LAWRENCE, Kan. — Taken in its ignominious enormity, this 27-game conference losing streak makes Kansas football seem like an FCS program masquerading as a Big 12 squatter. In truth, that may be a slap at FCS programs.
Precisely three years and nine days ago, the Jayhawks won their last league game, 52-45 over Colorado—a victory that astonishingly required a 28-point fourth-quarter comeback, a win that gave Turner Gill a brief burst of false hope.
“We just all hugged each other,” Gill said that afternoon. “We’re going to continue to yell and scream and continue to celebrate. This is a great win for our program. This is a great group of guys to be around and we’re going to continue on in this direction next week.”
The next week Kansas lost 20-3 to Nebraska, beginning a putrid, extended sequence of misery that continues even today. Now, some three seasons along and with the weight of Baylor’s conference-record 29-game streak closing in, here’s a rundown of the losses:
2010
No. 1 at Nebraska L, 20-3
No. 2 Oklahoma State L, 48-14
No. 3 Missouri L, 35-7
2011
No. 4 Texas Tech L, 45-34
No. 5 at Oklahoma State L, 70-28
(Note: The Cowboys, fearful of bullying accusations, yanked their starters at halftime.)
No. 6 Oklahoma L, 47-17
No. 7 Kansas State L, 59-21
No. 8 at Texas L, 43-0
(Note: Kansas finished with 46 yards of offense. Not a typo.)
No. 9 at Iowa State L, 13-10
No. 10 Baylor L, 31-30 (OT)
(Note: This was almost a streakbuster, considering the Jayhawks led 24-3 in the fourth quarter. Of course, there was another ramification: If KU converts a two-point try in overtime, Robert Griffin III doesn’t win the Heisman.)
No. 11 at Texas A&M L, 61-7
No. 12 Missouri L, 24-10
(Note: Though Gill was fired the day after the loss to Mizzou, he was promised the remaining $6 million on his contract, which lessened the sting.)
2012
No. 13 TCU L, 20-6
No. 14 at Kansas State L, 56-16
No. 15 Oklahoma State L, 20-14
No. 16 at Oklahoma L, 52-7
No. 17 Texas L, 21-17
(Note: On Longhorns’ game-winning drive, QB Case McCoy hit Jaxon Shipley to convert a fourth-and-6. Why does that sound familiar?)
No. 18 at Baylor L, 41-14
No. 19 at Texas Tech L, 41-34 (OT)
(Note: Kansas ran for 390 yards but The Streak yields to no stats.)
No. 20 Iowa State L, 51-23
No. 21 at West Virginia L, 59-10
(Note: The largest losing margin during The Streak.)
2013
No. 22 Texas Tech L, 54-16
No. 23 at TCU L, 27-17
No. 24 Oklahoma L, 34-19
No. 25 Baylor L, 59-14
No. 26 at Texas L, 35-13
No. 27 at Oklahoma State L, 42-6