In a wild turn of events less than an hour before kickoff, quarterback Jason Bean found out he would be starting in place of Jalon Daniels who was injured for today’s game. He spoke about his unexpected start alongside OJ Burroughs and Austin Booker, who were a part of a defense that was on the field for almost 40 minutes.
Bean finds out he's the starter shortly before start of the game
Jason Bean decided to come back for his last year of eligibility after a less-than-ideal ending to the 2022 season, and today that saved the Jayhawks from putting true-freshman Cole Ballard up against the No.3 team in the nation on the road with little preparation beforehand.
Instead, Jason Bean was the one who had to step in for the injured Jalon Daniels, and he was not aware that it would be happening until the very late stages of pregame warm-ups.
“Maybe 30, 45 minutes before the game,” Bean said of when he found out he was going to be the starter.
Bean attempted 21 passes on the night, completing nine of them for 136 yards and a touchdown. He also accounted for 42 rushing yards. The most glaring stat is that the Jayhawks did not convert on a single one of their eight third downs. Bean did not want to blame it on the last-minute change.
“The mindset hasn't really changed,” Bean said. “You got to go out there and execute.”
Defense struggles late, on the field much of the game
The Kansas defense was able to limit the Longhorn offense to just 13 points in the first half. Whether it was red zone stands that led to field goal attempts, or lucky breaks such as when Texas lost 15 yards on a bad snap, the defense kept the team in the game. Even though they gave up 342 yards in the first half, the defense held strong when it mattered.
In the second half however, it became evident that they had been on the field for too long.
"Yeah, it's hard but that's what we do,” Booker said. “That's what they need me to do so that’s what I’m going to do is try to be there for my team.”
The second half saw Texas put themselves in similar situations, but this time come away with the necessary points. The Jayhawks gave up four touchdowns on Texas’ first five drives of the half.
For Burroughs, he felt like the issues that arose in the second half were self-inflicted.
“I feel like a couple of plays, it was where we really hurt ourselves,” Burroughs said. “One time we had too many people on the field. It was little things that are on ourselves.”
Turning their focus to Central Florida
Next week, the Jayhawks take on UCF in the first matchup between the two schools as members of the Big 12. After the loss to Texas, the Jayhawks were ready to think about how they can get better from the lopsided defeat.
"Just get back to work,” Burroughs said. “See where we went wrong and see what we need to fix for next week. Continue to get better.”
Bean recognized that they had chances to get back into that game, but did not capitalize on some key chances.
“We're right there in that game," Bean said. “We got to make a couple more plays and you know, we would be right there.”
As the players reflect on their missed opportunities, they also have a message from Leipold they can reflect on. While there are only so many things a coach can say after a game like today’s, Bean took in the message and is ready to get back to work.
"This is just one game,” Bean said of Leipold’s message. “It's not the end of the season. This isn't hitting the last game of the season. It's not gonna make or break our season. If we dwell on this, this loss and,, sit there and sulk our heads then you know, it's just gonna lead into the next week.”
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