LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas Jayhawks will hit the road for the third time in four games this week when they travel south to TCU to take on the Horned Frogs in a Halloween matinee at Amon G. Carter Stadium at 2:30 p.m. CT on FS1.
The Jayhawks (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) are coming off a thrilling 25-24 Homecoming win over Baylor last week, while the Horned Frogs fell to visiting West Virginia, 24-20, to fall to 3-4 and 1-3 in Big 12 play.
Kansas secured a dramatic victory when defensive tackle Blake Herold blocked a potential game-winning field goal with 18 seconds left to give Kansas a one-point win. The Jayhawks got 171 yards of total offense from running back Dylan Edwards, who carried 30 times for 156 yards. Quarterback Isaiah Marshall accounted for three touchdowns – two through the air and the eventual game-winner on the ground – and threw for 212 yards. Tight end Carson Bruhn caught his first-career touchdown and finished with five catches for 63 yards.
Linebackers Bam Crouch and Trey Lathan led the way defensively, combining for 17 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, a sack and an interception. Defensive end Leroy Harris III picked up 1.5 more tackles-for-loss and now has 11 in seven games this season. The defense held Baylor to 3.5 yards per rush and held the Bears to 6-for-18 on third and fourth downs.
Edwards, who went over the 100-yard mark for the second time this season, now ranks eighth in the conference in rushing with 531 yards on the season. Marshall is up to 1,506 passing yards and 11 touchdowns on the season, while receiver Nik McMillan leads Kansas in catches (25), yards (466) and receiving touchdowns (5).
Harris’s 11 tackles-for-loss are second in the Big 12 and sixth nationally. Lathan, who grabbed his first interception of the season last week and leads the team in tackles, ranks 18th in the conference with 48 total stops.
TCU enters Saturday’s matchup with one of the premiere defenses in the country. The Horned Frogs are first in the conference and sixth in the country in total defense, allowing just 264.3 yards per game. They also rank sixth in the country and first in the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing a lean 13.9 points per game.
TCU’s defense also ranks in the top 25 nationally in third down defense (13th), fewest first downs allowed (4th), passing yards allowed (23rd) and rushing defense (15th).
Safety Jamel Johnson, who was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, helps lead the defense and has 40 tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack and an interception on the season. Defensive tackle Ansel Din-Mibuh, who is in his second year with TCU after transferring from Washington State, has 4.5 tackles-for-loss and three sacks. Western Kentucky transfer Koron Hayward has 5.5 tackles-for-loss and 4.5 sacks, leading the team in both, out of his edge position.
Quarterback Jaden Craig, a Harvard transfer, has thrown for 2,066 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions on the season. He was a two-time Walter Payton Award Finalist at the FCS level for Harvard, Ed Small leads the team with 38 catches for 514 yards, while running back Jeremy Payne has a team-best 429 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.