From the kickoff, Kansas held down No. 18 Oklahoma State’s capacity to do much of anything, offensively, in Saturday’s 37-16 win over the Cowboys.
The matchup featured an OSU offense - deprived of starting quarterback Spencer Sanders due to injury - that managed 415 yards of total offense behind backup Garrett Rangel and couldn’t climb out of a two-score deficit after the first quarter wrapped.
With the win, the Jayhawks (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) become bowl eligible for the first time since 2008 and notch another conference win on their campaign heading into the final stretch of the regular season. Leveraging 554 of total offense, Kansas had Oklahoma State on the ropes early behind a compelling performance across the stat sheet by Devin Neal.
Kansas coach Lance Leipold was already visualizing a big ground performance from the sophomore ahead of kickoff.
“He knew that he was going to be counted on, in a lot of ways, today,” Leipold said. “I think it’s kind of ironic and special, and all the other words that I’m probably not finding, that the hometown guy from Lawrence puts us into bowl eligibility.”
Neal logged 229 yards rushing on 32 carries and led the receiving column with 110 yards on six catches - the first Jayhawk in school history to rack up 100+ yards in both categories. Leipold said that kind of performance stems from Neal’s original ambition when choosing to place his trust in the football program he grew up supporting.
“It’s special because Devin committed to the University of Kansas, and you don’t always see that as much anymore,” Leipold said. “I understand why, but Devin committed to the University of Kansas to be a Jayhawk, not necessarily (because of) who the coach was. And I’m cool with that because you need people that are determined to help get programs turned around.”
The Speed of Bean
Jason Bean, a redshirt senior, got his fourth start of the season with Kansas in Saturday’s win and completed 18-of-23 passes for 203 yards, including two touchdowns. Bean gave Kansas a tremendous boost in the second quarter on a 73-yard touchdown run that set the tone for a 24-7 halftime lead over the Cowboys.
Leipold said he couldn’t make out Bean’s full-scoring play from the sidelines.
“The tough thing is that’s one of those that you feel bad you’re at ground level because I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to enjoy it until I watch, hopefully, some highlights tonight.”
Welcome back Cobee Bryant
After hurting his left ankle at Oklahoma, Kansas cornerback Cobee Bryant recovered over the bye week and picked off Rangel two minutes after the opening kickoff. The sophomore corner logged six total tackles (four solo) on the afternoon in his first game back.
When asked about Bryant’s return, Leipold commended his return to form.
“The thing I’m most proud of Cobee is the work he put in to get healthy,” Leipold said. “His determination to be on the field and want to be on the field and be connected. I saw some sides of Cobee I didn’t really know of for sure, I don’t mean to be negative, but there was an extra drive about how important this is to him and he wanted to be out there.”
Leipold's soaking up the moment, but looking ahead
Chuckling at the mention of the fallen goalposts, Kansas coach Lance Leipold acknowledged that his program has taken a legitimate leap this season. The win over Oklahoma State handed Kansas its first win over a ranked opponent at home since 2005.
“People say who’s healthy, who’s not,” Leipold said. “We didn’t have a first down in the first half against these guys last year, and (today) we got a first down on the first play.”
After defeating the Cowboys in Lawrence, Kansas hits the road next week to Texas Tech to take on another tough away test. The Red Raiders (4-5, 2-4 Big 12) dropped its Week 9 contest with No. 7 TCU 34-24 in Fort Worth.
“We’ve got three games to play,” Leipold said. “We have a lot to play for and make things happen. We can’t be satisfied with it. It’s a special moment, but you have to keep going.
“The neatest thing that we will talk about down the line is that this group gets to be together longer than normal,” he added. “It’s a great group, I love being with them and appreciate everything they’ve done and to get that extra time and development with more players. We have to be ready to play Texas Tech on the road. We have to be ready to go on the road two of the last three games to continue to make this a season to remember.”
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