KANSAS CITY, Kansas — Kansas football lost a second-straight game Friday, with its 23-20 defeat against UNLV.

The Jayhawks (1-2) couldn’t hold on on to a lead in the fourth quarter. They allowed the Rebels (3-0) to drive for a game-winning score, and couldn’t respond when provided a similar opportunity. In what was KU’s final non-conference game during the regular season, issues persisted that have placed head coach Lance Leipold’s squad’s season in a precarious situation.

Moving forward, what are some lingering questions to consider after the loss? What is going on with redshirt junior quarterback Jalon Daniels, and the offense in general? What steps can the defense take to help the team find its way in 2024?

After UNLV loss, Kansas football head coach Lance Leipold says: ‘Put this on me’

Here are a few things to think about ahead of Kansas’ game this upcoming Saturday on the road against West Virginia, in what’ll be each team’s first Big 12 Conference game this fall:

Can Jalon Daniels re-establish what’s made him special in the past?

Daniels seemed poised for a bounce-back performance Friday, when he ran for a pair of touchdowns to start the game. Kansas led 17-6 against UNLV late in the second quarter, but then came the first of what would be two interceptions for Daniels on the night, and the reemergence of issues that proved to be glaring the previous week.

Daniels now has six interceptions through three games, after throwing just one in three games in 2023 — before an injury cut his season short. He expressed how much confidence he has after the UNLV loss, but it’s critical that soon starts to show up on the field again in games. Leipold, offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Jeff Grimes and the rest of the coaches will all also play significant roles in allowing Daniels’ talent to better flourish.

How important could Daniel Hishaw Jr. have been against UNLV?

Senior running back Devin Neal ran for 120 yards against UNLV, in a game Kansas finished with 199 yards on the ground overall. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry on 23 attempts, while the Jayhawks averaged 5.7 yards per carry on 35 attempts overall. He proved to be another bright spot during a disappointing defeat.

Neal, though, played as redshirt junior running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. watched from the sideline unavailable. According to a KU official, Hishaw — a key part of that Kansas duo — missed the game due to an illness. Leipold said postgame, “Do I think this is a game Daniel would have had a chance also, for those two guys to have a one-two punch? But, yeah, he wasn’t available.”

Can Kansas’ defense improve in this specific area?

The past two weeks, Kansas’ defense has played a pivotal part in why the Jayhawks have been able to hold leads in the second half. Despite the turnover issues Kansas experienced offensively, it could have been able to persevere through them. But not only did the Jayhawks come up short offensively, but against both Illinois and UNLV they allowed fourth-quarter drives that helped put them on the wrong end of the final score.

As Kansas’ offense attempts to find its way, there are areas of focus the Jayhawks’ defense can improve upon. Finishing games in the fourth quarter is one of them. It’s not fair to say Kansas’ defense is the reason it’s lost two-straight games, but as the Jayhawks search for an end to this losing streak it’s fair to look at more than just the offense for that answer.

Jordan Guskey covers the University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: 3 lingering questions following Kansas football’s loss at home vs UNLV