LAWRENCE, Kan. _ The Kansas football team won't be able to use the final game of 2019 as a springboard for next season.
KU no-showed its finale, getting dominated in all facets by No. 9 Baylor in a 61-6 loss at Booth Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
"Whatever could've gone wrong, went wrong." KU coach Les Miles said after the game.
The lopsided affair meant that only a few hundred fans remained midway through the third quarter as Baylor built a 41-0 lead.
Then again, who could blame those supporters for exiting early after seeing what they saw Saturday?
KU's offense, after a one-week resurgence last game against Iowa State, couldn't throw effectively on a windy day, with the offense totaling four interceptions.
Special teams weren't better. The Jayhawks fumbled twice on punt returns, giving the Bears ideal field position while also continuing a season of incompetence in that particular facet of the game.
And so this is how Miles' return to the sideline went in Year 1. KU finished 3-9 _ matching the program's most wins of any season this decade _ while experiencing both extreme highs and lows.
"Not the way you wanted to see this team go out," Miles said. They've accomplished a lot, and they were a lot better than what they showed today."
The Jayhawks had multiple impressive moments, which included a road win at Boston College, a 17-point home rally against Texas Tech and a near upset at Texas in a 50-48 loss that was decided on the final play.
There were a lot of stinkers too. KU built up a season's worth of momentum only to get trounced at home by rival Kansas State, 38-10, on Nov. 2. Saturday's game against Baylor had to rank among the worst efforts too, with KU entering as just a 14-point underdog.
An important few months are ahead. So far, Miles has secured a top-30 recruiting class according to Rivals, and keeping some of those commitments while staying somewhere in the top 50 could be a huge boost for the future of the program.
Miles, if he starts recruiting Sunday, likely won't be bringing up Saturday's game against Baylor with any prospective athletes.
KU, in an up-and-down season, ended with one of its worst moments.
