Moments That Popped: KU 45, No. 17 Iowa State 36

Kansas City, Missouri — Not dead yet.

In need of four wins in the final four weeks to reach the postseason, the Kansas football team picked up a big one on Saturday, knocking off No. 17 Iowa State, 45-36, at Arrowhead Stadium.

The win moved the Jayhawks to 3-6 on the season, 2-4 in Big 12 play and 2-1 at Arrowhead, one of their two homes away from home this season.

Iowa State, meanwhile, falls to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 play after suffering their second consecutive defeat.

The Cyclones entered the week ranked second in the Big 12 in total defense, giving up just 311.8 yards per game to opponents. KU blew that number out of the water, racking up 532 yards for the game, including 360 in the first half alone.

So, now KU moves forward needing three wins in the next three weeks to get to 6-6 on the season and qualify for a third consecutive bowl appearance.

Several players talked this week about realizing that there’s no more margin for error, but, more important than that, they also talked about the importance of finishing strong and sending out the seniors on the right note.

It’s certainly still a stacked deck against the Jayhawks, who have two more ranked opponents and two more road games in the final three weeks. But, at least for now, they’re making sure people continue to pay attention.

Next up, KU will head back out on the road to take on yet another ranked opponent — their third straight — in No. 9 BYU.

Kickoff is slated for 9:15 p.m. central time on ESPN.

Here’s a look back at some of Saturday’s action.

LIKES

• Done deal – KU running back Devin Neal entered the day needing just 7 yards to pass June Henley on KU’s all-time rushing list, and he got that — and then some — on the first play of the game. Neal gained 14 yards on that first carry and finished the day with 116 yards and 2 TDs, putting him at 3,951 for his career, just ahead of Henley, who gained 3,841 from 1993-96. During a break in the action a little later in the game, the public address announcer recognized Neal for the achievement. While his record was being announced, the cameras showed Neal on the video board and he flashed the 2-handed heart gesture to the crowd before strapping his helmet back on and getting back to work. It was cool to see him be present enough in that moment to soak it in and feel the experience. Most games, Neal’s focus is so razor-sharp that he wouldn’t be too aware of anything going on around him. Glad he was for this moment. It’s one he’ll never forget.

• How about that hit! – The Kansas defense played solid football in a lot of areas on Saturday, but nowhere did it show up more than on a 4th-and-1 play by the Cyclones on the opening drive of the second half. After running a speed option to the left, the ISU ball carrier appeared to have an angle to the first-down marker. But KU linebacker JB Brown had other ideas, lowering the boom right before the sticks to force the turnover on downs for the Cyclones. KU took over at the 41-yard line and added to its lead on a Neal touchdown run on the ensuing drive. The hit was the latest in a long line of big plays by Brown, who has been one of the four or five best and most consistent Kansas football players all season. He finished the day with 10 tackles, 7 of the solo variety.

• Solid early response – After giving up a 98-yard touchdown drive to Iowa State on the Cyclones’ first drive of the game, Kansas didn’t blink and jumped right back into the flow of things with a 70-yard touchdown pass from Jalon Daniels to Luke Grimm to tie the game. KU didn’t stop there either. Devin Neal added a 13-yard touchdown later in the first quarter and Quentin Skinner scored another TD after being left wide open early in the 2nd quarter. That surge, which came at a point when the Jayhawks could’ve dropped their heads, gave Kansas control of the game and put the Jayhawks up 21-7 after racking up nearly 250 yards of offense in the first 20 minutes of official game time. By halftime, that total was up to 360 yards and KU scored points on 5 consecutive drives after coming up empty on its opening drive.

• Tabor Allen from distance – The KU place kicker, who won the job over Charlie Weinrich in a preseason camp battle, continued his solid season in this one, knocking a 47-yard field goal through the uprights late in the first half to put Kansas up 31-10 with 1:01 to play in the 1st half. In fairness, Allen did miss one later in the game and is now 7 for 9 on field goal tries this season. The 47-yarder on Saturday was a career long.

DISLIKES

• Opening drive on D – After punting on its opening drive, the Kansas defense gave up a 98-yard scoring drive to the Cyclones on their first series of the game. Much like Kansas the rest of the way, ISU got whatever it wanted on that opening drive and safety Devin Dye had a particularly rough series, taking a bad angle and missing a tackle early in the drive and then getting beat over the top on the Cyclones’ first touchdown. Perhaps that got the Jayhawks’ attention, because Kansas was pretty solid at all three levels of defense the rest of the way.

• Bryce Cabledue helped off – Kansas left tackle Bryce Cabledue was injured on the Jayhawks’ first scoring drive of the second half and had to be helped to the sideline by a couple of teammates. Cabledue moved over from right tackle to left tackle this season, and his play — particularly after about Week 3 — and leadership/experience have been an important part in the offensive line’s overall solid season. Redshirt freshman Calvin Clements, who had been in the mix to start but suffered an injury during spring football, checked in on the next series and played the rest of the game for Cabledue.

WHAT THE?

• Mello strikes again – For the second year in a row against the Cyclones, Mello Dotson, KU's Mr. Pick-6, picked up an interception return for a touchdown late in this game to all but seal the victory.

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