LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas stretched its season-opening winning streak to five games — and may have emerged as a true contender in the Big 12 Conference football race — by downing Iowa State 14-11 Saturday before a sellout crowd at Booth Memorial Stadium.
Jalon Daniels and Daniel Hishaw each rushed for a touchdown as the Jayhawks (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Cyclones (3-2, 0-2).
Devin Neal rushed for 75 yards on 12 carries for KU, which entered with one win in its last 12 games versus ISU.
Cyclones kicker Jace Gilbert, who earlier missed two field-goal attempts that bounced off the uprights, missed his biggest one with 32 seconds left, a 37-yarder that could have forced overtime.
Running back Hishaw, who gained 28 yards on eight carries, was injured in the fourth quarter and was taken off the field on a stretcher and cart.
KU gained 213 yards to ISU’s 313. Daniels completed seven of 14 passes for 93 yards and no TDs.
The two teams played to a 0-0 tie after one quarter. ISU did have a scoring opportunity, but Gilbert’s 38-yard try hit an upright and bounded away with 29 seconds left in the period.
KU opened the scoring with 11:30 left in the second quarter. Hishaw took a handoff from Daniels and bowled into the end zone on a second-and-goal call from the 4.
Hishaw showed great effort on the short run that capped a seven-play, 79-yard drive. He followed a block of Bryce Cabeldue and stretched the football past the goal line. The big play on the drive was a 30-yard option-pitch from Daniels to Neal on a third-and-3 from the 35.
KU set up a second scoring opportunity by pinning ISU at its own 7 following a 43-yard punt by Reis Vernon.
Cobee Bryant leaped high to intercept a Hunter Dekkers pass intended for Xavier Hutchinson on a sideline route. KU took possession at the ISU 19 with 7:56 left in the half.
It took four plays to cover the short 19-yard distance. Daniels, on a third-and-goal from the 2, took the shotgun snap and headed left to score untouched as the Jayhawks grabbed a 14-0 lead.
Iowa State responded immediately by driving 75 yards in six plays and scoring on a 9-yard pass from Dekkers to tight end Easton Dean on third and goal. Big play on that drive was a 53-yard strike from Dekkers to Dimitri Stanley.
Also helping the Cyclones keep the drive alive was a pass interference call on KU’s Bryant on third and 8 from the 27
ISU wound up scoring on a 2-point conversion by holder Blake Clark. He caught a high snap but couldn’t put down the ball comfortably; instead, he headed right and reached the end zone on his feet, cutting the gap to 14-8 with 2:51 left until halftime.
The Jayhawks responded with a scoring opportunity, but Jacob Borcila missed a 52-yard field goal try with 50 seconds left.
ISU cut the deficit to three points, 14-11, on a 35-yard field goal by Gilbert with 5:27 left in the third quarter. The Cyclones might’ve scored a touchdown if not for a great defensive play by Kenny Logan on an end zone pass from Dekkers to Hutchinson on third-and-7 from the 18. Logan broke up the fade pass, forcing ISU to kick on fourth down. ISU’s drive went 62 yards in 12 plays.
KU cornerback Bryant seemingly came up with a huge play with 11:33 left, when he intercepted a pass from Dekkers to Sean Shaw on a deep sideline pattern at the KU 3. But the officials overruled the interception, saying Bryant had stepped out of bounds in making the catch.
A long ISU drive ended when Gilbert missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt with 11:26 to play. That potentially game-tying field goal try hit the right upright.
Still leading 14-11, the Jayhawks caught a big break when Torry Locklin recovered a fumbled punt by Noel at the ISU 29-yard line with 10 minutes left.
Hishaw was hurt on KU’s ensuing drive. He rushed left for a 9-yard loss to the ISU 42, where the ball was recovered by the Cyclones’ Vance O’Rien. Hishaw remained down.
The entire Jayhawks team ran onto the field to support Hishaw, who was eventually helped off the field on a stretcher.
