LAWRENCE, Kan. — Last week, Iowa State coach Matt Campbell told his team that he refused to give up on this year’s Cyclone squad.

“I’m not looking for next year,” Campbell said of his message to the team. “I’m looking for right now.”

They took that message to heart. Only the clock could stop Iowa State in the second half as ISU scored on four of its five second-half possessions — the fifth bleeding the final seconds off the clock — and beat Kansas 31-24 for its first conference win of the season on Saturday.

Jacob Park threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns, Allen Lazard had a career-high 10 receptions for 120 yards and a score for Iowa State (2-8, 1-6 Big 12).

“He’s a big dude,” Kansas’ Steven Sims Jr. said of Lazard. “He’s a big target, big guy. He can run and he’s hard to cover. He’s hard, he’s physical. He’s trouble for anybody’s defense. He had a good game.”

David Montgomery had a career-high 169 yards rushing for Iowa State.

The Cyclones scored on four-consecutive drives, including a 37-yard field goal by Cole Netten that capped the scoring with 2:48 remaining, and Jomal Wiltz intercepted a pass at the ISU 38 to seal it 40 seconds later.

“Yeah, that wasn’t fun to watch,” Kansas coach David Beaty said of the game. “We’ve got to get off the field (on defense). I thought we did some good things first half doing that, and then we didn’t sustain our drives in the second half to go put points on the board. You can’t kick field goals, man. You’re not going to be able to kick field goals in this league and win. You can’t do that. You’ve got to score touchdowns. We didn’t do it.”

Matthew Wyman’s 37-yard field goal gave Kansas a 17-10 lead early in the second half. Park hit Deshaunte Jones for a 12-yard touchdown and, after a 39-yard TD run by Kansas’ Ke’aun Kinner, Mitchell Harger scored on a 6-yard run to make it 24-22 with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.

A 46-yard run by Montgomery set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Joel Lanning and gave the Cyclones the lead, 28-24, for good with 12:03 left.

Carter Stanley passed for 171 yards and Kinner had 152 yards rushing for Kansas (1-9, Big 12 0-7).

INJURY REPORT:

Kansas tight end Ben Johnson missed the game with an undisclosed injury.

THE TAKEAWAY:

Kansas: The Jayhawks have lost 23-straight games against FBS opponents, dating to Nov. 8, 2014, when Kansas defeated Iowa State 34-14 at home.

Iowa State: Iowa relied primarily on Jacob Park under center. Joel Lanning, the starter, completed 1 of 4 passes for 15 yards passing and added 9 yards on the ground.

UP NEXT:

Kansas hosts the Texas Longhorns on Nov. 19. The Jayhawks are still looking for their first conference win since 2014.

Iowa State hosts Texas Tech on Nov. 19.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Standout guard Marcus Garrett has signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play men’s basketball at the University of Kansas, KU head coach Bill Self announced Thursday.

Garrett has been described as utility guard, who plays multiple positions, and can run an offense and provide versatility in playing multiple positions. At 6-foot-5, 180 pounds he creates match-up problems and also has been described as an elite defender.

“Coach (Jerrance) Howard has known Marcus for quite some time,” Self said. “He plays for a good friend of ours, Paul Graham, who I was an assistant with at Oklahoma State many years ago. After watching Marcus and getting to know him, he became a focal point of our recruiting.

“We feel Marcus is extremely talented and so versatile with his size. At 6-foot-5, he can play any position on the perimeter. Anyone can play with him and he can play with anyone.”

A 2015-16 all-state selection as a junior at Skyline High School in Dallas, Garrett is a four-star recruit who verbally committed to KU in early August. Rivals.com ranks Garrett No. 37 in the 2017 national rankings.

Last season Garrett averaged 17.7 points, 10.1 assists and 7.0 rebounds in leading Skyline to a 32-3 record under head coach Paul Graham. With Garrett at the controls, Skyline made a run to the state tournament, advancing to the UIL Class 6A Region II semifinals. When not playing for the Skyline Raiders, Garrett plays AAU basketball for Dallas-based Swaghouse coached by his uncle, Matthew Watts.

“We feel like Marcus’ best ball is well down the road,” Self said. “We’re excited to get him. He’s a young man that knew what he wanted to do early on in process and we appreciate his loyalty toward Kansas.”

Garrett chose Kansas over Texas, Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Connecticut among other schools.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas basketball’s final exhibition game of the season ended with a resounding 104-62 win over Emporia State on Sunday night inside Allen Fieldhouse.

The third-ranked Jayhawks held the Hornets to 30.6 percent shooting with a 49 to 31 rebounding advantage. Kansas shot 61.3 percent from the field and scored 56 points in the paint to Emporia’s 16 points in the lane.

“We played better. I don’t know that we were great, but I thought they made shots early,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “They made six threes in the first half and a couple of them were really, really deep. If you take those things away I thought we actually defended decent, we rebounded better and I thought our big guys went after the ball pretty well. We shot well in the first half and the ball moved better – it was definitely a better outing.”

Senior guard Frank Mason III led the Jayhawks with 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting with five assists in just 20 minutes of action. In KU’s pair of exhibition contests this season, Mason totaled 38 points on 72.2 percent shooting with 14 assists.

A total of six Jayhawks reached double-figure points during KU’s 27th all-time 100-point exhibition contest. Junior guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk was KU’s second-leading scorer with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Junior guard Devonte’ Graham added 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting with four assists.

The freshman trio of guard Josh Jackson, center Udoka Azubuike and forward Mitch Lightfoot all reached double-figures in points. Jackson slashed and dashed to a balanced 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists. All six of Azubuike’s six field goals came from dunks as he finished with 13 points. Lightfoot scored seven of his 12 points in the second half.

Senior center Landen Lucas contributed the first basket of the game and finished with six points, seven rebounds in a limited 16 minutes of action. Lucas’ first bucket was followed by a Jackson perimeter jumper and fastbreak and-1 layup from Mason to put Kansas ahead, 7-0, at the 18:23 mark. Emporia State’s Jay Temaat made a pair of 3-pointers to cut KU’s lead to one, 9-8.

The Hornets’ Garin Vandiver, son of head coach Shaun Vandiver, made a 3-pointer to tie it, 11-11, at the 15:16 mark of the first half. Kansas responded as Mykhailiuk dished a behind-the-back pass to Mason for a contested fastbreak layup which brought the crowd to its feet and sparked a 23-2 run over seven minutes to give Kansas control for the remainder of the game.

The Jayhawks continued to dazzle the sell-out crowd with dominance in the paint, outscoring ESU 24 to four in the lane, and a trio of alley-oops featuring a variety of connections – Graham to Mykhailiuk, Mykhailiuk to Carlton Bragg Jr., and Graham to Azubuike.

Kansas went into halftime with a 55-29 lead. Mykhailiuk paced KU with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including two 3-pointers in nine first-half minutes. Mason and Graham each contributed 10 points while dishing out a combined seven first-half assists – five from Mason and two from Graham.

KU’s freshmen Jackson and Azubuike shined in the second half as the Jayhawks surged to a 42-point victory. Azubuike connected on four alley-oops in the second period as Jackson displayed his explosiveness and vision with seven points, five rebounds and a pair of assists in the second half.

UP NEXT
Kansas ventures on a grueling road stretch of playing two top-11 teams to begin the regular season. The Jayhawks’ season-opener is against No. 11 Indiana on Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11 during the State Farm Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu. Kansas then travels to New York City to face No. 1 Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Both games will be nationally televised on ESPN.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball continued to highlight its up-tempo offense in its 2016-17 exhibition finale, as the Jayhawks downed Washburn, 81-57, on Sunday afternoon inside Allen Fieldhouse. With the victory, KU improved to 7-0 against Washburn in exhibition play and 16-1 overall.

Scoring double digits for the second-straight game, redshirt junior guard Jessica Washington continued to be an offensive asset for the Kansas squad. Washington led all scorers with 21 points, hitting 7-of-15 field goals. She also tallied two assists and two rebounds on the day.

Sophomore guards Kylee Kopatich and Aisia Robertson also found themselves with double-digit scoring efforts against the Ichabods. Robertson tallied 14 points behind 5-of-7 shooting, while Kopatich contributed 12 points, including a pair a makes from beyond the arc. Robertson also added four rebounds, four assists and three steals to make her presence known on both sides of the floor.

A team effort was the theme for Washburn, as Felisha Gibbs, Reagan Phelan and Alyxis Bowens each finished the game with 10 points to lead the Ichabods. After a slow start, Kansas battled basket-for-basket with Washburn as both teams looked to gain momentum and take the lead. Despite putting the first points on the board, the Jayhawks went down 12-11 before going on a 10-point run, seven of which came from Washington. The spark in Kansas’ offense put the Jayhawks ahead of Washburn, 21-14, at the end of the first quarter.

Momentum continued for KU as it opened the second quarter with 11 unanswered points, holding Washburn scoreless in the first five minutes. At the half, the Jayhawks headed to the locker room with a 40-28 advantage over the Ichabods. Washington closed out the opening half with 12 points, while Robertson added seven in the first 20 minutes.

Coming off of a Washburn timeout early in the third quarter, Washington found her groove yet again, scoring eight-straight points to force another Washburn timeout, an attempt to slow the Jayhawks’ momentum. Kansas proved to be solid on the defensive end of the court as well, forcing two shot clock violations for the Ichabods. Kansas outscored Washburn 27-16 as the third quarter came to a close and took a 67-44 lead into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter resembled the beginning of the game with both teams trading baskets back and forth, with Kansas only outscoring Washburn by two points. Kansas closed out the final quarter and improved to 2-0 in exhibition play this season with the 81-57 victory over Washburn.

UP NEXT: The Jayhawks tip off the 2016-17 season against Missouri State on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse. The game will air on the Jayhawk IMG Radio Network and Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN3.

— KU Athletics —

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s Skyler Howard jumped just before safety Mike Lee plowed into him near the Kansas end zone, sending the quarterback into an awkward somersault and a hard landing on his right hip.

Howard got up from the second-quarter scare at the end of the 15-yard run and went back to the huddle. His gutsy play epitomized his determination to restore confidence in an offense that looked flat a week ago in the Mountaineers’ first loss of the season.

“He plays his best when he’s like that,” West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. “I thought he sparked us.”

Howard threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores to lead No. 20 West Virginia to a 48-21 victory over Kansas on Saturday night, sending the Jayhawks to their 40th straight road loss.

Howard was nonchalant about the big hit, saying he was fortunate he didn’t end up in worse shape.

“When I was in the air, it felt like forever,” he said.

West Virginia’s Shelton Gibson, who had 102 receiving yards, including TD grabs of 19 and 32 yards, was a bit more serious about it, knowing how much his quarterback means to the team.

“I grabbed his facemask and said, `I don’t want to ever, ever see you do that again,” Gibson said.

West Virginia (7-1, 4-1 Big 12, No. 14 AP) bounced back from a 37-20 loss at Oklahoma State by piling up 605 yards of offense against the Jayhawks (1-8, 0-6).

Howard completed 16 of 27 passes for 260 yards and helped get the Mountaineers’ momentum back as they head into a tough four-week stretch that includes home games against Oklahoma on Nov. 19 and Baylor on Dec. 3.

“It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it and move on to the next one,” Holgorsen said.

Kansas lost its 18th straight conference game and hasn’t won on the road since beating UTEP in September 2009.

“Those are some resilient dudes in there,” Kansas coach David Beaty said. “They hate losing with a passion. I’m proud of them for continuing to fight, I promise you that.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas: The Jayhawks didn’t get off to the fast start that Beaty had hoped for. Kansas trailed 31-0 at halftime. The Jayhawks will have one more chance this season to break the road futility streak on Nov. 26 at Kansas State, which hasn’t lost to Kansas at home since 2007.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers kept pace with first-place Oklahoma by doing what they was expected to do against heavy-underdog Kansas — score early and often and play respectable defense. Rasul Douglas made two interceptions, but a late surge by Kansas halted the Mountaineers’ streak of four straight games of limiting opponents under 400 total yards.

SOLID RUNNERS

West Virginia’s Justin Crawford ran for 129 yards and a score, and freshman Kennedy McKoy had 127 yards. The pair shared the rushing load in place of Rushel Shell, who missed the game with an ankle injury sustained a week ago.

Holgorsen said it took him a few series to decide whether to thrown downfield all game or pound the ball on the ground. West Virginia amassed 341 rushing yards a year after running for 426 yards against the Jayhawks.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Doubling up on Kansas might move the Mountaineers up a few spots in the AP poll , only because other teams ahead of them lost, including Baylor.

STANLEY SHARP

Kansas quarterback Carter Stanley was effective in relief of Montell Cozart, completing 9 of 11 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Beaty said Cozart left the game in the third quarter with concussion symptoms.

UP NEXT

Kansas heads home to play Iowa State next Saturday. The teams are tied for last place in the Big 12.

West Virginia heads to Texas, which is coming off a 47-37 win at Texas Tech.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas faithful received their first chance to welcome KU basketball’s group of newcomers inside game-atmosphere Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday night as the third-ranked Jayhawks defeated Washburn, 92-74.

Senior guard Frank Mason III led the Jayhawks in scoring, nearly reaching a triple-double, with 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Junior guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk drained four 3-pointers to finish with 16 points, while freshman guard Josh Jackson poured in 14 second-half points.
Josh Jackson

Jackson was in the starting lineup for Wednesday’s contest, highlighting five Jayhawks who made their debut. Joining Jackson who ran under the tunnel to James Naismith Court for the first time were freshmen Mitch Lightfoot and Udoka Azubuike, and juniors Dwight Coleby and Tucker Vang.

“It was good for our freshmen to get an eye-opening experience,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “I’d say we labored; it wasn’t a great outing by our freshmen but certainly I don’t know that that is all bad because it opens their eyes to things we need to do a lot better.”

Kansas shot 54 percent from the floor, while holding the Ichabods to 38 percent shooting. The majority of Washburn’s 45-to-44 rebounding advantage came from pulling down 19 offensive boards off the glass.

Washburn struck first with a 3-pointer by David Salach just under a minute into regulation. KU junior Devonte’ Graham responded by making the first bucket of the season for the Jayhawks – a 3-point to tie the game at three. Azubuike was the first player off the bench for Lucas, who committed two fouls in the first two minutes of the game. The 7-footer from Nigeria contributed early with a blocked shot, followed by a dunk on the opposite end of the floor to put Kansas up, 7-3.

KU’s defense began to clamp down in the lane as Kansas began to pull away in the first half. Kansas held a 7-6 lead before going a 13-2 run to take a 20-8 lead at the 11:11 mark on a layup by sophomore guard Legerald Vick.

Washburn didn’t have a solution for Mason’s dribble-drive penetration, converting on a number of contested layups to pad the Jayhawks’ double-digit lead.

Graham connected with sophomore forward Carlton Bragg Jr., for a dunk to give Kansas a 26-16 lead at the 8:01 mark of the first half.

Jackson registered his third foul at the 5:37 mark of the first half, which limited his first-half playing time to nine minutes.

Lightfoot got fouled going to the bucket on three-straight possessions and converted three of his six free throws during that stretch as Kansas maintained a 39-28 lead.

Mason continued to go aggressive to rim as the first half was coming to a close, making an and-1 layup, 44-29. A late Washburn 5-0 flurry with a minute remaining in the first half cut KU’s lead to 10, but Graham and Mykhailiuk restored KU’s cushion to 16 points with a pair of 3-pointers with under 35 second to go in the half.

Mason headlined the opening half with 11 points, eight assists and four rebounds as Kansas went into the locker room with a 50-34 lead. The Jayhawks shot 61 percent from the floor in the first half.

Washburn started the second half on a run 9-2 run, cutting KU’s 16-point lead down to nine points with 17:01 left to play.

Jackson began to show glimpses of his offensive prowess which garnered him so much attention during the recruiting process as one of the top prospects in the country. The Detroit native scored his first basket as a Jayhawk on a layup with 13:50 reminding in the game, putting Kansas up 62-49.

Kansas pulled away in the closing stages of regulation with an 11-0 run, capped off by a pair of free throws by Mykhailiuk with 4:26 remaining which gave KU a 85-63 lead.

Fan-favorite, senior guard Tyler Self, checked in the game late and scored two points before ushering in a 92-74 victory for the Jayhawks.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball team is ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press (AP) Preseason Poll, the AP released Monday. The AP ranking marks the highest preseason rank for the Jayhawks since entering the 2009-10 season No. 1.

This is the fourth-straight season KU has been ranked No. 5 or higher by the AP. KU was No. 4 last season in the AP preseason poll and No. 5 in 2014-15 and 2013-14. It is also the seventh time in the last eight seasons that the Jayhawks have entered the season No. 7 or higher by the AP.

Under 14th-year head coach Bill Self, this is the 11th time that Kansas enters the season ranked seventh or higher in the Associated Press preseason poll and historically, the No. 3 ranking marks the 19th time since the 1992-93 season that Kansas will enter the season seventh or higher.

Last season, KU entered the year No. 4 nationally in the Associated Press poll and ended at No. 1. The AP’s final poll is released prior to the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks were ranked in the top 10 every week during the 2015-16 season.

Kansas has been ranked in each of the last 141 polls dating back to the 2008-09 season which is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I.

Kansas will play nine regular-season games against teams ranked in the AP preseason poll: No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 11 Indiana, No. 20 West Virginia (twice), No. 21. Texas (twice) and No. 24 Iowa State (twice).

Kansas enters the 2016-17 season No. 2 in the preseason USA Today Coaches’ poll which was released Oct. 20.

Kansas opens its exhibition play when it hosts Washburn Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. (Central) in Allen Fieldhouse. The game can be seen on the Jayhawk Television Network or ESPN3 outside the state of Kansas.

2016-17 Associated Press Preseason Poll (Oct. 31, 2016)

Rank – School (first place votes) – points
1 – Duke (58) – 1,612
2 – Kentucky (2) – 1,479
3 – KANSAS – 1,476
4 – Villanova (4) – 1,465
5 – Oregon (1) – 1,343
6 – North Carolina – 1,314
7 – Xavier – 1,167
8 – Virginia – 1,149
9 – Wisconsin – 1,135
10 – Arizona – 1,004
11 – Indiana – 917
12 – Michigan State – 903
13 – Louisville – 755
14 – Gonzaga – 699
15 – Purdue – 672
16 – UCLA – 540
17 – Saint Mary’s – 512
18 – Connecticut – 504
19 – Syracuse – 464
20 – West Virginia – 360
21 – Texas – 250
22 – Creighton – 231
23 – Rhode Island – 199
24 – Iowa State – 168
25 – Maryland – 144

Others receiving votes: Cincinnati 110, Dayton 98, Florida State 88, California 74, San Diego State 48, Miami 35, NC State 29, Butler 21, Wichita St 21, Ohio State 18, Virginia Tech 18, Florida 18, Texas A&M 14, Mississippi State 14, Oklahoma 11, Colorado 10, Michigan 8, Monmouth 7, Notre Dame 6, Washington 5, Seton Hall 5, Princeton 2, Ohio 1, Vanderbilt 1, Harvard 1

— KU Athletics —

NORMAN, Okla. — Baker Mayfield passed for 236 yards and four touchdowns and No. 16 Oklahoma overcame a sluggish start to rout Kansas 56-3 on Saturday night, moving into sole possession of first place in the Big 12.

Receiver Dede Westbrook extended his hot streak for the Sooners, scoring on a 71-yard punt return and a 41-yard catch as Oklahoma won its 13th straight Big 12 game.

Losses by West Virginia and Baylor earlier Saturday put Oklahoma (6-2, 5-0) into the lead in the conference. Oklahoma is 5-0 in Big 12 play for the first time since 2004 and for the fourth time ever. On all three previous occasions, Oklahoma went 8-0 in league play, winning titles in 2000 and 2004.

Perhaps more important for Oklahoma was that its beleaguered defense, which allowed 854 yards a week earlier in a 66-59 win over Texas Tech, limited Kansas (1-7, 0-5) to 170 yards, the fewest by an opponent this season. Jordan Evans’ 33-yard third-quarter interception return for a touchdown meant the Sooners’ defense outscored Kansas.

Kansas has lost 17 straight Big 12 games and 39 straight road games overall.

Mayfield, who threw a school-record seven touchdown passes against Texas Tech, threw three in the second quarter against the Jayhawks — the 41-yarder to Westbrook, a 15-yarder to Mark Andrews and a 9-yarders to Dimitri Flowers, the latter with 20 seconds left before halftime to put Oklahoma up 28-3. Mayfield finished 16-of-24 passing.

Mayfield’s 15 touchdown passes in the Sooners’ last three games is a program record.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas: The Jayhawks will win another Big 12 game and win on the road again someday, but that W probably won’t come against the likes of Oklahoma or West Virginia, Kansas’ next opponent. But a home game against Iowa State looms on Nov. 12. Maybe that first streak ends then?

Oklahoma: The Sooners said after starting the season 1-2, with losses to Houston and Ohio State, that they still had the Big 12 title as motivation. Now Oklahoma is atop the league, but the Sooners must finish the season with the gauntlet of Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma State.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

No. 10 West Virginia’s loss at Oklahoma State and No. 13 Boise State’s loss at Wyoming should open up at least two spots for Oklahoma to move up in the Top 25 .

UP NEXT

Kansas: The Jayhawks will travel next Saturday to face an angry West Virginia team coming off its first loss of the season.

Oklahoma: It will be a short week for the Sooners, who will visit Iowa State on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — For a moment during the third quarter, the Oklahoma State Cowboys more resembled a rugby club than an American college football team.

Mason Rudolph threw for 220 yards and one touchdown, Jalen McCleskey caught six passes for 129 yards, Justice Hill ran for 162 yards and Oklahoma State (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) extinguished Kansas’ homecoming excitement, winning 44-20.

The rugby act came after Kansas’ Montell Cozart tossed a deep pass, intended for wide receiver LaQuvionte Gonzalez, but the ball ricocheted up and Oklahoma State free safety Jordan Sterns brought it down. Sterns scrambled up the field for 21 yards and then lateraled the ball to defensive tackle Vincent Taylor.

“We’ve become the lateral kings,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said.

And the play wasn’t over.

Taylor ran for 14 yards before lateraling to defensive end Jarrell Owens. Owens ran for another 29 yards before being brought down by Gonzalez at the Kansas 16.

Gundy didn’t know how many laterals were thrown during that play, but he knew more than one was enough.

“I was OK with one,” Gundy said. “… Three times? I vote for one lateral and then tuck it away and get what you can get.”

Oklahoma State chipped in a 25-yard field goal a few plays after the chaos.

With less than four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Kansas (1-6, 0-4) Cozart was pressed on third-and-7 deep in Jayhawk territory and threw an interception straight into the hands of Oklahoma State defensive tackle DeQuinton Osborne. Osborne, standing at 6-foot and weighing 310 pounds, ran down to Kansas sideline to the 1-yard line.

Cozart said he, as a film junkie, hadn’t seen where Oklahoma State has their nose guard drop back in coverage.

“They got us on that one. They got me,” Cozart said of the Osborne interception. “They had seven guys walk up. I knew one of those guys was going to be free. I had a high route to the right and I knew. They got us on that one.”

On the following play, Oklahoma State running back Rennie Childs punched in the ball to put the Cowboys up 31-20.

Kansas started off hot, scoring first halfway through the first quarter by a Cozart-to-Gonzalez 68-yard pass. The Jayhawks held a lead until three minutes before halftime when Hill inched in a 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 17-13.

Kansas came close to getting within one point, attempting a 59-yard field goal as time expired before halftime. With five seconds remaining in the half, Oklahoma State’s Motekiai Maile blocked the kick. Kansas couldn’t recover, scoring only one more time before the game ended.

“Our coaches made some really good adjustments in the second half and the players did a nice job of taking it out on the field,” Gundy said.

Cozart threw for 250 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, Ke’aun Kinner rushed for 145 yards, and Gonzalez hauled in six passes for 106 yards in the Jayhawks’ 21st-straight loss to FBS opponents.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas: The Kansas defense sacked Mason Rudolph five times, the most a Jayhawk squad has brought down a Cowboy quarterback in program history. Dorance Armstrong sacked Rudolph once, extending his sack streak to five-straight games.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys scored 17 points off Jayhawk turnovers.

STATLINE:

With 14 points on Saturday, Oklahoma State kicker Ben Grogan is the new career scoring leader at Oklahoma State. He tied former Cowboy kicker Dan Bailey’s record with his first extra point of the day and surpassed Bailey on the first field goal of the day. Grogan currently has 383 career points.

UP NEXT

Kansas travels to Oklahoma to play the Sooners on Oct. 29.

Oklahoma State hosts West Virginia on Oct. 29.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball enters the 2016-17 season No. 2 with one first-place vote in the USA TODAY Coaches’ Poll released Thursday. This is the highest ranking for the Jayhawks since KU was preseason No. 1 in 2009-10.

Kansas is ranked in the preseason for the 25th time in time in the 28-year history of the poll. The No 2 ranking marks the sixth time KU has been preseason No. 2 or higher in the coaches’ poll. Additionally, it is the 11th time in the Bill Self era the Jayhawks have been preseason seventh or higher, including each of the last five seasons.

For 2016-17, Kansas returns three starters and eight letterwinners from last season’s 33-5 team which went 15-3 in Big 12 play, winning its unprecedented 12th-straight, 16th Big 12 and NCAA-leading 59th overall conference regular-season championship. KU also won the 2015 Maui Invitational and 2016 Big 12 Championship titles and was the overall No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament where it advanced to the Elite Eight.

Kansas will face two nationally-ranked teams, including No. 1 Duke, in its first two regular-season games of the 2016-17 season. The Jayhawks will play No. 12 Indiana on Nov. 11, in the State Farm Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu and will then play Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic, Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Overall, KU will play seven games against teams in the coaches’ preseason poll this season.

Last season Kansas tied its previous season’s record by facing 16 ranked foes. The Jayhawks’ 12 wins against ranked teams was an all-time season high.

In 2015-16 Kansas opened the year No. 5 in the preseason coaches’ poll and ended No. 3.

USA Today Coaches Poll (preseason)
Rank. Team (first place votes) – points
1. Duke (27) – 792
2. KANSAS (1) – 721
3. Villanova (1) – 700
4. Kentucky (2) – 695
5. Oregon (1) – 620
6. North Carolina – 614
7. Virginia – 596
8. Xavier – 552
9. Michigan State – 544
10. Wisconsin – 487
11. Arizona – 468
12. Indiana – 435
13. Gonzaga – 371
14. Louisville – 367
15. Purdue – 324
16. Connecticut – 239
17. Syracuse – 224
18. West Virginia – 204
19. Saint Mary’s – 203
20. UCLA – 185
21. Maryland – 153
22. Texas – 124
23. Creighton – 113
24. Rhode Island – 85
25. Cincinnati – 75

Others receiving votes: Florida State 65, Iowa State 56, California 43, Miami 35, Dayton 34, Oklahoma 33, Seton Hall 24, Texas A&M 22, Notre Dame 18, San Diego State 17, Virginia Tech 16, Wichita St 15, Butler 14, USC 14, Ohio State 12, Colorado 11, Florida 11, Clemson 11, Michigan 10, Pittsburgh 7, Georgia 6, Yale 6, VCU 6, Chattanooga 5, Washington 4, Kansas State 3, Nevada 3, Davidson 2, Valparaiso 2, Arkansas 2, Utah 1, SMU 1

— KU Athletics —