The Sports Xchange
Nov 11, 2017
AUSTIN, Texas -- Shane Buechele passed for 249 yards and a touchdown to lead Texas to a 42-27 win over hapless Kansas on Saturday in a Big 12 game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Texas (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) outlasted the Jayhawks despite the fact the game was statistically even in nearly every category. Kansas had four turnovers -- including three interceptions by quarterback Carter Stanley.
The Longhorns shot to a 28-7 lead in the first quarter, striking for a touchdown on 49-yard pass play from Buechele to Lorenzo Joe on the first offensive snap of the game. Texas added a 16-yard interception return by safety Antwuan Davis at the 8:05 mark of the quarter.
After Kansas responded with a 5-yard scoring pass from Stanley to Steven Sims to cut the lead in half, the Longhorns added two more touchdowns by the end of the quarter.
First Texas freshman running back Toneil Carter ripped off a 23-yard TD run at the end of a five-play, 60-yard march of all runs. Then freshman Cade Brewer hauled in an 8-yard touchdown pass from fellow freshman San Ehlinger two plays after an interception and 25-yard return by safety Jason Hall.
The Jayhawks (1-9, 0-7) showed surprising resilience, pulling to within 28-17 midway through the second quarter via a dynamite 8-yard scoring pass from Stanley to Earl Bostick (caught in the end zone in the midst of three Texas defenders) and a 36-yard field goal by Gabriel Rui, the latter after recovering a fumbled kickoff at Texas' 24-yard line.
Stanley passed for 268 yards and three touchdowns in the loss, Kansas' ninth in a row after a season-opening win over Southeast Missouri.
Texas added a 1-yard touchdown run by Lil'Jordan Humphrey before halftime and led 35-17 at intermission.
In the third quarter, the game fell into a pattern of missed opportunities for both teams and slowed to a crawl thanks to eight different stoppages for reviews of plays by the officials.
Rui added a 32-yard field goal midway through the third quarter for Kansas. The Longhorns' Chris Warren III rammed into the end zone from the 1 with 5:34 to play to finally finish off the Jayhawks.