Kansas wide receiver Quentin Skinner fails to catch a pass from quarterback Jalon Daniels as Illinois defensive back Torrie Cox Jr. defends during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Champaign, Ill. – Whatever Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry learned from watching last year’s game against Kansas more than 100 times, he clearly passed it on to his defensive backs.
Xavier Scott intercepted KU quarterback Jalon Daniels twice in the first half, including once for a defensive touchdown with 36 seconds left that gave the Illini a sudden surge heading into the break. Miles Scott intercepted another pass near the Illinois end zone late in the third quarter, preventing the Jayhawks from taking a two-point lead. It was the first game in Daniels’ career with more than two interceptions.
Despite a valiant effort from the Jayhawks defense, which was stingy all night until allowing a series of third-down conversions late in the game, KU lost 23-17 on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium in Champaign to move to 1-1 on the season.
After forcing the 19th-ranked Jayhawks into their first two punts of the year – one of which the Illini recovered in their own end zone, preventing a defensive touchdown – Illinois ran down the clock on a 15-play drive that lasted 6:46, led by the tenacious Ca’Lil Valentine, who carried the ball six times in a row.
“We stopped them several times in the three-and-out,” said middle linebacker Cornell Wheeler, “but we needed it when it mattered.”
The result was a David Olano field goal that gave the Illini a six-point lead, and KU’s last-minute drive in search of a game-winning touchdown went less than half the 75 yards needed before Daniels dropped the ball on a Hail Mary attempt.
Devin Neal once again delivered a 100-yard rushing performance, but it wasn’t enough as Daniels only threw for 141 yards.
“He’s obviously frustrated,” said head coach Lance Leipold, describing the three interceptions before adding, “You know, then he makes some great plays for us as he fights through. Again, that’s the most the kid has run the ball in 11 months, and I thought he played well, kept up, but it wasn’t his best day. I think everyone will acknowledge that. But I still thought he made some good throws. Again, we’ve got to learn from that.”
“It’s not one guy’s fault,” Wheeler added. “This is a team. We’re losing as KU. Not just one person (losing), we’re losing together.”
Kansas showed promise on its first drive before Daniels was intercepted while attempting to force an off-platform throw to Luke Grimm.
The Illini moved the ball much more methodically across the field. Kaden Feagin was stopped on a throw play on third-and-6 just before the first down, but was able to storm forward the remaining yard on fourth-and-1 despite good penetration through the Jayhawks’ front line.
Later in the drive, Marvin Grant was able to force Illinois wide receiver Zakhari Franklin out of bounds at the 5-yard line, forcing a third-and-2 that proved to be the decisive tackle as Illini running back Aidan Laughery scored a sure touchdown with a well-executed play-action pass. KU was able to escape, allowing only a field goal.
The Jayhawks presented some creative running play variations on the next drive, including a speed option with Neal and Sevion Morrison in the backfield next to Daniels, which ended in a 17-yard run for Morrison.
Early in the second quarter, Daniels hit Grimm for what would have been a 15-yard touchdown, but it was called back due to offensive pass interference by Jared Casey. That penalty derailed the offense, and KU backed off with a screen pass on third-and-13, which led to Tabor Allen making his first career field goal attempt.
Illinois had an even worse experience on its next drive with a screen pass, as Franklin was hit hard by Grant and Wheeler, leading to a forced fumble that Jereme Robinson recovered. But the Jayhawks promptly went fourth-and-out after Grimm stepped out of bounds on a short pass reception on fourth-and-2, scrambling for extra yards.
Still, KU was the next team to score, taking advantage of 26- and 24-yard runs by Neal in a quick, pressing drive to set up a short touchdown from Daniels to Grimm – this time without a penalty.
The Illini avoided another three-and-out when Franklin caught a 42-yard pass from Luke Altmyer one-handed, putting them right in KU territory at the two-minute warning. A false start and some outside pressure from Dean Miller and JB Brown ended the drive abruptly, though Olano did make a 50-yard field goal to cut the gap to 10-6.
A Quentin Skinner fumble on KU’s drive put the Jayhawks behind, and Illinois called a timeout to get the ball back before halftime. As it turned out, it wasn’t necessary, as KU tried another screen pass on third-and-13. Xavier Scott got in front of Skinner for his second pick of the game, which came back for a touchdown.
The Jayhawks were able to mitigate that mistake somewhat by stopping Illinois early in the second half and launching a steady attack that included two key catches from Skinner and a tough running play from Daniel Hishaw Jr. This eventually led to Daniel’s second touchdown pass, this time to Lawrence Arnold.
Late in the third quarter, KU opted for a fullback dive by Jared Casey on fourth-and-1½, and a readout showed him converting the ball. But on the next play, Daniels caught a deep pass intended for Skinner just outside the end zone and threw a third interception, this time to Miles Scott.
“I’ve always said since last year that they’re good at hiding what they’re doing,” Daniels said. “Every pre-snap look is about the same until the post-snap happens, and their DBs honestly just made a lot of plays with the ball when it was in the air.”
Illinois got very lucky early in the fourth quarter when it recovered a botched punt in its own end zone for a harmless touchback after a wild scramble. Moments later, Altmyer found Pat Bryant for a deep completion to start a rare successful Illini drive, then hit him again on a third-and-10 attempt to get to the 1-yard line. Feagin scored and KU immediately went three points out.
On third-and-12 with five minutes left, Franklin made a precise catch on the sideline that prevented KU’s battle-weary defense from leaving the field and helped set up the field goal.
The Jayhawks will host UNLV (2-0) at Children’s Mercy Park in a rematch of last year’s Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Friday at 6 p.m.
“The season has just started, guys,” Leipold said. “That’s the way it is, but we’ll see what kind of team we are, what kind of determination we have, what kind of leadership we have, from the head coach down.”
This is how they scored
First quarter
3:35 – David Olano’s 23-yard field goal is good. Fourteen plays, 62 yards, 7:35 TOP. Illinois 3, KU 0.
Second quarter
12:39 – 29-yard field goal by Tabor Allen good. Ten plays, 64 yards, 5:56 TOP. Illinois 3, KU 3.
3:32 – Luke Grimm 3-yard pass from Jalon Daniels. Allen PAT good. Seven plays, 81 yards, 3:05 TOP. KU 10, Illinois 3.
1:05 – Olano’s 50-yard field goal is good. Seven plays, 43 yards, 2:27 TOP. KU 10, Illinois 6.
0:36 – 28-yard interception return by Xavier Scott. Illinois 13, KU 10.
Third quarter
4:57 – 13-yard pass from Lawrence Arnold from Daniels. Allen PAT good. Fourteen plays, 81 yards, 8:17 TOP. KU 17, Illinois 13.
Fourth quarter
9:34 – Kaden Feagin 1-yard run. Olano PAT good. Eight plays, 80 yards, 3:54 TOP. Illinois 20, KU 17.
0:58 – Olano 42-yard field good. Fifteen plays, 42 yards, 6:46 TOP. Illinois 23, KU 17.
Result
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Written by Henry Greenstein
