Kansas football runs all over UCF in Big 12 blowout. Five takeaways from Jayhawks’ win

Kansas’ unranked football team bounced back from last week’s road loss to Texas to pound UCF 51-22 on Saturday at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Quarterback Jason Bean — he had a rough day in KU’s 40-14 defeat in Austin — once again played in place of Jalon Daniels, who missed his second straight game because of a back injury. Bean completed 8 of 12 passes for 91 yards and one touchdown in helping the Jayhawks to improve to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in league play.

Running back Devin Neal — he scored on a 75-yard burst to open the third quarter — gained 154 yards on 12 carries with one TD to lead a powerful KU rushing attack that accounted for 399 rushing yards. KU averaged 7.8 yards per carry on the day.

Neal has two 100-yard rushing games this season and eight for his career. Daniel Hishaw had 134 yards on 19 carries and scored two TDs. Dylan McDuffie had 91 yards on 13 carries and two TDs.

In all, KU totaled 490 yards to UCF’s 371.

The lopsided win placed KU one victory from bowl eligibility.

The last time KU played in back-to-back bowl games was in 2008. KU beat Virginia Tech 24-21 in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3, 2008, in Miami. In the following campaign, KU defeated Minnesota 42-21 in the Insight Bowl on Dec. 31, 2008, in Tempe, Arizona.

Kansas is 5-1 at the midway point of the regular season for the second-straight season. Prior to 2022, the last time KU won five games in an entire season was 2009.

Here are a few takeaways from Saturday’s game. …

Jalon Daniels whereabouts not apparent

Starting quarterback Jalon Daniels, out for the second consecutive game with back tightness, watched the game from an undisclosed location.

Media members, including the KU radio crew, were unable to spot Daniels on the sideline. After the game, KU coach Lance Leipold confirmed Daniels was absent from the sideline, which he said was a protective measure regarding his injury.

Daniels has thrown for 705 yards and five touchdowns in three games this year — wins over Illinois, Nevada and BYU.

Jayhawks had magical first half

KU dominated time of possession in rolling to a 17-0 lead. The Jayhawks opened the contest controlling the ball 17:38 to 5:51 and outgained UCF 228 yards to 53.

KU’s offensive line dominated as the Jayhawks finished the first half with 142 rushing yards to UCF’s 70. Overall KU outgained UCF in the half 220 yards to 133.

The score could have been even more lopsided as KU settled for a 25-yard Seth Keller field goal after stalling at the UCF 8-yard line. The boot gave KU a 3-0 lead.

KU’s Lawrence Arnold caught a 5-yard TD pass from Bean to make it 10-0. It was a play in which Arnold stretched his arm out, making sure the ball crossed the goal line.

KU made it 17-0 on a 3-yard run by Hishaw. Trevor Wilson’s 82-yard punt return for a score gave the Jayhawks a 24-0 advantage, which they took into halftime.

Time of possession in the half was 18:42 for KU to 11:18 for UCF.

KU special teams had interesting day (and so did the D)

Trevor Wilson, who took advantage of a key block from Donovan Gaines, scored on an 82-yard second quarter punt return to make it 24-0.

Wilson’s return, which gave KU a 24-0 lead, is believed to be KU’s first punt return for a TD since Nick Harwell’s 76 yarder vs. West Virginia in 2014.

In the third quarter, the Jayhawks botched an extra-point attempt. UCF’s Demari Henderson returned a fumbled snap 91 yards for a two-point score.

As for the defense... UCF (3-3) entered the game with the country’s No. 5-rated offense at 546 yards per game. The Knights entered with the country’s third-best rushing attack at 255 yards a game.

The halftime score on Saturday was 24-0.

Quarterback derby

UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, who had missed the last three games, started the game and completed two passes for 28 yards. Then, after apparently suffering an injury, he left for Timmy McClain. Plumlee had directed the Knights to three first downs. The Knights’ initial drive stalled at the KU 36 with McClain at the controls.

Plumlee returned for the Knights’ second series, a three-and-out. Plumlee also ran the third series, another three-and-out. He finished 3-of-7 passing for 33 yards in the first half; McClain went 3-of-5 for 30 yards.

McClain, who took over for the rest of the game, did throw for two TD passes the final half.

Halftime provided special moment

One of the highlights of Saturday’s game had nothing to do with the play on the field.

Two former KU football greats — Tony Sands and Nick Reid — had their names emblazoned in the Jayhawks’ Ring of Honor during halftime ceremonies.

Sands is the second-leading rusher in KU history and Reid the second leading tackler. Their KU coaches, Glen Mason and Mark Mangino, attended the game.