Moments That Popped: Kansas, West Virginia

Five minutes away from snapping its two-game losing streak and getting back on track, the Kansas football surrendered an 11-point lead in the final 5:39 of the fourth quarter and lost its third game in a row, 32-28 at West Virginia.

The Jayhawks (1-3, 0-1) trailed 7-0 and 14-7 at halftime, but came out of the break with possession and tied the game at 14 on a touchdown pass from Jalon Daniels to Luke Grimm.

KU controlled most of the second half from there, but, once again, could not close. The offense had its best rhythm of the season in the second half, but three consecutive runs while trying to close out the game gave the ball back to West Virginia with a chance to tie or win and that's exactly what the Mountaineers (2-2, 1-0) did.

The Jayhawks now will head into their first home game at Arrowhead Stadium (next Saturday vs. TCU) licking their wounds and searching for answers.

There were plenty of ways in which Kansas was better in this one, but it still was not good enough. And there are now questions and concerns on both sides of the ball. Not just at QB and not just at offensive coordinator.

At this point, you have to wonder how much confidence this group will be able to conjure up as it heads into the rest of what has suddenly become a difficult season.

Here's a look back at some of Saturday's memorable moments.

LIKES

• Using Casey right – On the first drive of the second half, KU used some good motion and misdirection after the snap to get the WVU defense moving left and then hit tight end Jared Casey on a short route to the right against the grain. It was an easy pitch and catch and picked up an easy first down. Casey’s handprints were all over the Jayhawks’ first drive of the second half, as a receiver, a blocker and an all-around general badass. On the Jayhawks’ second TD of the second half, which gave KU a 21-17 lead, Casey made the key block on Daniel Hishaw’s easy TD run. For my money, Jared Casey was the player of the game for Kansas in this one. He was terrific in so many ways and played so physical whenever he got the chance.

• KU run game – Devin Neal was out there doing Devin Neal things (110 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries) and he got his sidekick back for this one. After missing the UNLV game, Daniel Hishaw Jr. returned to the KU lineup in this one and made his presence felt as a runner and a blocker. Giving Hishaw a handful of carries helped keep Neal fresh and gave West Virginia another look – a punishing, bruising, physically imposing look at that. Hishaw and Neal both got into the end zone on 11-yard runs, one in the first quarter and one in the fourth. KU's success on the ground allowed the Jayhawks' passing game to strike at the right times and helped keep the WVU defense guessing.

• Skinner’s fine footwork – He’s been pretty quiet so far this season, but KU wideout Quentin Skinner made a big time catch in the first half of Saturday’s game, dragging his feet along the sideline and corralling the pass with both hands for a big KU first down. The play was initially called incomplete, but Skinner knew he caught it and replay review showed he was right. Skinner finished the day 22 yards on 2 grabs, a good sign given the fact that he'll still be needed the rest of the way and needed to find something to get himself going.

• Receiving milestones – Although their entry into the 2,000-yard club was pretty much a given when the season began, it became official on Saturday, when both Lawrence Arnold and Luke Grimm eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark for their careers. The two will go down as two of the best receivers in program history and their numbers will illustrate that. It was cool to see them both get this mark in the same game as they battle for positioning on KU's all-time yards and receptions list during their final season as Jayhawks.

DISLIKES

• Defense collapses – Even though both players carded an interception, it was not a great day for the Kansas cornerbacks, who struggled to contain the WVU wide receivers down the field, never in a bigger moment than in the final minute of the fourth quarter when Mello Dotson was called for a pass interference call in the end zone on the Mountaineers' game-winning drive. Beyond that, the defense struggled mightily to contain the QB run game and could not hold onto an 11-point lead in the final 5:39 of the game. WVU scored 15 points in the final 5 minutes of Saturday's game after scoring 14 total in the first half and just 3 in the first 25 minutes of the second half.

• Another JD pick – After throwing six interceptions in his first three games of the season, Daniels threw his seventh pick in the first quarter of this one, throwing right to a West Virginia defender sitting in underneath coverage as Daniels looked farther down the field. While both JD6 and KU OC Jeff Grimes said last week that each of his first six picks was the result of a different mistake or look, this one looked a lot like one he threw in the Week 3 loss to UNLV. Daniels settled in after that and started to make the kinds of throws we remember seeing from him in the past.

• O-Line play, especially early – While the run blocking was good enough, the Jayhawks’ offensive line was in disarray early in the game, giving up all kinds of free runs and pressure in the backfield and creating chaos for KU QB Jalon Daniels. Daniels still missed some throws and had some moments where he struggled, but he also looked a lot better when he had time. Veteran Jayhawk Nolan Gorczyka came in at right tackle in place of Logan Brown for a bit and transfer Shane Bumgardner played at right guard, too, and that appeared to settle things down on the right side while also creating better flow and rhythm for the offense and O-line as a whole. On the game's final offensive play by Kansas, however, left tackle Bryce Cabledue was beat off the edge and that allowed a WVU defender to strip the ball from Daniels as Kansas was trying to put together its own game-winning drive. Daniels fumbled and the Jayhawks fell short. Again.

WHAT THE?

• Lightning delay – Early in the 4th quarter, lightning in the area forced officials to clear the field and wait out the weather, with the Jayhawks leading 21-17 and 10:43 to play in the game. It came just after the Jayhawks saw a video review of a pass to Trevor Kardell on third down confirmed as an incomplete pass. Despite a heck of an effort by Kardell on the one-handed grab, it was was ruled that he did not get his feet inbounds. Shortly after the delay was announced and fans cleared the stands, reports from Morgantown said the lightning was expected to be in the area for 90 minutes and the game was, in fact, delayed for a full 2 hours before play resumed. Delays of this type are certainly nothing new in KU or college football, but this is one of the longest I can remember. Last year, during their home win over Oklahoma, the Jayhawks endured an hour-long weather delay before securing the win.