Halftime Musings: Kansas Jayhawks dominate their way to a 24-0 lead over UCF Knights

What a difference a week makes. The Kansas Jayhawks were facing a lot of tough questions after they got flattened in the second half of their game in Austin. Whether they took that personal or just wanted to show they had an off day last week, they come out on fire today. With electric plays from across the squad, the Jayhawks take a 24-0 lead into the half.

But the most impressive part of that first half was that every phase of the game contributed to the dominant performance. There are no bad takeaways, so let's look at the biggest positive for each unit.

Offensive Multiplicity

The loss of Jalon Daniels may change what the ceiling of the offense could be, but it does nothing to change the floor. Jason Bean still has the ability to do a lot of different things, they are just different. And with Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw both bringing styles of running that are difficult to defend, teams are going to have a hard time preventing all of it. We saw that with Jason Bean throwing for 78 yards and a touchdown, Devin Neal getting 79 yards on 11 rushes, and Daniel Hishaw with 52 yards and a touchdown on 10 rushes. Kansas fans obviously want Jalon Daniels back as soon as he is ready, but there are still plenty of reasons to be excited about the offense under Bean.

Defensive Intensity

The Kansas Jayhawks defense was questioned after falling apart against the exceptionally talented Texas offense last week, but I think it's fair to chalk that up to the amount of time they spent on the field. Against UCF, they have been dominant. They only allowed 133 yards in the first half, including 23 of the 63 passing yards on the unlikely final drive to end the half. They caused pressure all half long, getting a sack, and only allowed one 3rd down conversion in the half.

The most impressive part is that they were able to shut down a lot of what UCF wanted to do without relying on penalties. Three false starts came in situations where Kansas was already shutting down the drive, and the holding call pushed UCF back on that last drive of the half. They are a nightmare to deal with.

Special Teams finally got one

Trevor Wilson has been dangerous for the Jayhawks this season on punt returns, but teams have been punting away from him. That or they sky the ball so high that there is nothing to do but call for a fair catch. But UCF slipped up late in the half, when they not only kicked to him, but the coverage team got a little complacent. That allowed him to get started, and he used his speed and field vision to take it all the way to the end zone. The 82-yard score should put teams on notice for the rest of the year.

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