#24 KU gave up 661 total yards of offense in front of 102,000-plus fans in their 40-14 loss at #3 Texas. Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Jalon Daniels was a late scratch from the game with back tightness.

Jason Bean was unable to get the offense going with the Jayhawks going 0-for-8 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth downs. The fifth-year backup was just 9-for-21 with 136 and a touchdown.

The Longhorns’ defensive front also held Devin Neal to just eight carries for 45 yards. Daniel Hishaw Jr. had a rushing touchdown with eight carries for 44 yards.

In the first half, KU had five drives with four of them resulting in punts and the other being a 75-yard touchdown drive. Texas, meanwhile, scored in three of their four drives but two of them were field goals so KU was only behind 13-7 at the break.

After both teams exchanged touchdowns out of the break to make it 20-14, Texas missed a field goal to give the Jayhawks a chance to take all the momentum and the lead.

However, the turning point of the game didn’t go in their favor with 4:25 left in the third quarter. The Jayhawks went for it on 4th & 1 from their own 38-yard line, and Bean fumbled on an option read handoff.

The Longhorns would capitalize with a touchdown just two minutes later and they never looked back.

The final score should have been a lot uglier considering how poorly KU’s defense played.

Coming into the season, I mentioned that the difference between this team from just sneaking into a bowl game and contending for a conference championship is their defense.

KU clearly has not improved their defense hardly at all from last year and when their starting quarterback is out, it looks like their offense is the reason for the team’s shortcomings.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers went 25-for-35 with 325 yards and a touchdown. He also threw his first interception of the season. The true sophomore had success running it with two rushing touchdowns.

Their star running back Jonathon Brooks averaged over ten yards per carry with 218 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.

Georgia wide receiver transfer AD Mitchell had ten catches for 141 yards and touchdown. Junior wideout Xavier Worthy also had a big day (maybe not for his standards) with seven catches for 93 yards.

Texas improves to 5-0 and 2-0 in Big 12 Conference play. They square off with Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown next Saturday at 11 a.m. from AT&T Stadium in what could possibly be a Big 12 Championship preview.

As for KU, they fall to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play. They hope to get Daniels back next week with a home game against UCF next Saturday at 3 p.m. after the Golden Knights blew a 35-7 lead at home versus Baylor in front of a lackluster crowd turnout.