Baylor Bears @ Kansas Jayhawks
Isaiah Marshall accounts for 3 TDs, Kansas blocks late FG to beat Baylor for 1st Big 12 win 25-24
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- — Kansas rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit to defeat Baylor 25-24 and collect its first Big 12 win of the season on Saturday after blocking a field goal attempt in the final minute.
The Jayhawks (3-4, 1-3) took a one-point lead with 1:13 remaining when Isaiah Marshall capped a six-play, 71-yard drive with his third touchdown of the day on a 15-yard run. He passed for the other two TDs.
Baylor (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) drove to the 27-yard line before having its 45-yard attempt blocked by tackle Blake Herold. He said after the game that he was confident the team would get one after two earlier tipped field goals.
“They kind of stung a little bit for sure,” Herold said. “Finally getting that third one is where everything paid off.”
The win ends a two-game slide by the Jayhawks, who have struggled to keep pace in the highly competitive Big 12 Conference since coach Lance Leipold took over in 2021. With the win, they improved to 18-32 in the conference under Leipold.
“We needed a win like this,” Leipold said. “It’s great to get a win in this way in a kind of back-and-forth game. To come back and do so is one that can build a lot of confidence.”
A large part of that back-and-forth momentum was caused by interceptions by Baylor’s Devon Jordan and Micah Gifford. The defense also combined for five sacks, having entered the game with a Big 12-best 22 to keep the pressure on Marshall.
Gifford’s interception came on the Jayhawks’ first drive, but they forced a turnover on downs and took the lead with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Marshall to Carson Bruhn. It was Bruhn’s first career touchdown.
Baylor charged back with a drive that started on the Jayhawks’ 39-yard-line after a 51-yard kickoff return. The Bears needed just six plays to find the end zone with a 1-yard touchdown run by Dawson Pendergrass.
Jordan broke the 7-7 tie out of the locker room when he jumped in front of Marshall’s pass and returned it for a 42-yard pick-six.
Kansas responded with a 40-yard field goal from Martin Connington, then gave up a penalty-filled seven-play drive that ended in an 8-yard touchdown pass from DJ Lagway to Jayden McGowan for a 21-10 Baylor lead. The Jayhawks were called for a personal foul and illegal formation during the drive, the latter erasing a 10-yard sack that would have set Baylor up for a third-and-36.
The Jayhawks scored on the first play of the fourth quarter when Marshall found Nik McMillan for a 34-yard touchdown pass, but were unable to score the two-point conversion despite earning a do-over on a pass interference call.
Kansas and Baylor traded field goals before Marshall’s game-winning touchdown.
Though he did not score, Dylan Edwards helped to pace the Kansas offense with 158 yards on 30 carries. He had four carries on the final drive.
The Jayhawks went 5-for-8 on fourth down. The decisive touchdown even came from a fourth-and-6. Kansas is now 13-for-26 on the season, while opponents are 5-for-12.
Kansas ended a 14-game losing streak against Baylor. The Jayhawks’ last win also came in Lawrence, in 2007.
Baylor: travels to Orlando to play UCF on Friday.
Kansas: heads to Fort Worth to face TCU next Saturday.
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