Week 11 of the college football season is here and despite there not being a ranked matchup this weekend in the Big 12, there is still plenty on the line with conference play in full swing. One of the most underrated games of the weekend took place in Kansas City, Missouri as the Kansas Jayhawks hosted the Iowa State Cyclones at Arrowhead Stadium.
Kansas is fresh off a bye week while Iowa State is coming off a disappointing loss to Texas Tech last weekend at home. Both teams are in desperate need of a win for different reasons but in the end, Kansas pulled off the upset 45-36 victory. Here are my top three takeaways from the game.
The Kansas Rushing Attack
I know everyone loves to talk about Jalon Daniels, and he certainly is a talented player, but the reason Kansas won this game is because of their rushing attack. The Jayhawks ran for a total of 237 yards against a solid Iowa State defense. Senior running back Devin Neal led the way with 116 yards and two scores. After the game, Neal is now the leading rusher in Kansas football history. Of course, I must give credit to the offensive line as well. They did an excellent job getting a push up front and creating holes for these running backs. The running game helped open up the offense through the air as well because on several occasions Jalon Daniels was able to hit Quentin Skinner and Luke Grimm for big plays that went for scores. Thanks to the ground attack, Kansas was able to control the game as they held the ball for over 35 minutes. People like to get lost in the glitz and glamor of throwing the ball but when you can run the football the way Kansas did, a lot of good things will happen.
Iowa State’s Poor Defense
It’s not often I use the word poor to describe Iowa State’s defense, especially one coached by the legendary John Heacock but there was no other way to put it on Saturday. The Cyclones played their worst game defensively against Kansas and it wasn’t even close. First off, they couldn’t stop the run at all. The Jayhawks racked up over 230 yards on the ground which is unusual for Iowa State’s defense. And to make matters worse, the secondary had a terrible game as well. Time after time, their secondary was getting torched for big plays, especially early in the game. Whether it was blown coverage or confusion, Iowa State looked lost in the back end which is odd considering that is the strength of their defense. Obviously, they were some things offensively that didn’t go well but it may have not mattered much because this defense was atrocious.
Two Teams, Two Directions
Coming into the weekend, both teams needed a win for two completely different reasons. Kansas was sitting with a 2-6 record, and they needed to win out just to keep their bowl hopes alive. That’s exactly what this game did for the Jayhawks as they move to 3-6 on the season. While their schedule is extremely tough down the final stretch (BYU, Colorado, and Baylor), don’t count out this team just yet with way they have been playing as of late. They are much better than their record. In fact, they are arguably the best 3-6 team in college football.
As for Iowa State, it’s been a rough two weeks. After losing their first game of the season to Texas Tech last weekend, they put up an absolute stinker against Kansas on Saturday. This team had everything in front of them a week ago and now with back-to-back losses in Big 12 play, they no longer control their own destiny. Right now, they are playing their worst football of the season during the most important month of the year.
