Where Was the Kansas Defense in the Loss to Cincinnati?

The Kansas Jayhawks hosted the Cincinnati Bearcats at home earlier today and would end up falling short, 37-34, on a touchdown Tawee Walker with just 29 seconds remaining.

No matter how well the Kansas offense looked today, you won't win too many. games when the other team puts up 37 points.

Regardless of the fumble at the one-yard line, Jalon Daniels had an efficient showing. He threw for 445 yards on 19 of 28 complete passes, along with four touchdowns. My one question is – Where on earth was the defense?

It was atrocious.

It seemed like it was going to be all Kansas as Daniels connected to Emmanuel Henderson for a 93-yard touchdown, right after stopping the Bearcats’ attack on a key stop. That would be one of the only big defensive moments Kansas fans would see all day.

Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby had no issue picking apart the Kansas defense, whether it was on foot or through the air, throwing for 388 yards, with two touchdowns to Cyrus Allen.

It seemed that Kansas’ defense would get worse every drive, and it was extremely tough to watch. In my opinion, what sums up the day for the defense is the last drive for Cincinnati that sealed the game.  

The Jayhawks had multiple chances to seal the win, thanks to penalties, but even with that, they still couldn’t stop the Bearcats. It was third and ten with just over a minute remaining, Sorsby dropped back and threw a questionable ball. It was deflected and almost fell into the hands of D.J. Graham. 

Even with that disappointing situation, it still felt like the Jayhawks would get the turnover on downs and win the game. But no, Sorsby dropped back again and completed an 18-yard pass to Noah Jennings for a first down. 

At this point, even though I did not want to admit it, it felt like the Jayhawks were going to lose.

Sorsby and his crew made the defense look silly all game long as they had a total of 603 yards. The Bearcats honestly deserved to win this game.      

The schedule will only get harder for Kansas from here on out, so before they head to Orlando to play UCF, D.K. McDonald and his defense need to watch some film and see firsthand the pain Kansas fans went through today, watching them fall short to Cincinnati. I know the Kansas Jayhawks can be better.