Kansas Jayhawks fans rush the field after defeating the Oklahoma SoonersJay Biggerstaff/Getty Images
Rock Chalk Jayhawk. Despite entering this game as a 7-point home underdog, Kansas upset the undefeated Sooners 38-33. There was even a lightning delay midway through the second quarter that lasted about an hour.
The Sooners went to the locker room with a 21-17 lead at halftime. In a back-and-forth second half, Kansas had two clutch touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. Daniel Hishaw Jr. scored a one-yard touchdown to take a 32-27 lead, with the Jayhawks’ two-point conversion attempt failing. QB Dillon Gabriel responded with a rushing touchdown to make it 33-32 Sooners. Despite an interception from Jayhawk quarterback Jason Bean with 2:29 left, Kansas forced an OU punt on its next drive.
Bean found his receiver Lawrence Arnold for a 37-yard pass down to Oklahoma’s 9-yard line. Jayhawk running back Devin Neal ran it in for a touchdown on first down that gave Kansas the five-point lead that held until the end.
This win for Kansas is significant for a few reasons. For starters, it handed Oklahoma its first loss of the season. Sure, one loss doesn’t knock Oklahoma out of the playoff or Big 12 title hunt, but Oklahoma can’t afford to lose again if it wants a shot at the final four.
This also gives Kansas a win over Oklahoma for the first time since 1997—snapping an 18-game losing streak to the Sooners. It was also the Jayhawks’ first Top 10 win in Lawrence since 1984, and the first overall since 2008.
The Jayhawks are also now bowl eligible for a second consecutive season, and it’s the first time for Kansas to do that since 2007 and 2008.
It’s a remarkable turnaround for this Kansas program under head coach Lance Leipold, who is just in his third season in Lawrence. Following a 2-10 mark in 2021, Kansas finished 6-6 in the regular season last year, losing to Arkansas 55-53 in overtime in the Liberty Bowl.
Kansas finished below .500 for 13 consecutive regular seasons before 2022. The Jayhawks have remaining games against Iowa State, Texas Tech, Kansas State and Cincinnati, so a seven- or eight-win finish could certainly be on the table for Kansas. The future under Liepold looks quite bright.
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