Moments That Popped: KU-Lindenwood season opener

Kansas City, Kan. — It was a slow start, with two turnovers and a couple of other miscues by the home team in the first quarter and a half.

But once the 22nd-ranked Kansas football team broke through, it was all Jayhawks from there in a 48-3, season-opening win over Lindenwood on Thursday night at Children’s Mercy Park.

On a night that was as much a celebration of the start of an exciting season as it was an intense opener, the Jayhawks were simply too much for the Lions (0-1) on both sides of the ball.

KU's offense cruised and got chunk plays in the running and passing games. And the Jayhawks' defense was simply too fast, strong and physical for the visitors, who are in their third year of the reclassification process up to Division I.

KU (1-0) scored on its opening possession when senior tailback Devin Neal scored from 5 yards out, and then added four more scores in the first half — another Neal touchdown, a pick-six defensive score by Mello Dotson, a 58-yard pass from Jalon Daniels to Luke Grimm on a perfectly thrown ball that hit Grimm in stride and a 1-yard TD run by Daniel Hishaw Jr. just before

That put the Jayhawks up 34-0 at halftime and they never looked back in what was a relaxing season-opening win.

KU's offense out-gained LU 530-202, gaining 8.2 yards per play, 14.3 yards per completion and 7.5 yards per carry on the ground.

Devin Neal (8 carries for 112 yards and 2 TDs) and Luke Grimm (6 catches for 111 yards and 1 TD) both topped 100 yards individually for the Jayhawks in the easy win.

Here's a look back at some of the action from Thursday night. The Jayhawks will now turn their attention to next Saturday's road game at Illinois on Sept. 7.

LIKES

• Mission accomplished – Kansas wideout Lawrence Arnold said last Sunday that he was looking forward to watching his team take care of business in the first half so the starters could sit and watch the reserves play throughout the second half. And that’s exactly how it played out. While that was good for the Jayhawks because an outcome like this was exactly what they expected and needed to start the season, it also was good for those second-, third- and fourth-string guys who got their turn at the fun and enjoyed some quality playing time. Cole Ballard and Sevion Morrison did most of the damage at QB and RB during the Jayhawks’ first drive of the second half. Wideout Doug Emilien added a touchdown, running back Johnny Thompson, QB Mikey Pauley and several defensive reserves also got in on the act in the second half.

• JD6 gets hit – It had to happen sometime. And it finally came with 1:05 to play in the first half on an incompletion at the Lindenwood 30. The reason this was good news was because of the way Daniels reacted to his first significant contact by a guy aiming to knock his head off this season. He hopped right up, with help from the man who hit him, and shook the defender’s hand before jumping back into the huddle to finish off the Jayhawks’ five scoring drive of the first half. No one wants to see Daniels hit that much this season, but at least now he can say he got the first out out of the way without issue.

• Great environment for a game – The Jayhawks will play here just once more this season — Sept. 13 vs. UNLV — but the folks at Sporting KC sure made it feel like Kansas and its fan base was welcomed for a while. The venue very much felt like a Kansas home game, and the amenities allowed fans to experience a new style of KU football, one that will be mirrored and super-sized when the new David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium opens for play in 2025. From the sound of things, there were next to no issues with the logistics of hosting a game in a building you've never played in. That's no small feat even for a team playing a season opener at its home stadium, making it even more impressive in this one. The lights, signs, sounds and crimson-and-blue vibe throughout the stadium certainly made it feel like Kansas belonged here and was more than welcome. Thanks to the rain staying mostly out of the forecast, the Jayhawks & Lions didn't even tear up Sporting KC's pitch too much.

• First 4th down decision = go for it – We got a good look at how willing the Jayhawks might be to stay in attack mode this season on their first offensive drive under new OC Jeff Grimes. Facing a fourth-and-three inside Lindenwood territory, the Jayhawks wasted no time in deciding to go for it and then executed a perfect shallow pattern to Luke Grimm, who cut back against the grain and easily converted the first down. A few plays later, the Jayhawks punched in their first touchdown of the season to take a 7-0 lead. The Jayhawks also went for a fourth-down conversion early in the fourth quarter. That one was also successful, with Cole Ballard hooking up with Doug Emilien for the Jayhawks' seventh touchdown of the night.

• The handoff goes to, who? – It wasn’t a lot, but the Jayhawks did give the ball to wide receivers on handoffs on a few occasions on Thursday night. Doug Emilien and Quentin Skinner both took handoffs… to mixed results. Emilien successfully gained yardage in helping set up a KU TD. Skinner fumbled on one of his carries after a big gain. They didn’t do much more than that, but you can bet they will in the future. And now that it’s on film, future KU opponents will have to figure out how to game plan against it.

More from Thursday night...

• 'You could just tell everybody's skin was itching to play football'

• Photo Gallery

• Notes & Numbers

DISLIKES

• No shutout – It hardly matters in the grand scheme of things, but shutouts are always great and KU was this close to getting one on Thursday night. It wasn't until a 34-yard field goal that capped a 14-play Lindenwood drive against KU's defensive reserves

• Miscommunication leads to turnover – There was a lot to like about the return of Jalon Daniels to the KU huddle, but it’s worth remembering that this was Daniels’ first game in almost a full year. And that can mean you’re gonna see a little rust. It wasn’t much and it didn’t hurt the Jayhawks in the long run, but Daniels’ interception on a ball intended for Luke Grimm appeared to be a case of Daniels throwing to the wrong spot. The two talkeda bout the miscue briefly on the sideline after the play and Daniels kept his eyes fixed on the video board after their conversation to see exactly what he saw or didn’t see. It happens. And now it’s behind them. Par for the course in any opener, especially one from a guy who missed most of last season, too.

WHAT THE?

• Off-the-field contact – There was really a cool moment midway through the second quarter, just before Devin Neal’s second touchdown run of the game. On the play before Neal’s 1-yard run, Daniel Hishaw Jr. nearly got in but got pushed out in a sprint to the pilon at the right corner of the field. Hishaw’s momentum nearly took him to the stands and on his way to slowing down, a woman in the corner got in his path and was knocked off of her feet and cracked by the 5-10, 220-pound Jayhawk. Hishaw immediately tried to make sure she was OK by helping her up and briefly consoling her, and during the down time prior to the KU kickoff, head coach Lance Leipold made his way down to the corner to check on the woman, who also was visiting with other members of the KU program. She kept a smile on her face throughout the aftermath of the collision, but you can be sure she’ll feel it Friday morning.