Jaren Hamilton returns kickoff 100 yards for TD in Arizona State’s 24-17 win over Kansas in London

LONDON — Jaren Hamilton returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score, Reed Harris caught a touchdown pass and defensive lineman Hyrum Vaeono rumbled 77 yards on a fumble recovery as Arizona State beat Kansas 24-17 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Nicknamed “Turbo,” Hamilton accelerated down the sideline after eluding several tacklers on the kickoff to open the second half, giving the Sun Devils (2-1) a 17-7 lead in the inaugural Union Jack Classic.

With less speed but equal determination, the 305-pound Vaeono nearly took it to the house in the fourth quarter after a fumble by Dylan Edwards popped into his hands. Vaeono made it to the Kansas 2-yard-line. Two tush pushes later, quarterback Cutter Boley got over the line.

The Sun Devils went into halftime with a 10-7 lead after capitalizing on Matthew Gill’s 17-yard punt from his own end zone. It went out of bounds at the Kansas 25 with :25 seconds left in the half.

ASU just needed one play for Boley to throw a dart to Harris for the go-ahead score.

The Jayhawks (1-2) had been pinned down on their 2 with :42 seconds left in the half after Nick McLarty’s 39-yard punt. They ran three times and ASU used two timeouts to stop the clock before Gill’s shank.

Earlier in the second quarter, Nagy turned tight corner on a wall of Sun Devils to return a punt 72 yards for a Kansas touchdown and 7-3 lead. It’s the second straight week that Kansas got a special teams TD.

Down 17-7 and driving, Kansas went for it on 4th and 1 from the Arizona State’s 38 but Micah Johnson was stopped for no gain. On a 4th and 2 later in the third quarter, the Jayhawks sent out kicker Martin Connington, who missed a 44-yard attempt.

The takeaway

Kansas: The Jayhawks had three turnovers in the loss. Kansas’ best early drive ended with a Yasin Willis fumble early in the second quarter. The second fumble set up an ASU touchdown. After struggling against Missouri last week, Isaiah Marshall completed 17 of 33 passes for 235 yards with a late touchdown following a fourth-quarter interception. He also ran 13 times for 52 yards.

Arizona State: Despite the win, the Sun Devils will still be looking for ways to get the ball to star receivers Harris and Omarion Miller. Harris had 4 receptions for 48 yards; Miller three catches for 18 yards. Boley completed 11 of 23 attempts for just 95 yards with the TD and no interceptions.

Up next

Both teams have a bye week and return to action with home games on Oct. 3. The Sun Devils will host Big 12 rival Baylor; the Jayhawks host Middle Tennessee.