Kansas left Wembley Stadium with plenty to feel good about on defense and plenty to clean up everywhere else.
The Jayhawks held Arizona State well below its usual standard for long stretches Saturday in the inaugural Union Jack Classic in London, but the Sun Devils still escaped with a 24-17 win. ASU coach Kenny Dillingham didn’t sugarcoat it afterward.
“I’m glad we came away with a victory, no matter how ugly it was,” the fourth-year ASU coach said after his team was outgained 414 yards to 228 by the Jayhawks. “They don’t count that.
Just get a win. A win is a win, 1-0 in the conference.”
Kansas made life miserable for Arizona State’s offense. The Sun Devils managed only 133 rushing yards on 43 carries and finished with just 95 passing yards. Dillingham called the Jayhawks’ front one of the toughest he’s dealt with.
“They were very disruptive,” Dillingham said. “That was one of the more disruptive D-lines I’ve ever played. Their movements, what they did on defense, that’s the disruption they created.”
The numbers backed that up. KU defensive end Leroy Harris III finished with seven tackles, his first sack of the season and a forced fumble. Tackle Blake Herold added four tackles, David Santiago had four tackles and one for loss, Eamon Smalls had three tackles and one for loss, and Marcus Calvin and Alex Bray each finished with three tackles.
Taylor Davis led the secondary with eight tackles, six of them solo, while linebackers Trey Lathan and Quincy Davis each had seven. Corey Gordon added five tackles, including one for loss, and Jalen Todd chipped in three.
“I thought our defense played outstanding today,” KU coach Lance Leipold said, “and as good a defense as we played probably again in a long time. And this team that we played was highly efficient last week against a highly ranked football team, and we held that offense in check today.”
Kansas’ defense did its part well enough to earn a strong grade. The Jayhawks only allowed two touchdowns that came under strange circumstances: one on a one-play, 25-yard drive after a 17-yard punt, and another on a one-yard run after a 77-yard fumble return that set Arizona State up at the KU 2.
The offense, though, couldn’t match that effort.
KU earned a D on that side of the ball after coughing it up three times and producing only 10 points on actual drives. The Jayhawks did show some life after halftime, but the inconsistency never let them settle in.
Isaiah Marshall completed 17 of 33 passes for 235 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He hit Tate Nagy on a 38-yard scoring strike to finish a five-play, 67-yard drive, then later helped guide an eight-play, 52-yard march that ended with Martin Connington’s 46-yard field goal to close the scoring.
Nahzae Cox had a KU career-high three catches for 61 yards, his most receiving yards since he posted 77 against Kennesaw State while at Middle Tennessee in 2025. Dylan Edwards also turned in a career day of sorts, rushing for 89 yards on 18 carries for a KU high.
“Consistency is an issue right now on that side of the ball, but we continue to see enough flashes that it has a chance to be successful,” Leipold said.
Special teams brought both a spark and a headache. Tate Nagy delivered the big play of the day for Kansas with a 72-yard punt return touchdown.
Arizona State answered with a 100-yard kickoff return for a score by Jaren Hamilton, and a 17-yard Matt Gill punt set up another Sun Devils touchdown. Connington also missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt in the third quarter.
Kansas now turns back home to face Middle Tennessee on Oct. 3 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. As of Sunday afternoon, no kickoff time had been announced.
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