Kansas will look to get back on track and earn its first win in the Big 12 Conference when it takes on Houston on Saturday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Jayhawks (1-5, 0-3 Big 12) snapped a five-game losing streak and ended their open week with a win. Kansas’ most recent game was a 35-31 loss to Arizona State, where the Jayhawks allowed a crucial touchdown pass with 16 seconds left. Jaron Daniels passed for 260 yards and two scores.
The loss marks the fourth time the Jayhawks have lost by six points or less. Kansas hasn’t won since defeating FCS opponent Lindenwood on Aug. 29.
The Jayhawks have been hit by a lot of injuries, especially on defense, and their players weren’t as healthy as coach Lance Leipold had hoped in opening week.
“We still have a lot of questionable players,” Leipold said. “(We’re) working on it, but we’ll have to see where (the week) takes us. Some players are getting a little bit better.”
Kansas running back Devin Neal enters Saturday’s game 181 yards away from breaking the school’s rushing record of 3,841, set by June Henry from 1993 to 1996.
Houston (2-4, 1-2 Big 12) heads north after an opening week that included an impressive 30-19 win over TCU on Oct. 4. Zion Chriss started his career by leading a Houston offense that threw for a touchdown and ran for 97 yards and an extra point in the first game, gaining 361 total yards and holding the ball for almost 37 minutes. .
With this win, the Cougars ended their losing streak of two games without a point.
Chriss, who shares playing time at quarterback with veteran Donovan Smith, was named the team’s starter by Houston coach Willie Fritz on Monday.
“There are a lot of positives to take from the TCU game, but we can obviously be better,” Fritz said. “We had to continue to do a great job with ball security and continue to get margin on turnovers and takeaways. We were plus-4 in the last game.”
The two teams will meet for the first time as Big 12 foes, and Kansas holds a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series. The most recent matchup was in Houston in 2022, when the Jayhawks won 48-30, with Daniels scoring five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing).
–Field level media
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