PROVO, Utah (AP) — Jalon Daniels threw for 169 yards, Dylan Neal ran for two touchdowns and Kansas upset No. 7 BYU 17-13 on Saturday night to hand the Cougars their first loss of the season.
The Jayhawks (4-6, 3-4 Big 12) beat ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks for the first time in school history and improved to 3-0 against the Cougars. Neal surpassed 4,000 yards rushing in his career, finishing with 52 yards on the ground.
The victory over BYU kept alive hopes of Kansas qualifying for a bowl game for a third consecutive season following a 1-5 start.
“I feel like our team has always done a great job being able to stay the course,” Daniels said. “I feel like a big staple within our program is being able to trust the process.”
Jake Retzlaff threw for 192 yards for BYU (9-1, 6-1, No. 6 College Football Playoffs). LJ Martin ran for 76 yards for the Cougars, who were held to a field goal in the second half.
BYU totaled 354 yards but went just 2 of 4 in the red zone and came away with no touchdowns on all four drives inside the 20.
“They had a really good game plan,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “Looking at the stats, we just didn’t make enough plays and (made) way too many mistakes to come out with the victory. “
Trailing 13-10 entering the fourth quarter, Kansas went ahead on Neal’s 3-yard run.
Daniels quick-kicked on fourth-and-14 when the drive stalled at BYU’s 36. His kick deflected off Evan Johnson’s helmet and when Jakob Robinson dove to secure it, the ball squirted out of his arms. Quentin Skinner pounced on the loose ball at the 3 to set up the go-ahead score.
“We found a way this time,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said.
BYU drove to the Kansas 15 with two minutes left. The Cougars stalled on offense coming out of the two-minute timeout. They gained four total yards on three straight runs and a false start penalty backed them up to the 16. BYU turned it over on downs with 46 seconds left when Chase Roberts was tackled 3 yards short of a first down.
“We had all the confidence in the world in our defense to be able to go out there and make a stop,” Daniels said.
Both teams scored a touchdown in the first half. Kansas took a 7-0 lead on its opening drive following Neal’s 7-yard burst up the middle. BYU went ahead 10-7 in the second quarter on a 30-yard strike along the sideline from Retzlaff to Hinckley Ropati.
The Cougars had a chance at another go-ahead score before halftime when they drove 70 yards over a minute down to Kansas 5. Mello Dotson intercepted Retzlaff in the end zone on a fade route to keep BYU from putting another touchdown on the board.
“We can’t score in the red zone,” Roberts said. “I feel like we struggled a little bit in practice this week in the red zone, and it carries over. You got to lock in. You got to be prepared when you come out and play a good team like Kansas.”
Kansas: The Jayhawks took care of the ball and made smart decisions against an opportunistic BYU defense that ultimately forced only one turnover.
BYU: A turnover prevented a potential go-ahead score before halftime. A second one led to a late Kansas lead.
BYU opened the third quarter with a 17-play drive that covered 66 yards and took 10:26 off the clock. The drive culminated in a 35-yard field goal from Will Ferrin that ended up being the Cougars' only second-half points.
“It didn’t seem like it was going to ever end,” Leipold said. “That might be one of the longest drives I’ve seen in my career. 17 plays. But to hold them to that field goal was huge.”
BYU will likely drop out of the Top 10 following its first loss.
Kansas: Hosts Colorado on Saturday.
BYU: At Arizona State on Saturday.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Kansas running back Devin Neal (4) celebrates his touchdown with Kansas cornerback Jacoby Davis during the first half of an NCAA college football game against BYU, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Provo. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip overnight and into Sunday killed 12 people, according to Palestinian medical officials. Police in Israel, meanwhile, arrested three suspects after flares were fired at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence in the coastal city of Caesarea.
The developments are the latest as the Israel-Hamas war grinds on with no end in sight. Israel is also at war with the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, where its ground troops have advanced farther to the north.
Authorities said Netanyahu and his family were not at the residence when two flares were fired at it overnight, and there were no injuries. A drone launched by Hezbollah struck the residence last month, also when Netanyahu and his family were away.
The police did not provide details about the suspects behind the flares, but officials pointed to domestic political critics of Netanyahu. Israel's largely ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, condemned the incident and warned against “an escalation of the violence in the public sphere.”
Netanyahu has faced months of mass protests over his handling of the hostage crisis unleashed by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel, which ignited the ongoing war in Gaza.
Critics blame Netanyahu for the security and intelligence failures that allowed the attack to happen and for not reaching a deal with Hamas to release scores of hostages still held inside Gaza. Israelis rallied again in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to demand a cease-fire deal to return them.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin meanwhile seized on the flare attack to call for a revival of his plans to overhaul the Israeli judiciary, which had sparked months of mass protests before the war and remains deeply divisive.
“The time has come to provide full support for the restoration of the justice system and the law enforcement systems, and to put an end to anarchy, rampage, refusal, and attempts to harm the Prime Minister," he said in a statement.
Supporters said the judiciary changes aim to strengthen democracy by circumscribing the authority of unelected judges and turning over more powers to elected officials. Opponents see the overhaul as a power grab by Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, and an assault on a key watchdog.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said in a post on X that he “strongly condemns” the firing of flares at Netanyahu’s home while blasting Levin’s proposal.
“Levin should go home with rest of this irresponsible government,” Lapid wrote. “We will not let him turn Israel into an undemocratic state.”
The strike killed six people in Nuseirat and another four in Bureij, two built-up refugee camps in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.
Another two people were killed in a strike on Gaza’s main north-south highway, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah, which received all 12 bodies.
The war between Israel and Hamas began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third of them believed to be dead.
The Health Ministry in Gaza says around 43,800 Palestinians have been killed in the war. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said women and children make up more than half the fatalities. Around 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million Palestinians have been displaced, and large areas of the territory have been flattened by Israeli bombardment and ground operations.
The U.N. Security Council’s 10 elected members on Thursday circulated a draft resolution demanding “an immediate, unconditional and permanent cease-fire” in Gaza. The U.S., Israel’s closest ally, holds the key to whether the council adopts the resolution.
Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip.
Find more of AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
A woman shouts slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
People shout slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
People gather to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
People shout slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
People shout slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
People shout slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A woman shouts slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
