Grades from Kansas Jayhawks’ 35-23 loss to Baylor and looking ahead to Oklahoma State

Here are our letter grades for all three Kansas units, plus our play of the game, from Saturday’s 35-23 loss to Baylor in Waco, Texas, and a look ahead to the next game, Nov. 5 vs. Oklahoma State in Lawrence.

Play of the game

Baylor sophomore quarterback Blake Shapen accepted the snap under center, faked a handoff to a running back, then rolled out to his right on a second-and-2 call at the KU 27 and Baylor up 28-3.

KU defensive tackle Jereme Robinson, a 6-foot-3, 255-pound junior from Montgomery, Alabama, stripped Shapen of the football, retrieved the ball at the KU 42 and rambled 49 yards all the way to the Baylor 9. He was tackled by both QB Shapen and receiver Hal Presley, who prevented a TD.

KU’s Devin Neal scored on a 2-yard run three plays later and the Jayhawks cut the deficit to 28-10.

Ultimately KU sliced the gap to five points (28-23) before Baylor scored a TD on a late drive to silence KU’s bid for a comeback win.

By the way, had the Jayhawks been able to pull out the victory, it would have been the third-greatest comeback in Jayhawk football history. KU rallied from 28 points down in the fourth quarter to beat Colorado 52-45 in 2010 in Lawrence. The Jayhawks rallied from 26 down to topple Iowa State 50-47 in 1992 in Ames.

The play of the game on offense had to be Jason Bean’s 24-yard pass completion to Quentin Skinner for a touchdown that cut the gap to 28-16 with 14 minutes, 33 remaining. The TD came on a second-and-3 call at the 24.

Bean accepted the shotgun snap and dropped straight back. He threw against a stiff 30 mph wind to the right side of the field where Skinner had raced past two defensive backs and was open in the end zone. Skinner had to contort his body a bit, making the catch and falling to the turf where he cradled the ball.

Grades

Offense: C.

KU was unable to run the football on its limited attempts versus the Bears.

The Jayhawks had 56 rushing yards on 22 carries, finishing with 288 yards of total offense. Neal gained 32 yards on 10 carries and one TD. Bean had 25 yards on eight carries and also one TD. The long run on the day was 7 yards by Neal.

KU’s deep running back room was not well occupied on Saturday. Only Neal and Sevion Morrison (3 yards, 2 carries) played. RB Ky Thomas, who has missed some time due to injury, had no carries. Daniel Hishaw remains out with injury.

Bean completed 16 of 27 passes for 232 yards and one touchdown. He did not toss any interceptions. Skinner, who lost two fumbles, had the great catch mentioned above for a TD and finished with four grabs, 66 yards. Lawrence Arnold had three catches, 53 yards and Trevor Wilson two catches for 52 yards including a 47-yarder. Receiver Luke Grimm missed the game because of an undisclosed injury.

Defense: C

The Bears had a well-balanced attack, rushing for 273 yards on 57 carries and passing for 164 yards and a TD. That adds to a healthy 437 yards.

QB Shapen was sacked twice and intercepted twice and lost a fumble.

Running back Richard Reese emerged as offensive star of the game with 186 yards rushing on 31 carries with two TDs. He also caught two passes for 26 yards. Running back Qualan Jones had 71 yards on nine carries.

Hal Presley had three catches for 39 yards and Ben Smiths three grabs for 36 yards.

Special teams: B

On a windy day, Reis Vernon had two punts for a 31.5 yard average with a long punt of 49 yards. Jason Bean had an effective pooch punt of 41 yards that pinned Baylor at its own 1. Kicker Jacob Borcila converted a 30-yard field goal and was 2 of 2 on extra points. Two of Tabor Allen’s five kickoffs went in the end zone.

Next up

KU will meet Oklahoma State on Nov. 5 at Booth Memorial Stadium.

As of Saturday night, no time had been announced for the game. Oklahoma State improved to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play following Saturday’s 41-34 home win over Texas.

Oklahoma State is set to meet Kansas State on Saturday in Manhattan, Kan.