Moments That Popped: Arizona State 24, Kansas 17

London, England is a long way to go for a conference loss.

And it probably feels even farther when you find yourself in a one-score game and trailing in large part because of mistakes that your team made.

• Notes & Numbers from KU's 7-point loss to Arizona State

So it went for the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday at famed Wembley Stadium in London, where Lance Leipold's team fell to 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in Big 12 play after a 24-17 loss to Arizona State in the Union Jack Classic.

The win moved the Sun Devils to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in Big 12 play.

And it was untimely KU penalties, another catastrophic middle chunk of the game and a flubbed punt and missed field goal that helped ASU control the game and come out with the win.

KU took the lead, 7-3, on a 72-yard Tate Nagy punt return that gave the Jayhawks some life and a little early control on a day when their offense left a little to be desired.

Nagy scored his second TD of the day in the second half on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Zeke Marshall that cut the ASU lead to 24-14. A 46-yard Martin Connington field goal late in the 4th quarter pulled Kansas to within a single score, 24-17, but the defense, which was rock solid for much of the first half, couldn't get the key stop late to give the Kansas offense one final chance to tie the game.

ASU wasn't great in this one. Not by any means. But that middle chunk — a problem for KU for a couple of years now — included a touchdown late in the first half that put the Sun Devils up 10-7 and a return touchdown on the opening kickoff of the second half to give ASU complete control.

The touchdown late in the first half came with 20 seconds to play after a KU punt by Matt Gill traveled just 17 yards straight out of bounds and set up ASU at the Kansas 25-yard line with a chance to draw blood.

The Jayhawks are now off for a week, before returning home after the bye week to take on Middle Tennessee before jumping back into Big 12 play for 9 straight weeks to close the regular season.

While Saturday's game was as much about the experience of traveling overseas and bringing American football to another culture — this was the first college football game played at Wembley — several KU coaches and players talked about the game and trip only being a full success if they come home with a win.

Here's a look back and some of Saturday afternoon/night's action.

LIKES

• Run game started strong – I wondered how much KU would try to get Dylan Edwards going and they answered that question in a big way, giving the running back 18 carries, marking the second most carries in a single game in his 4-year college career. He also added 4 touches through the air and finished the game with

• Defense showed up – The KU defense was ready to play in the first half. Tackles for loss. Pass break-ups. Getting into the backfield. Dominating in the trenches. The Jayhawks were sharp in the first couple of quarters. And if not for the late punting gaffe, they probably would've gotten out of there after only giving up 3 points in the first half. Instead, the Sun Devils hit them with a quick-strike touchdown through the air down the middle and that kind of broke the seal.

• Calvin Clements willing to fight – Early in the third quarter, after Edwards was tackled hard out of bounds by ASU DB Adrian Wilson, KU left tackle Calvin Clements went over to Wilson on the ASU sideline and got into his face about the extra physicality on the tackle. It was a quick dust-up, with nothing coming of it. But it was also good to see. Especially on the opponent's sideline. It didn't change the outcome or lead to points, but this is the kind of thing that matters in a culture and among teammates.

• Going for it on 4th down early & late... – I loved the decision to go for it on fourth and short in the first quarter. And I loved it even more on 4th and short later in the game. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, they came up short both times, another significant blow in a game that was winnable but came down to a couple of execution errors.

DISLIKES

• ... Not getting it on 4th down early & late – The Jayhawks were a glaring 0-for-3 on 4th down on Saturday and at least two of them were monster moments. The first ended an early drive in ASU territory. And another came late in the game when KU also appeared to be driving to make things interesting. On the latter, KU needed just the length of the football and instead of sneaking it straight ahead with quarterback Zeke Marshall, they handed it off in the backfield and were stuffed at the line of scrimmage. This team's not that far away in so many areas, but you can't miss on those moments and expect to win with any kind of consistency. Those are gotta-have-it plays and KU didn't get 'em in this one.

• Oh, Zeke – It was another rough game for the KU QB, who wasn't downright bad but also wasn't great either. He continues to throw high on so many of his passes and also threw an interception and was a part of four bad snaps that hit the ground, some of it his fault and some of it on the KU center. Nonetheless, Marshall didn't do enough to lead the offense to points and consistency in this one. His late TD pass to Nagy was a solid throw. And he had another dart to Nik McMillan in the second half that showed what he is capable of when he's not sped up and finds time to set his feet and step into throws. He also needs time to do all of that. And, in fairness, it was just his third start.

• Self-inflicted wounds are a killer – KU out-gained ASU 414-228 overall on Saturday, including 235-95 through the air and came home with a gut-wrenching loss to show for it. Too many things the Sun Devils got were the result of things Kansas did to itself. And that's a tough thing to watch for a team that figures to be fighting for bowl eligibility entering the season. Self-inflicted wounds — bad penalties, poor execution, bad play calls and outright mistakes — will kill you every time. Some teams are able to overcome them and find a way to win despite those types of miscues. KU's not in position to be one of those teams and they have to clean those things up in a hurry or it could be a terribly long rest of the season. KU gave away three turnovers in this one and ASU scored just 7 points off of them. That doesn't count that bad punt, which it maybe should. That's a credit to the defense. Just like the yardage numbers. But those 7 points wound up being pretty big in a game decided by 7.

• Red zone, what red zone? – Kansas did not get into the red zone one time on Saturday. And Arizona State got there just once. Yuck. That doesn't speak to efficiency, consistency and good football. You're not gonna win many games like that, no matter who you're playing.

WHAT THE?

• It's like they're cursed – For years now, we've been asking KU's coaching staff and players about what happens in the middle section of the game — late in the 2nd quarter and early in the 3rd — that allows the game to get away from them so many times. Rather than there being one explanation or one thing they can point to, you're probably looking at a bevy of things. Coaching decisions, player execution, bad luck, bad timing and on down the line. But it is mind-blowing that it happens to this team so often because too many times it ends up being the difference in the game and there's little doubt that KU would've had a few more wins over the past few seasons — Saturday included — if they just could've gotten this part right.

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