The 1964 Kansas Jayhawks football team was an American football team that represented the University of Kansas as a member of the Big Eight Conference during the 1964 NCAA University Division football season. In their seventh year under head coach Jack Mitchell, the Jayhawks compiled a 6–4 record (5–2 in conference game), finished third in the Big Eight, and were outscored by a total of 146 to 136. In games against ranked opponents, they lost to No. 9 Syracuse and No. 5 Nebraska.
Senior running back Gale Sayers led the Big Eight in rushing for the third consecutive year and broke the conference career rushing record. Sayers was also a consensus pick on the 1964 All-America college football team. Three Jayhawks received first-team honors on the 1964 All-Big Eight Conference football team: Sayers; defensive tackle Brian Schweda; and defensive back Gary Duff.
Kansas played home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.
Schedule
Game summaries Vs. TCU
At Syracuse
Vs. Wyoming
At Iowa State
Vs. Oklahoma
At Oklahoma State
At Kansas State
Vs. Nebraska
Vs. Colorado
At Missouri
Roster
Statistics Team statistics. On offense, the Jayhawks gained an average of 71.1 passing yards and 189.6 rushing yards per game. They ranked fifth in the Big Eight Conference with an average of 13.6 yards per game.
On defense, they gave up an average of 106.1 passing yards and 185.3 rushing yards per games. They ranked third in the Big Eight in scoring defense, giving up an average of 14.6 points per game.
Passing. Quarterback Bob Skahan completed 41 of 78 passes (52.6%) for 550 yards with two touchdowns, one interception, and a 117.7 passer rating.
Rushing. Senior Gale Sayers led the team with 633 rushing yards on 122 carries, an average of 5.2 yards per carry. Sayers led the Big Eight in rushing for the third year. He also broke Dave Hoppmann's Big Eight career rushing record.
Sayers was followed in rushing yardage by Ron Oelschlager (431 yard), Bob Skahan (276 yards), Mike Johnson (238 yards), Steve Ranko (144 yards), and Bill Gerhards (99 yards).
Receiving. Sayers also led the team in receiving with 17 catches for 182 yards. Sayers was followed by George Hornung (10 receptions, 149 yards), Mike Johnson (9 receptions, 118 yards), and Sandy Buda (7 receptions, 118 yards).
Scoring. Sayers led the team in scoring with 25 points on four rushing touchdowns. Bob Skahan and Ron Oelschlager followed with 18 points each.
Awards and honors Running back Gale Sayers, nicknamed the "Kansas Comet", was the team captain, was a consensus pick for the 1964 All-America college football team, receiving first-team honors from, among others, the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, United Press International, and Look magazine/Football Writers Association of America. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1977. His No. 48 jersey has been retired by the Kansas football program.
Three Jayhawks received first-team honors on the 1964 All-Big Eight Conference football team: Sayers (AP-1, UPI-1); defensive tackle Brian Schweda (AP-1); and defensive back Gary Duff (AP-1).
1965 NFL draft Player Round Pick Position Club Gale Sayers 1 4 Running back Chicago Bears Brian Schweda 8 101 Tackle Chicago Bears Mike Shinn 8 108 End Green Bay Packers Gale Sayers was also drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 1965 American Football League draft.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 395
References