KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The defense had been a strong suit for the Colorado Buffaloes (8-3, 6-2 Big 12) all season long. Running back Devin Neal and the Kansas Jayhawks (5-6, 4-4 Big 12) were tired of that narrative as they dominated the Buffaloes 37-21 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday.
The Jayhawks had whatever they wanted in the run game, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Neal led the way with 293 total yards and four touchdowns. They also scored on their first seven drives of the game (the eighth ended in a kneel-down at the end of the game) and dominated the time of the possession by being on offense for over 40 minutes.
When the Jayhawks needed to pass the ball, quarterback Jalon Daniels was solid, completing two-thirds of his passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. All Kansas needed was for him to not turn the ball over and to move the chains, and that was exactly what he did.
The creativity in Kansas’ offense was outstanding on Saturday. Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes did a great job of keeping Colorado’s defense on its toes with varying run concepts, misdirecting screens and even some direct snaps to Neal. Robert Livingston’s defense has been notorious for making great adjustments at halftime, but he could not win the chess match against Grimes today.
However, Coach Prime was pleased with Livingston’s performance Saturday, saying, “Rob called a good game.” His attention was more focused on the execution of the players, who he thought got ahead of themselves with all the talk about controlling their destiny leading up to the game.
“We got intoxicated with success,” Prime said. “We did not play CU football, therefore we got our butts kicked.”
Tackling was also a major issue for Colorado, as Neal was able to plow through arm tackles on almost all of his 37 carries. Similar to Colorado’s poor showing in Lincoln against Nebraska, the opposing run game dictated the night for the Buffaloes.
The offense wasn’t much better, as the 21 points put up by the Buffs’ offense was the lowest since Week 2 at Nebraska. However, when the offense has the ball for less than two-thirds of the game, it’s challenging to put up a lot of points.
Third down was a struggle once again for Colorado, as the Buffs are now just 8-for-31 on third down in their last three games. Highlighted by a third-and-one in the third quarter where the team was not on the same page and Shedeur Sanders was sacked, the team couldn’t answer its woes to extend drives.
“That’s on me,” Prime said. “We’ll get it together.”
Travis Hunter continued his push for the Heisman trophy with another solid performance. Hunter tallied 125 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches to go along with a phenomenal pass deflection where he came very close to intercepting Daniels.
The other Buff who found the end zone was the true freshman, Drelon Miller. His presence was felt in the first half with five catches, 44 yards and one touchdown.
“He’s showing up and showing out,” Prime said. “The moment is not too big for him … We want to recruit more of those types of men.”
Colorado can still make the Big 12 Championship game, but they need some help. They need to win against Oklahoma State on Friday and then need either Houston to win against BYU, or wins from both Arizona (over Arizona State) and Kansas State (over Iowa State).
“We controlled our own destiny and we fumbled it.”
That game against Oklahoma State kicks off from Folsom Field at 10 a.m. MT on Friday and will be broadcast on ESPN.
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