How Kansas football's Lance Leipold described the pick-six at Arizona that was called back

For a moment, it looked as if Kansas football had broke open the game Saturday at Arizona.

This was late in the second quarter, as Arizona drove with the ball into KU territory while trailing 17-7. Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita looked to throw, and took a chance. And Jayhawks defensive end Leroy Harris III picked off the pass, before taking it 77 yards the other way for a touchdown.

But instead of Kansas’ defense setting up with what likely would have been a 24-7 lead going into halftime, the play was called back. There was a holding call on one of Harris’ teammates that nullified the touchdown. And not only did Arizona go on to take that second chance on the drive, and go score a touchdown to help make it a 17-14 game going into halftime, but by the time the second half ended the Jayhawks had suffered a 24-20 loss against the Wildcats.

RELATED: With loss at Arizona, Kansas football’s road to bowl eligibility becomes more challenging

“It was pretty deflating,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold told reporters postgame about the pick-six being called back. “You go up 24-7 at half, I mean, that’s huge. That’s huge. And to have a defensive holding off the play, on a play that probably — that type of contact is very common, I would say. So, obviously it’s going to probably — it’s called, I can’t change it. So, it’s — Leroy made a heck of a play, and then even a better run, to take it all the way.”

Leipold continued: “And, again, if you’re up 24-7 at half getting the ball, who knows what happens from there? But we didn’t, and you can’t sit and complain about it right now and do that.”

That play also wasn’t the only turnover Kansas (5-5, 3-4 in Big 12) thought it had in this Big 12 Conference contest, before soon learning different. Early in the fourth quarter it looked as if KU safety Taylor Davis had picked off Fifita, while KU led 20-17, before a review determined the pass was incomplete. That Wildcats drive didn’t take its second chance and go for a score, as it ended in a punt, but given where the Jayhawks would have taken over the ball there would have been a much easier chance for points than Kansas eventually received.

Those weren’t the only two missed opportunities that KU left on the field against Arizona (6-3, 3-3), but they’ll continue to loom large as long as Leipold and company remain one win short of clinching bowl eligibility. They’ll be a part of the conversation as Kansas looks ahead to its final two games of the regular season, which bring a challenging road matchup Nov. 22 at Iowa State and a potentially even more challenging matchup at home Nov. 28 against No. 15 Utah. Reverse one of those two near-interceptions, and the energy around the program could be much different.

“Coach D.K. talked about turnovers,” cornerback Jalen Todd said postgame about defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald, when asked how much McDonald has emphasized forcing more turnovers. “We’ve got to win the turnover battle, and it’s really on us. We’ve just got to go out there and just execute that.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas football coach Lance Leipold recalls near pick-six at Arizona

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