Monday Morning Wheaties

The final score might indicate a tough off night for the 19^th-ranked Kansas football team, but there were plenty of players who showed up and played a great football game in Saturday’s 23-17 loss at Illinois.

Too many mistakes, missed opportunities and failing to capitalize on and keep the momentum when it was on their side was what ultimately cost Lance Leipold’s club.

The 1-1 record and road loss to a Big Ten team is hardly reason to overlook the individuals who showed up and played well enough to win.

All of that, and more, brings us to this week’s Monday Morning Wheaties.

You’ve seen the tomahawks on the back of the Florida State helmets, the buckeye tree leaves on the Ohio State helmets and the paw prints on the back of the Clemson helmets.

Each Monday, we take one last look back at the week that was and hand out different amounts of the iconic breakfast cereal to the Jayhawks’ top performers.

So, be sure to come get your Monday Morning Wheaties and feel free to hit up the comments section — subscribers only for now — with any players you feel we might’ve missed.

Picture on the box

• Senior Safety Marvin Grant – Grant had his best game as a Jayhawk, finishing with a team-high 9 tackles, including 7 solo stops, 1 sack and 1 pass break-up. Simply put, he was everywhere all night, and he played physical and fast in covering all the ground he did. Grant was disruptive behind the line of scrimmage and also showed off his ability to play in coverage. With players his size (6-2, 210), there can be a tendency to want to stay close to the line of scrimmage and be physical as often as possible. And Grant can do that. But his ability to run and his experience and intelligence in reading what the offense is doing also allowed him to handle his responsibilities in the secondary. Remember, this was an Illinois team that scored just one offensive touchdown in their win over the Jayhawks. Grant was a big reason for that.

A full bowl

• Senior running back Devin Neal – Neal’s senior season is off to a stellar start, with back-to-back 100-yard games to open the season. In this one, he gained 101 yards on just 14 carries and ran like he easily would’ve reached 200 if given another 8-10 carries. Turnovers hurt his chances at those and hurt the Jayhawks’ chances of winning the game. But Neal’s 7.2 yards-per-carry average looked even better than it sounds. Don’t be surprised to see the KU RB be featured a little more prominently in the weeks to come.

• D-Linemen Tommy Dunn Jr. & Caleb Taylor – Dunn and Taylor were a big part of a KU defensive line that dominated up front until the Illini’s final drive. Up to that point, with Kansas in control most of the way, Dunn, Taylor and the rest of the KU D-Line were simply too quick and too physical for the Illini front, forcing Illinois QB Luke Altmyer to scramble and flee the pocket early and often while also stuffing the Illini run game to the tune of 79 yards on 34 carries. It wasn’t until Illinois was protecting the lead late and pounding straight ahead with its big package that the home team found much success running the ball. These two combined for 6 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

• Senior linebacker Cornell Wheeler – Like Grant, Wheeler played fast and physical all night and was a big part of setting the tone for KU’s tough and tenacious night on D. He led the Jayhawks with 3 tackles-for-loss and finished with 8 on the night, with a forced fumble added into the mix. Everything you heard or read about Wheeler throughout the offseason and preseason camp appears to have been spot on. He has looked great to open the season. Linebacker JB Brown also deserves a nod here. He wasn’t quite as productive on the stat sheet, but he played hard, hit hard and showed off his speed, too, en route to his 5-tackle night.

Nighttime snack

• Senior wide receiver Luke Grimm — Grimm caught a couple of touchdowns in this game, but only one counted. The first was wiped out by an offensive pass interference penalty called on Jared Casey that probably should not have been flagged. The one that stood was vintage Grimm – a great route, followed by a tough catch in traffic and creativity in getting his feet — yes, both feet — in along the back line of the end zone for the score to count. Grimm finished with 9 catches for 40 yards on 13 targets.

• Junior running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. – Neal was good in his 14 carries, but Hishaw was, too, in his 7, gaining 39 yards and helping the KU offense do its part to match the physicality of the home team, which was a point of emphasis for the Jayhawks all week long. Hishaw’s seven carries all came in the game’s first three quarters.

• Senior defensive end Jereme Robinson – The veteran D-End showed terrific pursuit and effort all night in trying to get Altmyer on the ground. Not only did that create a disruptive environment for the Illinois QB, but it also paid off in a look-what-I-found moment in the first half, when Robinson fell on the fumble that Wheeler had created to give possession back to the Jayhawks after an early interception thrown by KU QB Jalon Daniels.

Drink the milk

• Senior kicker Tabor Allen – It was just a 29-yarder, but significant nonetheless because it was the first career field goal for the longtime KU kickoff specialist. Allen’s kick came at the 12:39 mark of the second quarter and tied the game at 3-all after the Jayhawks had turned the ball over on their first possession. Again, it was a short kick, but it was also one he’ll probably always remember and should help his confidence heading into the rest of the season.