Moments That Popped: No. 13 Utah 31, Kansas 21

For the second year in a row, and this time in heartbreaking fashion, the Kansas football team finished the season on a loss to end with a 5-7 record, one win shy of bowl eligibility.

That became official Friday afternoon, when No. 13 Utah grinded out a 31-21 win over the Jayhawks that was decided as much by KU miscues as the plays made by the visiting team.

KU trailed 3-0 after one quarter and was down just 10-7 at halftime. Lance Leipold's team even led 14-10 into the fourth quarter, but that's when disaster struck and two KU interceptions deep in Utah territory completely flipped this game and led to the devastating outcome.

Friday's loss was the final game for 33 KU seniors, many of which played big roles on this team, both this season and throughout their careers. The pain of the arrival of the end was evident as the final seconds ticked off the clock, with players and coaches on the Kansas sideline hugging and fighting back their emotions as reality set in.

The loss dropped KU to 5-7 overall and 3-6 in Big 12 play and moved Utah to 10-2 and 7-2, keeping alive — at least momentarily — Utah's hopes of playing in the Big 12 title game and perhaps even the College Football Playoff.

Lance Leipold is now 27-35 overall in his first five seasons in charge of the KU program, with a 16-29 Big 12 record and two bowl appearances.

Here's a look back and some of Friday's action, which will go down as the last game of 2025 for the program and the final game in the career of quarterback Jalon Daniels.

LIKES

• KU's run D – It might not show up on the stat sheet because the Utes racked up more than 400 yards of offense, including 150+ on the ground. But a good chunk of that came late in the game and Kansas was damn good against the run for the better part of three quarters. So much so that Utah went away from the run and started throwing out of rhythm and at odd times simply to try to find a way to get anything going on offense.

• Isaiah Marshall snaps – We've seen it a time or two in a game here and there this season, but it was great to see KU go to the redshirt freshman QB early in this one, simply because it works. It's been a net-positive (and some times in a big way) every time Marshall has touched the ball this season. So, why not do it more? KU clearly believed that too and the young QB, who could very well factor into the Jayhawks' plans at the starting QB spot in 2026, performed well once again with his limited touches. Marshall's a legit rushing threat and his success in that area this season could/should send him into the offseason with a little confidence about what he can do out there on the field. Marshall finished the day with 36 yards on 5 carries and may not have touched it enough.

• Late first-half decision – KU got the ball back with 45 seconds after stopping a 4th-and-6 Utah play from the KU 29-yard line and, instead of just kneeling on it, they threw three balls down the field looking to make a play. The execution of it was lacking. But the decision to be aggressive and try to get something before halftime was welcomed compared to what we've seen Kansas do in similar spots in the past.

• KU's run game – Earlier this week, KU running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. said the thing he liked most about what he saw from K-State's running backs, who gained 400+ yards against the Utes last week, was how the Wildcat runners just didn't go down. Neither did Hishaw. It was quite clear that this dude knew Friday could be the final game of his college career. And he ran like it, moving the pile consistently and fighting hard for everything he got. He teamed with senior tailback Leshon Williams to put two KU backs over 100 yards in the same game. Hishaw finished with 107 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Williams finished with 104 yards on 15 carries. Hishaw's yards-per-carry mark nearly hit 5, at 4.9, while Williams gained 6.9 yards per rush.

DISLIKES

• Missed tackles after missed tackles – From the opening drive of the game to Utah's go-ahead possession early in the fourth quarter, KU struggled mightily with missed tackles in this one, as they've done for most of the season. Safety Taylor Davis was a repeat offender. Cornerback Austin Alexander struggled, as well. And on a day when KU's D-line did a good job against the run — especially on the interior — these missed tackles really made it tough on the Kansas defense, which, believe it or not, played well enough for KU to win.

• Tight end all alone... again – It was by far the biggest play of the first half and the 58-yard catch by Utah tight end JJ Buchanan, on 3rd and 3 near midfield, gave the Utes their only touchdown of the first two quarters, despite Utah averaging 7.4 yards per play in the first half. The pass to Buchanan, which started with a run bluff by Utah QB Devon Dampier, was a great play call by Utah and incredibly well executed, but it comes one week after the KU defense was brutalized by the Iowa State tight ends sneaking behind the defense for wide-open scores. This wasn't exactly that, but it was the same result and took the life out of the building.

• Tipped gesture – On the Jayhawks' second possession of the day — another promising drive that went deep into Utah territory — the Jayhawks nearly put six on the board when Jalon Daniels spotted Keaton Kubecka all alone near the goal line and tried to quickly get the ball out to him. The Utah defense recovered just in time and appeared to get over there to disrupt the would-be touchdown pass. All good. Those things happen. KU spotted it and tried to capitalize and Utah made a play. Here's the issue. When he popped up from missing out on the play, Kubecka immediately signaled that the ball was tipped as if that somehow made the miss better. I get not wanting people to think you dropped it, but, at that point, the ball was on the ground, so who cares.

WHAT THE?

• 2 gut-wrenching Jalon Daniels INTs – With KU driving to add to its lead early in the fourth quarter, KU QB Jalon Daniels inexplicably threw an interception in the end zone while on the run to his right and seemingly with nowhere to throw, Daniels threw it anyway and lofted an easy ball into the back of the end zone for a Utah DB to come down with it, with no challenge and room to get a foot down. Daniels was flushed out of bounds on the throw and walked back onto the playing field with his hands on his helmet, as if he, too, could not believe what happened or that he made the throw. The fact that it came after a 12-yard gain by Daniel Hishaw Jr. a play or two earlier, on what had to be one of the toughest runs in Hishaw's career, and perhaps KU history, was such a shame. As if that wasn't bad enough, after moving the team down the field on the back of Hishaw and Leshon Williams on the very next possession, Daniels threw another interception — this one a 97-yard pick-6 — on third and goal from 5. Unreal sequence that went from KU with a chance to go up 11 to KU being down 10. After the loss, Daniels said the cornerback made a play on the second one as he was trying to throw it back shoulder to Pickett. As for the first one, he said simply that he was trying to throw the ball away.

— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com