Oklahoma’s undefeated season is over.
Kansas RB Devin Neal scored with 55 seconds left to give the Jayhawks a 38-33 win over the No. 6 Sooners on Saturday.
Oklahoma appeared to let Neal score after he gave the ball back to Kansas with 2:06 left in the game. Kansas quickly got to midfield on its final drive and made a huge fourth-down conversion to the Oklahoma 10-yard line when Jason Beane found a wide-open Lawrence Arnold for a 37-yard touchdown.
The Sooners had two timeouts remaining on their final possession and reached the Kansas 21-yard line with three seconds left. But Dillon Gabriel’s pass into the end zone was incomplete.
The win is Kansas’ first win over Oklahoma since 1997 and the Jayhawks’ first home win over a top-10 team since 1984. What team did they beat that season? Oklahoma.
The Sooners had a great opportunity to put the game away with less than three minutes left after an incredible play by defensive lineman Ethan Downs. Kansas tried to run a screen late on third down and Downs recognized the play immediately. Kansas QB Jason Bean somehow made the decision to throw the ball anyway despite Downs’ admission and threw it directly to Downs.
But the Sooners went three-and-out and committed a false start on fourth down to bring the punt team down the field and give the ball back to KU for what amounted to a game-winning drive.
The game featured six lead changes, a stuttering start by each team, and a Kansas lead in which Oklahoma committed three personal fouls.
Jason’s up and down game
Downs’ interception was the second in two drives for Penn. The Kansas QB was starting his fifth game of the season in place of Jalon Daniels as the Big 12 Player of the Year was sidelined with a back injury.
The Bean Experience, as Kansas fans will attest, is a roller coaster. He is capable of making plays that will leave you shaking your head in frustration and excitement.
Bean finished the game just 15-of-32 passing for 218 yards and those two interceptions but had four carries for 62 yards and a TD on a 38-yard run that gave Kansas a 26-21 lead going into the third quarter.
The win means Kansas is now 6-2 and bowl eligible for the second straight season. It’s a remarkable turnaround for a school that had the worst Power Five program in the country before coach Lance Leipold arrived.
Oklahoma’s playoff hopes are much lower
The Sooners survived a surprising scare a week ago at home against UCF and faced danger throughout Saturday’s entire game against the Jayhawks.
Kansas led 14-0 early before Oklahoma scored 21 consecutive points in 10 minutes to take the lead before the end of the first half. But the Jayhawks took the lead on a Bean TD run after a Jalil Farooq fumble late in the third quarter.
The Sooners responded well after Ben’s run, but the offense wasn’t good enough down the stretch. The Sooners punted after KU missed a field goal that would have extended the lead to eight in the fourth quarter and the drive was lost after a two-yard Downs interception.
A loss would certainly keep Oklahoma out of the top 10 in this year’s College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday, but the Sooners’ playoff hopes aren’t completely dead. An undefeated finish to the regular season could set up a rematch with Texas in the Big 12 title game. The winner of that game could be in the playoff.
But the Sooners have to get through Week 10 before worrying about a playoff spot. Oklahoma heads to Oklahoma State next week for what could be the final rivalry game in Bedlam for the foreseeable future.
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