By DAN HINXMAN
Associated Press
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw Jr. combined for 137 rushing yards and four touchdowns, Jalon Daniels threw for 298 yards, and Kansas pulled away from Nevada in the fourth quarter for a 31-24 victory Saturday night.
The game was tied at 24-all when Daniels went 4-for-4 for 55 yards, leading to Neal’s third touchdown on a 3-yard run and a 31-24 lead with 6:20 left to play.
Nevada was not able to cross midfield on its final two possessions.
The Jayhawks (3-0) were a 28-point favorite at Nevada sports books.
The Wolf Pack (0-3) was looking to end the nation’s longest losing streak. The now 13-game skid is also the longest in program history.
Brendon Lewis led Nevada with 113 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Neither team could muster much offense in the first half, but the second half was a shootout. They combined for 20 points on 247 yards in the first half but had 35 points on 461 yards in the second.
The teams used long pass plays to trade three touchdowns in a span of 2 minutes, 7 seconds late in the third quarter. Daniels connected with tight end Mason Fairchild on a 29-yard pass to the Nevada 1.
Two plays later, Nevada’s Dalevon Campbell hauled in a 53-yard pass from Lewis to set up a short TD run by Sean Dollars to tie it at 17-apiece.
On the next play, Daniels and Neal connected on a 59-yard pass to the Nevada 1, leading to Hishaw’s TD and a 24-17 lead that Kansas took into the fourth quarter.
The Jayhawks embarked on a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the game’s first possession, moving the ball with ease and scoring on a Neal 3-yard run. But the Wolf Pack defense stiffened – with the help of five Kansas penalties – and allowed just 75 yards on 23 plays the rest of the half.
Dollars scored on a 3-yard run in the final minute and the teams went into the locker room tied at 10-10 despite Nevada having just 97 total yards of offense.
BIG PICTURE
The Jayhawks opened the season 3-0 for the second straight season. Kansas stretched it to 5-0 in 2022 before losing seven of its final eight games. This marks KU’s first back-to-back 3-0 starts since 1991-92 under head coach Glen Mason.
UP NEXT
Kansas: Will host BYU (3-0) on Saturday in what will be the Cougars’ first Big 12 Conference game. BYU had been independent the previous 12 years before joining the Big 12 this season.
Nevada: Travels to San Marcos, Texas, to take on the Sun Belt’s Texas State Bobcats (2-1) on Saturday. Texas State is the last team Nevada defeated, 38-14, on Sept. 3, 2022, in Reno.