Kylin James scored on a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 1:51 remaining to help UNLV defeat Kansas 23-20 on Friday night at Children’s Mercy Park.
The Jayhawks are playing all their games away from Lawrence, Kan., this season due to construction on their stadium.
UNLV (3-0) took the lead late with an 18-play, 75-yard drive, with all 18 plays being runs.
“I’m really proud of our team,” UNLV coach Barry Odom said. “I’m proud of our assistant coaches for putting together what I thought was a great plan in all three phases.
“Early on, it was tough going. It was messy. I think Kansas is a good football team. We had to stay in the fight. We just found a way.”
UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka completed only 7 of 18 passes for 86 yards but ran for 113 yards.
“It was a matter of going down and scoring,” Sluka said about the final drive. “We knew what we had to do. We were down by 4, so a field goal wouldn’t do it. It was just a matter of getting in the end zone.
“We were able to get some yards (on the ground). Some of the RPO (run-pass option) looks I didn’t love, so it was a safer decision to keep moving the ball on the ground.”
Jalon Daniels was 12-for-23 passing for 153 yards and had two interceptions for Kansas (1-2). He scored two rushing touchdowns.
“It’s become a fragile situation at the moment,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said about Daniels’ confidence.
Leipold also took some responsibility.
“I think we became a little predictable there,” he said. “In those backed-up situations, it’s extremely disappointing. Penalties didn’t help either. You’re hurting yourself in some execution areas, your turnover areas, and penalties. That’s hard to win football games that way.”
Daniels’ second interception gave UNLV the ball at the KU 4-yard line, but the Rebels only managed to get a 23-yard field goal from Caden Chittenden.
Kansas responded with a 41-yard field goal by Tabor Allen, increasing their lead to 20-16 in the fourth quarter.
However, UNLV’s game-winning drive, which UNLV center Jack Hasz called a “must-have drive,” took 9:22 off the clock and left Kansas with less than two minutes to make a comeback.
“That was a great job of our offense doing exactly what they needed to do,” Odom said. “A number of guys had big-time performances and they trusted each other.
“Collectively in the fourth quarter, we out-teamed them.”
UNLV now has a bye week before starting conference play against Fresno State. Odom believes his team is ready for any challenge.
“We’re going to have to win a lot of ugly games,” he said. “That’s okay. You’ve got to stay in the arena, continue to trust your preparation and your habits, and you’ve got to play six seconds at a time. When you do those things, you have an opportunity to win games in the fourth quarter.”
After forcing an opening three-and-out, Kansas scored with a 12-play, 81-yard touchdown drive, finished by Daniels’ 11-yard run. The Rebels answered with an 11-play drive but only got a 38-yard field goal from Chittenden.
Daniels then ran 33 yards untouched off the right tackle, completing a 94-yard drive and giving Kansas a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter.
Kansas’ defense tightened up again, stopping UNLV on third-and-7 and forcing a 27-yard field goal by Chittenden. Allen then extended the lead to 17-6 with a 35-yard field goal with 3:17 left in the first half.
