Kansas' showing in London on Saturday afternoon was quite an ugly one. The Jayhawks' offense was flustered all day, and special teams struggles loomed large in a 24-17 loss to Arizona State
in the inaugural Union Jack Classic.
The atmosphere inside the historic Wembley Stadium was fantastic, and KU had some momentum early on with a punt return touchdown. However, an unbelievable turn of events toward the end of the first half and the opening of the second resulted in 14 points in 36 seconds of game action for the Sun Devils.
We're not going to say everything from today was negative, but it's hard to have a positive outlook on a team that's now 1-2 through three games. There were still some individual performances worth highlighting, though. Here are the biggest winners and losers for the Jayhawks today.
In yet another loss, Kansas spoiled an amazing performance from defensive end Leroy Harris III. The Chattanooga transfer finished the afternoon with a team-high six solo tackles, recording his first sack of the season along with two additional tackles for loss. He was wreaking havoc on ASU's offensive line throughout the contest.
We've advocated for Harris to begin getting more looks from NFL scouts
, and he did not disappoint today. A week after an excellent showing against Missouri in which he forced a fumble and blocked a field goal attempt, Harris was just as effective against the Sun Devils. He was a huge part of the reason KU was able to stick around for as long as it did.
Meanwhile, today was a thing of beauty for wide receiver Tate Nagy. I can't remember the last time a player accounted for all of a team's points (besides the late field goal), doing so on both special teams and offense.
The son of former NFL head coach Matt Nagy caught his second touchdown pass of the year to keep the game alive in the fourth quarter, finishing with 61 receiving yards on three receptions. He continues to excel in the slot as Cam Pickett battles a lower-leg injury that has hampered him for months.
Running back Dylan Edwards was going to make the list until he coughed up a fumble to open the fourth quarter, which the Sun Devils subsequently returned to the red zone for an easy one-play touchdown. Fellow tailback Yasin Willis also lost a fumble and was severely injured, later being seen in a walking boot in the second half.
There are a few names I'll get to on this list, but I want to start with offensive play-caller Andy Kotelnicki. In his weekly press conference, he talked about how any criticism of Isaiah Marshall was a criticism of him ... so here it goes.
In the first half alone, Kotelnicki made several inexplicable third-down decisions that didn't make an ounce of sense. Most of them featured third-down handoffs that had little chance of reaching the line to gain.
The Jayhawks didn't convert a third-down opportunity until the third quarter, and the offense didn't score a point until the Sun Devils' defense started to play looser coverage. Otherwise, we could be talking about a unit that was blanked by an ASU defense that just allowed 48 points to Texas A&M.
We have to speak about Matthew Gill somewhere in this article. I hate to bash a kid when he's down, but he simply doesn't look fit to be a Division I punter.
The game was turned upside down when he side-screwed a kick from inside KU's own 10-yard line for just 17 yards, which eventually resulted in an Arizona State touchdown to take the lead before halftime. The Australian native did not help his job security today, booting five balls away for an average of just 36 yards.
We're going to single out yet another coordinator because the majority of today's loss goes on the coaching staff. ST coordinator Taiwo Onolatu deserves a significant share of the blame for the special teams miscues today. There is no excuse to allow a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown coming out of the half in a one-score game. That completely deflated the Jayhawks for the rest of the day and erased any chance they had.
Finally, center Kasen Carpenter had a rough performance. He airmailed four snaps over Marshall's head, and KU may have to turn to a new snapper moving forward.
There's really no telling where KU can go from here. Its special teams unit is suspect, the offense can't move the ball when it needs to, and the defense ends up exhausted after bailing out Kotelnicki's unit time and time again. Things are looking really grim for the Jayhawks heading into what should be a long and brutal bye week.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/kansas as Biggest Winners and Losers From Kansas' Week 3 Loss to Arizona State .
