LAWRENCE, Kan. – James Sims scored two touchdowns and picked up 94 yards on the ground to spur the Kansas Jayhawks to a 31-14 victory over the South Dakota Coyotes on Saturday night. The Jayhawks got off to a slow start and trailed 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. They bounced back to score 24 straight points that started with a one-yard touchdown run from Sims in the second quarter.
Kansas was stingy against the Coyote’s passing game, only allowing quarterback Josh Vander Maten eight completions on the night for a paltry 67 yards and one touchdown. Vander Maten did most of his damage on the ground, collecting 78 yards.
His effort wasn’t enough. After the Coyotes first touchdown the Jayhawks defense shut down the team’s next seven drives, only allowing 98 yards of offense from early in the second quarter through the end of the third.
In tandem with Sims, running back Darrian Miller gained 72 yards himself and the team rushed for a total of 280 yards. BYU transfer Jake Heaps started his Kansas career by going 10-20 for 110 yards in the air and threw a touchdown pass to Justin McCay.
Kansas is now 1-0 and travels to Houston next week to play the Rice Owls. The Jayhawks will be looking to avenge last year’s last-second 25-24 loss to the Owls.
