Marshall throws 2 TDs as Kansas routs Long Island 51-6
Isaiah Marshall shook off a slow start to throw for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns as Kansas piled up 613 yards in a 51-6 rout of Long Island in his first career start.
Marshall's first start: 6-0 for a quarter, then 246 yards and 2 touchdowns
Isaiah Marshall got the ball for the first time as Kansas' guy and needed a beat to find his rhythm. The Jayhawks were up just 6-0 early in the second quarter before a 46-yard connection to Nik McMillan broke the game open, according to Fox Sports' account of the win. "Being able to connect on those throws was huge for the offense," Marshall said afterward. "As soon as you see one connect it's time to go."
Long Island University51-6From there it was 51-6. Marshall finished 14 of 19 for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns, Yasin Willis ran for 72 yards and 2 scores in his own Kansas debut, McMillan — a Buffalo transfer — caught 6 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown, and Tate Nagy added a second-half score off a deflected pass. Kansas piled up 613 yards of total offense against a Long Island defense that has now been outscored 93-27 through two games this season, per ESPN's box score.
And we’re off ‼️ #RockChalk x @Kansas_Lottery
Jalon Daniels watched somebody else take his old job, in 102-degree heat
The last guy to start at quarterback for Kansas made the trip back to Lawrence to watch the next one do it. Jalon Daniels sat through the season opener at Memorial Stadium in 102-degree heat, per Fox Sports, less than two weeks after he beat out Jake Browning and Connor Bazelak for the Buccaneers' backup job behind Baker Mayfield — good enough that Tampa Bay cut Browning's guaranteed money to make room for him, per NFL.com. KU_Football had him on the broadcast during the game, posting "Real talk 🗣️ @JalonDaniels6 x @ESPNU."
Real talk 🗣️ @JalonDaniels6 x @ESPNU t.co/Q3OQRxqfI8
It made for an odd split screen: six seasons of Daniels running this offense, replaced by a redshirt sophomore with 3 career pass attempts walking in, throwing for 246 yards and never looking like it bothered him. If Marshall needed a reminder of where patience with a dual-threat quarterback can lead, the proof was standing on the sideline.
86 players got in, including walk-ons who pay to be there
Leipold's explanation for the slow start doubled as a brag about his depth. Fans expect an immediate blowout, he said after the game, but the staff kept rotating bodies and let the game come to them rather than forcing it — and by the numbers, 86 different Jayhawks saw the field on Thursday night, per Fox Sports, some of them walk-ons who fund their own spot on the roster.
That is the kind of number that only shows up in a game this lopsided, and it is also the point: a program that just handed its offense to a quarterback with almost no game tape can afford to play deep into the roster in a 45-point win. It is a nice problem to have three weeks after wondering who would even start at the position.
Next up: the Border War returns, first meeting since 2005
Kansas gets Friday night vs. Missouri next, and it is not just another game on the schedule — it is the first meeting between the two rivals since 2005, per Fox Sports, a series that used to be one of the sport's nastiest before conference realignment split them up. Missouri comes in 1-0 after a 54-14 win to open its own season, and the line opened with Kansas as a 6.5-point underdog at home, with the total set at 52.5.
Kansas will still be shorthanded for it. Running backs J. Thurman and K. Amachree are both out for the season with undisclosed injuries and no return timetable, according to Covers' injury table, and receiver C. Pickett is questionable with a leg injury — Leipold said this week he does not yet know where Pickett will be, after the receiver did not practice. It is the same depth question that made Thursday's rotation necessary, arriving again against a much better team.