WACO, Texas – Kansas scored the first 20 points of the second half, but the Jayhawks were unable to overcome an early deficit and fell to Baylor, 35-23, on Saturday, October 22, at McLane Stadium.
The Jayhawks scored the first 20 points of the second half and outscored the Bears 20-7 after halftime, but a 28-3 halftime deficit proved to be too much to overcome. Baylor scored two touchdowns in each of the first two quarters, but Kansas kept the Bears off the scoreboard for the first 27 minutes of the second half. The Jayhawks got within five at 28-23 in the fourth quarter before Baylor scored with 2:37 to play, making it a two-possession game.
The Jayhawks are now 5-3 on the year and 2-3 in Big 12 Conference play heading into the bye week. Baylor improves to 4-3 (2-2 Big 12) for the year.
After getting a three-and-out on its first defensive series, Baylor didn’t waste any time finding the end zone on offense. The Bears went 41 yards on seven plays on their first drive, which was capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass from Blake Shapen to Monaray Baldwin.
The Jayhawks then fumbled on their first play after the touchdown and the Bears took over at the 25-yard line, already leading 7-0. Baylor scored on its second play of the drive to go up 14-0.
Kansas got on the scoreboard on its next drive, however. The Jayhawks drove 62 yards on 12 plays and placekicker Jacob Borcila finished off the drive with a 30-yard field goal to close the gap to 14-3.
However, Baylor scored the next two touchdowns of the half to go up 28-3. The Bears were going in to score again right before the half, but linebacker Craig Young picked off Baylor quarterback Blake Shapen to stop the threat and get the game to halftime.
In the third quarter, the Jayhawks came alive, led by their defense. Defensive end Jereme Robinson sacked Shapen, and forced a fumble, which he recovered. Robinson returned it 49 yards to the Baylor 9-yard line. Three plays later, on third-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Devin Neal scored from two yards out to make it 28-10.
On the next drive, the Kansas defense forced Baylor’s first punt of the game after a seven-play, 24-yard drive.
Baylor downed the ball at the 5-yard line, where the Jayhawk offense went to work. Led by quarterback Jason Bean, Kansas drove 95 yards on 11 plays and capped it with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Skinner. The Jayhawks went for two, but couldn’t convert, cutting the lead to 28-16 with 14:33 to play in the fourth quarter.
Baylor drove into the red zone on its next drive, but the Bears were turned away on fourth down as KU took over on downs at its own 7-yard line. Bean led another long drive, this time needing eight plays to cover 93 yards, capping the drive with a four-yard touchdown run of his own. Following the extra point, the Jayhawks trailed 38-23 with 6:29 to play.
Kansas was unable to get a stop on Baylor’s next drive, as the Bears drove 69 yards in seven plays to extend the lead to 35-23 on a four-yard touchdown run with 2:37 to play. The Jayhawks couldn’t get a first down on the next offensive drive and turned it over on downs, which allowed Baylor to run out the clock.
The Jayhawks now have an open week and will return to action on Nov. 5 at home against No. 11 Oklahoma State. The game time has yet to be announced.
