Kansas suffers 49-7 setback at No. 11/8 Baylor
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WACO, Texas. – Playing behind the chains most of the afternoon, coupled with five turnovers, led Kansas football to the wrong end of a 49-7 decision at No. 11/8 Baylor Saturday afternoon inside McLane Stadium.
KU’s (1-5, 0-3 Big 12) offense was undone on the day by four interceptions and a lost fumble, while also surrendering five sacks and 10.0 tackles-for-loss. Baylor (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) established the line-of-scrimmage on offense early and produced 246 yards on the ground, while adding another 207 through the air.
Freshman running back Khalil Herbert plunged two yards into the end zone for the Jayhawks’ lone score of the contest in the fourth quarter. Senior running back Ke’aun Kinner shouldered the load with 15 carries for 49 yards, while Herbert completed the game with 34 yards on nine carries. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Willis completed 10-of-19 attempts for 89 yards and threw three interceptions.
Baylor quarterback Seth Russell accounted for 212 total yards and four touchdowns, while running back Shock Linwood added another score on 10 carries and 46 yards.
The nation’s 11th-ranked team established control of the trenches on the game’s opening possession, pounding out seven runs to gain 50 of the 75-total yards on 11 plays. Russell capped off the game’s first score with a five-yard scamper, 7-0.
Kansas marched its way into Bear territory at the 44-yard line on its first possession when Baylor’s Ryan Reid jumped a comeback route and took it 63 yards to the end zone extending Baylor’s lead, 14-0, with 8:40 to play in the opening quarter.
The ensuing Jayhawk drive was backed up behind the chains on second down due to a sack and KU was forced to punt it away from its own 15. Standing in his own end zone junior punter Cole Moos received a favorable bounce and let loose an 82-yard boot – the fifth-best in school history – pinning Baylor back on its own three yard-line.
Stout defense on three-straight drives in the second quarter allowed the Bears just 20 yards and resulted in a punt and two missed field goals, keeping the score at a manageable three-possession game, 21-0.
Another stalled KU drive gifted Baylor with a short field and it didn’t take long for the Bears to capitalize on the field position. Beginning on its own 41-yard line, Russell tossed a 59-yard score to KD Cannon and the Bears claimed a 28-0 lead with six and a half minutes before halftime.
A miscue on a first down snap on KU’s 14-yard line turned the ball over to the Bears for the third time in the first half. Baylor took possession on KU’s four-yard line and a play later Linwood plunged to the end zone to distance the lead, 35-0.
Kansas couldn’t move the ball on the ensuing drive and was forced to punt, resulting in the Bears tacking on their 42nd point in the first half. Russell capped a 10-play, 73-yard drive with a four-yard touch-pass to the corner of the end zone.
The Bears scored their final touchdown of the game in the third quarter on a seven-yard rush to complete a 10-play, 71-yard drive.
With redshirt freshman quarterback Carter Stanley inserted late in the third quarter, Kansas drove 68 yards on 12 plays to get onto the board, 49-7. Herbert’s two-yard score was set up by a 34-yard catch-and-run by sophomore wide receiver Steven Sims Jr. to get KU down inside the Baylor 10-yard line.
The scoring ceased with Herbert’s run and the Jayhawks fell, 49-7 in the Big 12 Conference road contest.
UP NEXT: Kansas hosts Oklahoma State for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 22. The game is slated for 11 a.m., with a live broadcast on FOX Sports 1.
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