College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Kansas 55, Rutgers 14
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 15, 2018
Where: Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kansas
Temperature: 83°
Head Official: John O'Neill
Attendance: 28044

Kansas freshman Pooka Williams logged his second 100-yard rushing performance in as many starts and the Jayhawks capitalized on six takeaways Saturday in a 55-14 rout of Rutgers in Lawrence.

The victory was the second straight for the Jayhawks (2-1), their first back-to-back wins since 2011. It was their first nonconference victory against a Power Five opponent since 2010.

Williams gained 158 yards on 18 carries a week after debuting with 125 yards at Central Michigan, where Kansas snapped a 12-game losing streak. Williams sailed 52 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Kansas totaled 544 yards using four quarterbacks, but established superiority with its defense.

The Jayhawks, who came in tied for first nationally with a plus-six turnover margin on the season, swiped four takeaways in the first 16 minutes, including two pick-six returns, and led 31-14 at halftime.

To begin the second half, Kansas registered a three-and-out before an interception from freshman cornerback Corione Harris and a fumble recovery from senior linebacker Joe Dineen. The turnovers gave the Jayhawks short fields they converted into scoring drives for a 41-14 lead with 3:38 left.

Junior linebacker Bryce Torneden sailed 39 yards with an interception for the Jayhawks' first touchdown.

Junior safety Mike Lee added a 31-yard score off a pick two plays into the second quarter. Kansas also recovered two first-half fumbles and got a 59-yard touchdown burst from reserve running back Khalil Herbert.

Freshman quarterback Art Sitkowski, who injured his throwing shoulder in Rutgers' 52-3 loss to Ohio State a week earlier, was benched after completing 7 of 19 passes for 47 yards, with three interceptions.

He did engineer an 86-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter, though Rutgers (1-2) managed just 274 total yards. The Scarlet Knights returned a blocked field goal for their first TD as linebacker Deonte Roberts converted his deflection into a 64-yard score.

Sophomore running back Raheem Blackshear gained 102 yards on 19 carries for the Scarlet Knights.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Rutgers   Kansas
Raheem Blackshear Player Pooka Williams Jr.
19 Attempts 19
102 Yards 163
5.4 Avg Yards 8.6
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Receiving
Rutgers   Kansas
Eddie Lewis Player Jeremiah Booker
4 Receptions 3
43 Yards 32
10.8 Avg Yards 10.7
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Rutgers 274 150 124 2 0 0 0.0 1
Kansas 544 405 139 7 2 3 0.0 2