The Kansas Jayhawks went on the road to take on Arizona State, as the Sun Devils were playing their first home Big 12 game on Saturday. KU was coming off a tough loss at home vs. TCU last week, while Arizona State had a bye week following their road loss at Texas Tech two weeks prior.
But this game had multiple lead changes and went right down to the wire, as the Sun Devils were able to score in the final minute of regulation and then hold on for a thrilling 35-31 win over the Jayhawks, who blew another 4th quarter lead.
Here are three thoughts on the game.
Kansas’ 4th Quarter Woes
The Kansas Jayhawks entered the game -33 in point differential in the fourth quarter through five games this season. Well, after getting outscored 21-14 in this game vs. Arizona State in the fourth quarter, make it -40 for the Jayhawks.
Arizona State only had 14 points through three quarters, but then the offense woke up in a big way. The Sun Devils ended the game with three-straight touchdown drives of 52, 75 and 75 yards to end up winning the game over KU. The drives were 10, 10 and eight plays, which appeared to wear down the KU defense as the game went on.
But for KU, chalk it up to another game they held a second half lead, and let the game slip away, just like Illinois, UNLV, West Virginia, and TCU games.
Sam Leavitt’s Steady Hand
Leavitt completed 14 of 24 passes for 157 yards. His consistent play helped the Sun Devils bounce back from their first loss of the season, a 30-22 setback to Texas Tech on Sept. 21.
“It was just back to what we do,” Leavitt said. “The last game we played wasn’t our brand of football, so we got back to that.”
Sam Leavitt threw four touchdowns passes, including a 3-yard strike to Jordyn Tyson with 16 seconds left.
Is KU’s Season Over?
Kansas was picked by some to win the Big 12 Conference in 2024. Instead, this team is in free fall and is 1-5 on the season.
It feels like KU’s season is all but over, but unfortunately, this team doesn’t have any true home games and elected to play a handful of games at Arrowhead Stadium this season. That made sense when KU was a trendy pick to win the Big 12 and make the College Football Playoff. Well, in hindsight, it doesn’t seem all that wise.
The Jayhawks host Houston next week before traveling to take on Kansas State to close out the month of October.
