Recap: Kansas football beats Houston 48-30, remains unbeaten through three games

Kansas football’s 2022 regular season continued Saturday on the road against Houston.

The Jayhawks came in after back-to-back victories against Tennessee Tech and West Virginia to open the season. That had head coach Lance Leipold’s squad at 2-0, with a 1-0 mark in Big 12 Conference play. And it went up against a Cougars team that came in 1-1 in 2022 after a win against UTSA and loss against Texas Tech.

Did junior quarterback Jalon Daniels keep Kansas’ offense among the most prolific in the nation? Did the Jayhawks’ defense get off to a better start than it did a week ago? The more those answers leaned toward yes, the more likely Kansas would remain undefeated.

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Here's what's happened:

FINAL: Kansas 48, Houston 30

Kansas was able to come away with a 48-30 victory and run out the clock. The Jayhawks are having quite the start to the season.

Kansas connects on another field goal

Jacob Borcila hit another field goal for the Jayhawks, who now are up 48-30 with a little more than three minutes left in the fourth quarter. This one was from 33 yards out. The drive went 31 yards in five plays and took 1:50 off of the clock.

Cougars kick a field goal

There'll likely be questions asked about the pace of Houston's offense on this drive, but regardless of the answers the Cougars did wind up scoring. A 20-yard field goal made it a 45-30 lead for Kansas with 4:56 left in the fourth quarter. In total, the drive took 5:25 off of the clock and went 72 yards in 13 plays.

Jayhawks kick a field goal

Kansas extended its lead to 45-27 with a 22-yard field goal from Jacob Borcila with 10:22 left in the fourth quarter. The kick capped off a nine-play drive that went 70 yards and took 4:33 off of the clock. The Jayhawks had scored touchdowns on six of their previous seven drives ahead of this one.

END 3Q: Kansas 42, Houston 27

Houston cuts into Kansas' lead

The Cougars scored a touchdown on a 14-yard rush by Clayton Tune as the third quarter came to an end. The score ended a drive that went 75 yards in five plays and took 2:39 off of the clock. However, Houston missed the extra point so the lead for Kansas is 42-27.

Kansas gets Jared Casey a touchdown

The Jayhawks are up 42-21 now with 2:39 left in the third quarter after an eight-yard touchdown pass from Jalon Daniels to Jared Casey and the ensuing extra point. Casey, a former walk-on, was put on scholarship ahead of the 2022 season. The drive went 23 yards in five plays and took 1:35 off of the clock.

Another turnover committed by Houston

The Jayhawks have their second takeaway of the game, as Jereme Robinson forced a fumble on a sack and recovered the fumble himself. With a little more than four minutes left in the third quarter, Kansas has a drive that'll start just outside of Houston's red zone. The Jayhawks could go up three scores here shortly.

Jayhawks respond with a touchdown

This one is back out to a two-score lead for Kansas, after a nine-yard rushing touchdown by Jalon Daniels and the ensuing extra point. It's a 35-21 game with 4:24 left in the third quarter. The drive went 10 plays and 75 yards and took 6:06 off of the clock.

It's also a drive that included a massively important fourth-down conversion for the Jayhawks, with an equally impressive play call that ended up seeing a wide receiver — Quentin Skinner — run the ball for an 18-yard gain. Kansas was facing a 4th-and-3 play at Houston's 30 yard line. Then the Jayhawks found themselves in the red zone.

Houston starts third quarter with touchdown drive

Houston has cut into Kansas' lead, and trails in a 28-21 game now with 10:30 left in the third quarter. The Cougars scored on a one-yard touchdown run by Ta'Zhawn Henry, and then hit the ensuing extra point. Overall, the drive went 69 yards in 10 plays and took 4:23 off of the clock.

There was an altercation between two Houston players on the sideline during the drive. After off-setting unsportsmanlike penalties were called on the two teams, two Cougars players got into it with each other on the sideline. But it was handled quickly and obviously didn't affect the rest of the drive.

END 2Q: Kansas 28, Houston 14

Kansas doubles its lead

The Jayhawks are up 28-14 now with 1:16 left in the second quarter, after a 60-yard touchdown pass from Jalon Daniels to Torry Locklin and the ensuing extra point. The score came on a seven-play, 97-yard drive that took 3:51 off of the clock. Kansas can go into halftime with a two-possession lead as long as its defense can hold up here.

Kansas takes the lead

After a weather delay that lasted a little more than an hour, Kansas took the lead for the first time today on a touchdown pass from Jalon Daniels to Luke Grimm. The toss went for five yards, and ended a drive that went 84 yards in 10 plays and took 5:06 off of the clock. The extra point made it 21-14, Jayhawks leading, with 9:01 left in the second quarter.

This was Daniels' first touchdown pass of the game. Although Kansas struggled to move the ball well through the air at the start of this one, it's done much better there as the game has progressed. Six different players have a reception each for the Jayhawks so far.

There's a projected time for the game to resume

The weather delay will continue at least past 5 p.m. (CT)

There's a weather delay

Kansas is driving offensively and not far away from scoring again with a little more than nine minutes left in the second quarter, but now the game is experiencing a delay. When it returns, it appears as if the Jayhawks will soon take their first lead of the game. It's just a matter of whether that'll be a field goal or a touchdown.

Kansas faces a 2nd and goal from the Houston 5 yard line. The past two times the Jayhawks have entered the red zone offensively this game they've scored touchdowns. Whatever they decide to do next, they'll certainly have some time to think it over.

END 1Q: Kansas 14, Houston 14

Jayhawks tie things ups

A Kenny Logan Jr. interception gifted Kansas the ball with great field position inside the red zone offensively. Then Daniel Hishaw Jr. scored on an eight-yard touchdown run for the Jayhawks. And after the extra point, it's a 14-14 game with 1:06 left in the first quarter.

Hishaw now has four rushing touchdowns this year. He had rushed for one in the opener against Tennessee Tech. Then he scored twice on the ground against West Virginia.

Kansas finds the end zone for the first time

Jalon Daniels' ability to make plays with his legs showcased itself on this Jayhawks drive, and Kansas has its first score of the game. Daniels rushed the ball in from 12 yards out for a touchdown on a drive in which he also had a 22-yard run. After the extra point went through, it's a 14-7 lead for Houston with 2:43 left in the first quarter.

The drive for Kansas went 75 yards on nine plays and took 4:35 off of the clock. It was aided, in part, by a pass interference penalty on Houston. Daniel Hishaw Jr. appears to be the Jayhawks' key running back so far, instead of Devin Neal, Ky Thomas or Sevion Morrison.

Houston extends its lead

The Cougars are up 14-0 now, after a long touchdown run by Brandon Campbell and the ensuing extra point doubled its total. Its the second-straight week Kansas has faced a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter. The question now is whether or now the Jayhawks will respond like they did a week ago, or fold as they did at times a year ago.

Campbell's rush to the end zone went for 40 yards. It came on a drive that lasted three plays and 48 yards, while taking 1:08 off of the clock. There is 7:18 left in the first quarter.

Houston opens the scoring

Houston's opening drive offensively has ended with points. Clayton Tune found Ta'zhawn Henry on a screen pass that went 34 yards to the end zone. The Cougars' drive went 82 yards in nine plays and took 4:07 off the clock, as they took a 7-0 lead with 10:01 left in the first quarter after the extra point.

Tune also had a 20-yard rush on this drive. That'll be something to watch moving forward. Kansas likes to use its quarterback's mobility to be tougher to defend, and Houston is showing it can do the same.

Kansas' first drive goes for a 3-and-out

The Jayhawks started with the ball on offense, but couldn't do anything with it. A dropped pass on third down forced Kansas to punt after a 3-and-out. The drive didn't even take up more than a minute of the game clock.

The coin toss

Houston won the opening coin toss and chose to defer. So, Kansas will start with the ball on offense in this one.

Check out Houston's uniform

Here's a look at Kansas' uniform for the day

Kickoff is approaching

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Recap: Kansas football's undefeated season continues with Houston win