MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — Kansas football’s losing streak extended to three games Saturday, with a 32-28 loss on the road against West Virginia.

The Jayhawks (1-3, 0-1 in Big 12 Conference) came up short against their league opponent. The Mountaineers (2-2, 1-0) put together a fourth-quarter comeback that included 15 unanswered points. A severe weather delay, caused by lightning in the area, extended what became a disappointing day for KU.

Looking ahead, there are some lingering questions to think about after the defeat. What effect did switching where co-offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski and assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes are on game day have, as Zebrowski moved to the field and Grimes went upstairs? Are there lessons to be gained from how Kansas played in the second half offensively, and what’s one statistic that stands out about this Jayhawks squad the last three games?

Kansas football vs West Virginia: Recap from Big 12 Conference game in Week 4

Consider these three things before Kansas returns home for a game Sept. 28 against TCU in Kansas City, Missouri:

What effect did the switch between Jim Zebrowski and Jeff Grimes have?

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold responded that, for himself, there wasn’t much to react to in this regard. He became used to having Zebrowski on the field for a number of years, prior to Grimes’ arrival on staff ahead of the 2024 season. But while Leipold highlighted it didn’t help the Jayhawks in the win column as of yet, and there’s a need to focus on that, he mentioned they would talk about it as a coaching staff Sunday and also plan to seek out redshirt junior quarterback Jalon Daniels’ thoughts.

Daniels said Saturday it wasn’t weird not having Zebrowski on the sideline the first three games, after Zebrowski always had been the past few years, but it was different. Daniels explained it’s not as if there wasn’t energy on the sideline without Zebrowski, but Daniels had grown familiar with the significance of the energy Zebrowski brings. Daniels called Zebrowski fearless, and praised how Zebrowski interacts with quarterbacks and prepares them for games.

Is there something to explain the difference between Kansas football’s offense in the first and second halves?

Kansas went from just one touchdown drive in the first half to scoring three in the second. Although the Jayhawks couldn’t run out the clock late in the fourth quarter, and stay on the field, without that improvement they wouldn’t have been able to be in that position. So, is there something senior wide receiver Luke Grimm could point to in order to explain the difference in success?

Grimm’s big second half allowed him to finish with three rushes for 55 yards and a touchdown, and six receptions for 75 yards and a score. However, he said, when it came to the offense in general, they just executed in a way they didn’t previously. He explained doing so gave them more confidence, and added even still they didn’t do as well as they could have and it’s disappointing to know that happened.

What’s 1 statistic that helps explain why Kansas football has lost three-straight games?

Kansas went into the fourth quarter of its loss against Illinois with a 17-13 lead, but allowed 10 unanswered to lose 23-17. Against UNLV, Kansas entered the fourth quarter with a 17-16 lead before being out-scored 7-3 to lose 23-20. On Saturday, against West Virginia, Kansas had a 21-17 lead as the fourth quarter started and WVU out-scored KU 15-7 to win 32-28.

The Jayhawks aren’t finishing games in the way they are capable of. To date, they have been out-scored 32-10 as they’ve tried to close out games in the fourth quarter. Leipold has discussed a need to finish games more effectively, and should that occur there’s a significant chance Kansas can start to turn its season around.

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: What happened when Kansas football lost against West Virginia?