Kylin James' late touchdown run lifts UNLV over Kansas 23-20

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Kylin James scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 1:51 left to lift UNLV past Kansas 23-20 Friday night at Children's Mercy Park.

The Jayhawks are playing all their games away from Lawrence, Kan., this season because of construction on their stadium.

UNLV (3-0) used an 18-play, 75-yard drive to take the lead late. All 18 plays on the drive were rushes.

“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 sledding. It was ugly. I think Kansas is a good football team. We had to stay in the fight. We just found a way.”

UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka was just 7-for-18 passing for 86 yards, but he rushed for 113 yards.

“It was a matter of going down and scoring,” Sluka said of 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, with two interceptions for Kansas (1-2). He had two rushing touchdowns.

“It’s become a fragile situation at the moment,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said of Daniels' confidence.

But Leipold took some of the blame as well.

“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 of the game gave UNLV the ball at the KU 4-yard line, but the Rebels only got a 23-yard field goal from Caden Chittenden.

Kansas answered with a 41-yard field goal by Tabor Allen to stretch the lead to 20-16 in the fourth quarter.

But UNLV's game-winning drive, one that UNLV center Jack Hasz called a “must-have drive” — took 9:22 off the clock and left Kansas with less than two minutes to come back.

“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 before opening conference play against Fresno State, but Odom says his team is ready for whatever comes its way.

“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 responded with a 12-play, 81-yard touchdown drive, capped by Daniels' 11-yard run. The Rebels responded with an 11-play drive but had to settle for a Chittenden 38-yard field goal.

Daniels then scampered 33 yards, untouched off the right tackle, to cap a 94-yard drive to give Kansas a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter.

Kansas' defense stiffened again, stopping UNLV on third-and-7, 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.

Kansas was driving for another score when Daniels threw his fifth interception of the season. It was returned 46 yards to the Kansas 33. With the first-half clock running down, Sluka found Jai'Den Thomas in the flat and Thomas turned it into a 27-yard touchdown with no time left on the clock to pull within 17-13 at halftime.

THE TAKEAWAY

UNLV: The Rebels need to work on the long passing game. Sluka attempted seven passes of at least 20 yards — several significantly longer — and missed on all seven.

Kansas: Daniels has the talent to be a star, but he has to cut down on the turnovers. He threw one interception in the season opener and had three picks in the loss at Illinois. His first-half pick Friday kept UNLV in the game and his second-half interception set up the Rebels for a chip-shot field goal.

UP NEXT

UNLV: The Rebels will open the Mountain West Conference season with a home contest against Fresno State on Sept. 21.

Kansas: The Jayhawks will open Big 12 Conference play with a road contest at West Virginia on Sept. 21.

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UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka (3) leaps past Kansas cornerback Cobee Bryant (2) as he runs with the ball in the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka (3) is sacked by Kansas linebacker Cornell Wheeler (44) and safety Mason Ellis (23) during an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

PHOENIX (AP) — Nearly 100,000 voters who haven't submitted citizenship documents might be prevented from participating in Arizona's state and local elections, a significant number for the battleground state where races have been tight.

The announcement Tuesday of an error in state-run databases that reclassified voters comes just four days before county election officials are required to mail ballots to uniformed and overseas voters.

Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said the error was resolved Tuesday morning, but the voter status of those caught up in it hasn't. Fontes and Stephen Richer, the Republican recorder for Maricopa County, disagree over whether the voters should have access to the full ballot or the ability to vote only in federal races.

Richer filed a special action Tuesday asking the state Supreme Court to settle the question.

“It is my position that these registrants have not satisfied Arizona’s documented proof of citizenship law, and therefore can only vote a ‘FED ONLY’ ballot,” Richer wrote on the social platform X.

Arizona is unique among states in that it requires voters to prove their citizenship to participate in local and state races. Those who haven’t but have sworn to it under the penalty of law are allowed to participate only in federal elections.

Arizona considers drivers’ licenses issued after October 1996 to be valid proof of citizenship. However, a system coding error marked more than 97,500 voters who obtained licenses before 1996 — roughly 2.5% of all registered voters — as full-ballot voters, state officials said.

While the error between the state’s voter registration database and the Motor Vehicle Division won’t impact the presidential race, that number of voters could tip the scales in hotly contested races in the state Legislature where Republicans have a slim majority in both chambers.

It also could affect ballot measures, including the constitutional right to abortion and criminalizing noncitizens for entering Arizona through Mexico at any location other than a port of entry.

Richer said his office discovered earlier this month that someone was classified as both a noncitizen and a full-ballot voter — in violation of state law. The person registered to vote in 2022 but has not cast a ballot in Arizona elections, Richer said.

The discrepancy led to a larger systemic issue with state databases, according to the court filing.

Fontes said the roughly 97,500 voters who were reclassified because of the error — more than half in Maricopa County — are longtime Arizonans and mostly Republicans who should be able to fully participate in the general election.

“This was discovered not because somebody was voting illegally and not because somebody was attempting to vote illegally as far as we can tell,” Fontes said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference. “And this was basic voter roll maintenance and it showed us that there is this issue.”

Richer said Fontes ignored state law by advising county election officials to let affected voters cast full ballots. Fontes said not allowing the voters who believed they had satisfied voting requirements access to the full ballot raises equal protection and due process concerns.

“I am unwilling to disenfranchise this many voters by limiting them suddenly, and with little notice, to a federal only ballot when none of them had notice of or blame for this issue,” Fontes wrote in a letter to county recorders.

Fontes said elections officials eventually will contact the voters but not until the high court settles their status. He said his office would set up an electronic portal where voters can submit citizenship documents, if needed.

Fontes and Richer agreed that the voters would be required to prove they are U.S. citizens to participate in state and local elections after the 2024 general election.

FILE - A voter casts their ballot at a secure ballot drop box at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

FILE - Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer speaks during a voting records trial Sept. 21, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool, File)

FILE - Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)