Watching the play, perhaps he thought the guy was heading nowhere near the QB and let him go. But as Coach Woods himself says, as quoted by Connor, "Solve your problems with aggression." Or maybe it's violence.

Either way, simply letting the guy pass turned out to be costly. Even a bump to throw him slightly off his path may have ultimately allowed for 2 more yards on Jake's throw. The guy crosses Pay's face unimpeded, plants, and heads directly for Jake, keeping him from fully completing his throw. A 3 man rush shouldn't have accomplished that.

Also, the false start at the end of the Kansas game was costly for the exact same reason. OL is a clear improvement over 2023 but could stand to pick it up a bit to close the year.