10 seconds to play in the third. The two-point conversion failed as senior cornerback Brandon Stewart sailed in to make a stop on a pass into the right flat.
The Cyclones managed to stop Kansas on the ensuing drive and force a punt, but KU’s defense wasn’t as fortunate. The Jayhawks still had no answer for the run as Montgomery broke loose for 46 yards and tromped his way down to the Kansas 3-yard line.
Quarterback Joel Lanning barreled his way into the end zone from a yard away to put Iowa State back on top, 28-24. A second-straight two-point attempt failed and the lead was just four points, 28-24, with 12:03 to play.
Beaty elected to chew up some clock with six run plays of the nine-play drive split between Kinner and Martin. The possession was turned over on downs at Iowa State’s 42-yard line as Stanley connected with Sims a yard short over the middle on a 4th-and-4 with 8:21 remaining.
Kansas needed either a stop or a field goal to keep the contest within one possession as time ticked away in the fourth. Iowa State secured three third down conversions to move down to the Kansas 20-yard line, but on the next three plays Kansas’ defense stone-walled Montgomery’s rushes and achieved the stop it was looking for – 4th-and-10 from the 19-yard line with 2:53 to play. Cole Netten’s 36-yard field goal went through the uprights and after 13 plays over five minutes removed from the clock, Iowa State held a 31-24 lead.
With 2:48 to play and no timeouts remaining, Stanley lobbed a pass up on the left sideline with no Jayhawks in the area that was intercepted at KU’s 38-yard line. The Cyclones ran out the remainder of the clock and claimed the 31-24 victory.