Still Unbeaten: Kansas football tops Duke 35-27 to move to 4-0 on the season

In front of its first sellout crowd in three years, the Kansas football team improved to 4-0 with a 35-27 win over previously unbeaten Duke on Saturday at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

The win moved Kansas to 4-0 for the first time since 2009 and featured the Kansas offense racking up another massive day on the stat sheet.

KU quarterback Jalon Daniels was particularly impressive — once again, throwing for four touchdowns and rushing for another in the win over the ACC foe.

Daniels completed 11 of his first 12 passes and finished the day 19-of-23 passing for 324 yards, with 83 rushing yards on 11 carries.

Luke Grimm, LJ Arnold, Quentin Skinner and Daniel Hishaw all caught touchdown passes for the Jayhawks, who continued to show off their depth of weapons and seemingly got anything they wanted on most drives.

The Kansas defense also delivered a couple of huge stops during the game, none bigger than Eddie Wilson blowing up a Duke rushing play on fourth-and-short on the first drive of the second half.

Kansas led 21-13 at halftime and Duke started the third quarter with possession. Wilson’s stop allowed the Jayhawks to regain possession and extend their lead back to two scores.

Duke (3-1) closed the gap to 28-20 with a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, but the Jayhawks immediately responded with a long drive that Daniels capped off with a 3-yard touchdown run.

Duke cut the KU lead to eight again later in the fourth and actually got the ball back with 2:16 to play. That drive started at the Blue Devils’ 5-yard line, 95 yards away from a touchdown that would set up a potential game-tying 2-point conversion try.

Duke reached the KU 31-yard line but the Kansas defense held up on a fourth-and-seven play with 1:19 remaining to seal the victory.

KU is now 2-0 at home and 2-0 on the road this season.

Check back with KUsports.com for more on Saturday’s win.

Next up, the Jayhawks will play host to Big 12 foe Iowa State at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday at what figures to be another loud-and-proud crowd at Memorial Stadium.

How They Scored:

1st Quarter

5:25 – Trevor Kardell 6-yard pass from Jalon Daniels. Jacob Borcila kick. The Jayhawks’ first scoring drive of the day covered 57 yards in seven plays and took 3:16 off the clock. It featured a 30-yard run by Daniels and a fourth-down conversion pass from Daniels to Devin Neal, who dragged a tackler past the sticks to keep the drive alive. (KU 7, Duke 0)

3:40 – Jaylen Coleman 5 run. Charlie Ham kick. Duke quickly answered KU’s first touchdown with a four-play, 66-yard drive that took 1:39 and featured a 49-yard pass from Riley Leonard to Eli Pancol that set up the TD run on the next play. (KU 7, Duke 7).

2nd Quarter

12:35 – Daniel Hishaw 73 pass from Daniels. Borcila kick. Hishaw did all the damage on this drive, carrying for three yards on first down and then catching a short swing pass and taking it the distance on second down. Hishaw made four Duke defenders miss and ran through another tackle on his way to the end zone. (KU 14, Duke 7).

6:17 – Charlie Ham 22 field goal. Duke’s longest drive of the day at the time covered 12 plays, 70 yards and took 6:18 off the clock. (KU 14, Duke 10).

1:04 – Luke Grimm 19 pass from Daniels. Borcila kick. After holding the Blue Devils to a field goal on defense, Kansas responded with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive that took 5:13 and gave KU its first two-score lead of the day. Grimm caught three balls for 46 yards on the drive, including the touchdown in traffic in the back corner of the end zone. (KU 21, Duke 10).

:03 – Ham 37 field goal. After giving up the touchdown late in the quarter, Duke drove 55 yards in nine plays and 1:01 to cut the deficit to eight points at the half. (KU 21, Duke 13).

3rd Quarter

8:25 – LJ Arnold 36 pass from Daniels. Borcila kick. After a huge stop on fourth and short by the KU defense to open the second half, Daniels and company marched 62 yards in four plays to add another touchdown to the KU score. The drive featured two powerful runs by Hishaw. (KU 28, Duke 13).

4th Quarter

8:54 – Jordan Waters 3 run. Ham kick. Duke pulled to within one score with a 92-yard drive that took 10 plays and 4:44. (KU 28, Duke 20).

4:42 – Daniels 3 run. Borcila kick. Kansas responded to Duke putting a little game pressure on with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that featured Daniels doing more damage with his legs and accounting for his fifth TD of the day. (KU 35, Duke 20).

2:40 – Jalon Calhoun 27 yard pass from Riley Leonard. Ham kick. With its hopes dwindling, Duke drove down the field 70 yards in seven plays and 1:57 to pull within a single score late. (KU 35, Duke 27).