Raise your hand if this Kansas football team was the one you expected to see all along.
The free-flowing, high-flying, hard-hitting, win-getting Jayhawks knocked off No. 6 BYU on Saturday night, 17-13, to move to 4-6 on the season and hand the Cougars their first loss.
All of that and more will be celebrated in 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 WR Quentin Skinner – It’s been a rough year for Q-Skin in a lot of ways, but the veteran Jayhawk came up with some huge plays in this one. The first was a 29-yard grab on the opening drive that put KU in BYU territory and led to the Jayhawks’ first touchdown of the night. The last was a tough catch in traffic for a key third-down conversion that helped KU bleed just enough of the clock to make life difficult on the Cougars in their attempt to put together a game-winning drive. And the best was Skinner’s coverage of a muffed punt that set up the Jayhawks’ second and game-winning touchdown of the night. Three winning plays by a dude who has stuck with it all season and refused to give in to the struggles and disappointments. Skinner finished the night with those 2 catches on 2 targets for 51 yards and a huge smile for the win.
A full bowl
• Senior QB Jalon Daniels – Saturday night’s win was not anywhere close to JD6’s best game as a quarterback. But he made one play that led directly to the Jayhawks’ win. Facing a 4th-and-long late in the game, KU lined up to go for it. But instead of trying to get the first down, the Jayhawks quick-kicked it with Daniels doing the kicking and that decision and execution turned the game. The punt hit a BYU player in the helmet and was recovered by Skinner. One play later, KU put what turned out to be the winning touchdown on the board. For the night, Daniels finished 12-of-19 for 169 yards with no touchdowns and 1 interception. But that punt will be talked about for a long, long time, especially if the Jayhawks get these next two and make it to a bowl game.
• Senior RB Devin Neal – Nothing flashy but he did score two of the game’s three touchdowns on a couple of tough runs and also eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark for his Kansas career. The hits just keep coming for Devin Neal, who finished with 52 yards on 14 carries and added 3 receptions on 4 targets.
Nighttime snack
• Senior safety Marvin Grant — Marv made some big time hits in this game and his presence as a physical, punishing player over the middle made a serious impact on the game and on the BYU receivers. The senior finished with a team-high 10 tackles (7 solo) and one key pass break-up, as well. He’s had a game or two here and there where he has kind of disappeared a little. But, for the most part, Grant has had a fantastic final season as a Jayhawk, particularly when the matchup has suited his style of play as it did on Saturday night. Grant finished with KU’s second-highest defensive grade per Pro Football Focus, and I also thought safety Taylor Davis, who started and finished 2nd in tackles, played a solid game. He was KU’s 8th best defender vs. BYU per PFF.
• Senior cornerback Mello Dotson – They almost don’t make plays any bigger than the one Mello delivered just before halftime, when BYU was driving to get points and add to the list of KU’s late-2nd-quarter woes this season. Not only did Dotson pick up his 5th interception of the season, he did it by completely dominating the snap, forcing the receiver to go where he wanted him to go and then jumping the throw to take the ball away. That was as big of a play as Kansas has had all season because it kept the Jayhawks’ spirits up rather than heading into halftime on the back end of a disappointing finish to the first half and risking falling farther behind when BYU opened the second half on offense. Dotson added 3 tackles in the game and threw his body around whenever he needed to even when he wasn’t making the tackle.
Drink the milk
• Senior O-lineman Bryce Cabledue — After being deemed doubtful for the game early in the week, the veteran tackle not only played but also finished with the best Pro Football Focus grade for the KU offense in the win over BYU. Cabledue lined up at his old spot at right tackle for most of this one, with redshirt freshman Calvin Clements holding up pretty well in his start at left tackle for the Jayhawks. Solid day by both dudes.
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