Kansas football grades: Analysis from KU Jayhawks’ Game 2 win over Illinois
The Kansas Jayhawks faced their first big test of the season against Illinois on Friday.
Well, they passed it with ease. KU raced to a 21-point lead at halftime and staved off a late Illinois rally to win 34-23.
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels returned after missing most of fall camp (plus the season opener against Missouri State). He looked like the Daniels of the old.
The Jayhawks made a statement on prime time on ESPN2.
It’s the type of win that’ll be on the minds of AP voters this weekend. But potential AP ranking or not, KU has put itself in a similar position to start red-hot like last season.
Here are grades for all three KU units, plus the player of the game.
Kansas football grades
Offense: B+
Kansas’ offense was a thing of a beauty to start the game.
On their first drive, the Jayhawks marched down the field for a touchdown. They drove 82 yards in 10 plays to take a 7-0 lead.
Then, Daniels and company tacked on another two touchdowns before Illinois got on the board.
Daniels’ most impressive drive came when he led the offense 75 yards in 36 seconds at the end of the half, giving KU a 21-point halftime lead (28-7).
Daniels carved up the Illini defense in the air — finishing with 277 passing yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, KU’s running back room and Daniels combined for 262 rushing yards.
Another highlight: Kansas’ wide receivers brought in multiple difficult catches and adjusted their routes on the fly when plays appeared broken. That included a Luke Grimm contested catch on that late first-half scoring drive.
KU’s offensive line created enormous holes for the running backs while only letting Daniels get sacked twice.
The two real negatives for the KU offense were that it didn’t quite keep the first-half momentum in the second half — scoring only six points — plus KU’s fumbling issues.
Kansas turned the ball over twice (a fumble and Daniels interception), but there could have been a third turnover if KU hadn’t scooped an early fumble.
Defense: B+
KU’s defense held its own against a beefy Illini offensive line by matching their physicality.
The defensive line made Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer’s life miserable — as KU had six sacks. Altmyer struggled to find time and space to throw downfield between KU’s defensive-line pressure and lockdown secondary.
Altmyer finished 19-for-28 passing for 202 passing yards and two interceptions — both of which KU defenders ripped out of Illinois players’ hands.
The only big-yardage play Kansas’ defense allowed was when Altmyer scrambled for a 72-yard touchdown.
If there’s anything to ding against Kansas, it’s targeting penalties. Kansas defensive end Austin Booker and defensive back Cobee Bryant were ejected for targeting and will miss the first half of the next game.
The first by Booker was on a 2-point attempt and the second came when Bryant launched into a receiver.
KU coach Lance Leipold plans to challenge those suspensions, but as of now, the Jayhawks will be down some key names.
Special teams: B+
KU kicker Seth Keller continues to impress. He was a perfect 2 for 2 on field goals, with a long of 41 yards. He made all his extra-point tries as well.
KU punter Damon Greaves finally made his college football and season debut. He punted for only 37 yards on his lone boot, though the punt had a good hang time.
Kansas kick return Trevor Wilson also averaged 21 yards on his two returns.
Player of the game: Jalon Daniels
Daniels played as well as you could have hoped, especially coming off a back injury. He led multiple scoring drives early to put Kansas up early. He helped put some points on the board to stave off Illinois’ late rally.
He finished with a QB rating of 168.5, with his one interception as his only mistake.
And he’s staying focused heading into next week.
“You can’t drink the Kool-Aid,” Daniels said. “We are 2-0, but at the end of the day our mindset is 0-0.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2023 at 10:07 AM with the headline "Kansas football grades: Analysis from KU Jayhawks’ Game 2 win over Illinois."
