Four things we learned from KU Jayhawks football’s 59-7 loss to Iowa State Cyclones
It’s a good time for a Kansas football bye week.
Perhaps that’s the only positive the Jayhawks can take away after they were dominated, 59-7, by Iowa State on a drizzly night at Jack Trice Stadium.
This one was over early — a first for the Jayhawks in 2021 after they’d remained competitive at halftime in each of their first four games.
Iowa State took a 28-0 lead in the first quarter, as KU couldn’t get out of its own way while making numerous careless errors.
The Cyclones, a week after losing at Baylor, were also on point offensively. Quarterback Brock Purdy’s first-quarter stat line was this: 5 for 5 for 96 yards passing with four touchdowns.
Iowa State took mercy on KU at the four-minute mark of the third quarter, putting the backups in on offense with a 45-7 lead. Those reserves, though, immediately marched themselves for a four-play, 58-yard touchdown drive of their own.
It was that kind of day for KU.
Here are a few other things we learned about the Jayhawks (1-4) on Saturday.
Deficient with discipline
One of KU’s best accomplishments through four weeks was its limiting of self-inflicted mistakes.
That trend did not continue on Saturday.
KU, which had just three lost turnovers combined in its first four games, had two in the first half against Iowa State. Both came from quarterback Jason Bean, as he fumbled one without any contact before also throwing an ill-advised red-zone interception across his body.
There were other gaffes too. KU had a procedural penalty for having five me in the backfield. Bean fumbled — but recovered — another time when he lost the ball while deciding whether to hand off to KU running back Devin Neal.
Iowa State took full advantage of the sloppiness, putting together three first-half touchdown drives after starting possessions on KU’s side of the field.
Small sign of progress?
KU — for a second straight week — opened up some holes for its running backs, as Neal and Torry Locklin combined for 71 first-half rushing yards on 18 carries.
This production was against a stout Iowa State run defense too. Coming in, the Cyclones had the Big 12’s best rush defense while allowing just 2.1 yards per carry. They also had previously given up more than 67 rushing yards just once in four games, with Baylor’s 123 rushing yards serving as the previous best for an opponent.
KU finished with 175 rushing yards on 44 carries.
No answers this week
KU continued to struggle with nearly every area of defense, as Iowa State scored 38 points in its seven first-half possessions while averaging 9.3 yards per play.
The Jayhawks were short-handed then, as safety and team leader Kenny Logan had to sit out the first half after being charged with a targeting penalty during the fourth quarter of KU’s previous contest against Duke.
Old issue returns
KU’s best scoring chance in the first half was halted by a special-teams malfunction, as Jacob Borcila’s 34-yard field-goal attempt was blocked by Iowa State’s Eyioma Uwazurike then returned 55 yards by Greg Eisworth.
It’s not the first time this season KU has had kicking-game blocking concerns. During a second-week loss to Coastal Carolina, KU had an extra point and punt blocked, then also had another field goal deflected that was brought back by an Iowa State off-sides call.
This story was originally published October 2, 2021 at 9:44 PM with the headline "Four things we learned from KU Jayhawks football’s 59-7 loss to Iowa State Cyclones."
