3 Unanswered Questions After Kansas Beats Houston, Including Devin Neal’s Potential

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas football’s losing streak ended with Saturday’s 42-14 home win over Houston.

The Jayhawks (2-5, 1-3 Big 12 Conference) never trailed during their win over the Cougars (2-5, 1-3 Big 12). Head coach Lance Leipold’s team earned its first win in Big 12 play. There is momentum in the program now that hasn’t existed for several weeks.

Looking ahead, there are several questions to consider as Kansas continues to move into the fall. The Jayhawks will play a competitive game against Kansas State next weekend. Take a look at these questions.

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How close is Devin Neal to history?

Senior running back Devin Neal rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 17 attempts Saturday, continuing to etch his name into the program’s record books. He is now tied with Tony Sands for the most career 100-yard games with 17. He has 3,769 career yards, which ranks third all-time and not far behind June Henley’s career mark of 3,841 yards.

Neal said setting the all-time speed record was his dream when he came to Kansas, and to be this close means a lot. He jokes that this is their reward too, and notes that it’s not really a joke. In his mind, if he could break the record against Kansas State, it would be like writing the perfect story.

What’s behind Jaylon Daniels’ quality play?

Redshirt junior quarterback Jalon Daniels continued his early season struggles last Saturday, throwing three touchdowns and running for another. He didn’t turn the ball over and described his state of mind as being more comfortable on the field and also noted that he could read Houston’s defense well.

Neal said Daniels remained humble and hardworking despite the challenges Daniels faced. In fact, Neal voluntarily told Daniels to cut down on the number of movies he watched. Neal said he sees the benefit of all the extra work Daniels has put in since working out with the receivers and is happy for his quarterback.

Why was Kansas’ defense so successful?

After not scoring more than 23 points per game during the first few weeks of the season, Kansas scored over 30 points per game in each of the next three. The situation changed in the match with Houston, which did not even score 20 points. And according to senior guard Kobe Bryant, it has a lot to do with the energy the Jayhawks brought to the defensive end of the ball and how much film they watched in the last open week.

Senior linebacker J.B. Brown described their performance as a unit as being able to unleash a hunger they had been holding in for some time. It also helped that Bryant and redshirt senior linebacker Cornell Wheeler not only returned from injury, but played and combined for four interceptions. Brown noted Kansas’ success in getting passers to perform consistently and trusting coaches to give them opportunities to make plays.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas athletics for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the 2022 National Sports Media Association Sports Writer of the Year for the State of Kansas. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared in the Topeka Capital-Journal: 3 lingering questions after Kansas’ win over Houston