Kansas safety Fish Smithson (9) breaks up a pass to Kansas State wide receiver Byron Pringle (9) during the quarter, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

As the Kansas football team congregated in the visitors’ locker room at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday minutes after its loss to Kansas State, head coach David Beaty didn’t say a whole lot about the Jayhawks’ season-ending defeat.

Instead, Beaty elected to turn the focus to the 22 seniors on KU’s roster, because, as the second-year head coach put it, it was the last time all those players and coaches were going to be together in uniform as a team.

“The foundation work that they’ve done is very difficult and the rewards have not been very high,” Beaty said of what the seniors meant to the program, praising them for their perseverance and resilience. “I think it’s gonna serve them well in their life, because they continue to fight and continue to move forward.”

Indeed, that aspect of it couldn’t have been easy for the Jayhawks going through their final fall of college football, as the team finished 2-10 overall and 1-8 in the Big 12.

Though Kansas fell in its finale, 34-19, at K-State, some seniors contributed to make sure the game could be characterized as competitive. Fullback Michael Zunica caught two passes for 21 yards and a touchdown. Kicker Matthew Wyman drilled two field goals and recovered an onside kick. Safety Fish Smithson made a game-high 11 total tackles (all solo) and broke up a pass. Linebacker Courtney Arnick forced a fourth-quarter fumble on a sack and had six total tackles. Cornerback Brandon Stewart made four tackles. Defensive end Damani Mosby recorded two of his three stops behind the line of scrimmage.

By the time the seniors got out of their uniforms for the last time and packed up for the bus ride back to Lawrence, some struggled to put it all in perspective.

Said Zunica: “I feel disbelief. We keep saying, ’18 days left, 10 days left.’ This week we keep saying, ‘Last Wednesday practice at KU, last Thursday practice at KU.’ This is the last everything. It has been really special to do it with this group of guys. I am sad that it is over, but I am happy to have experienced it with them.”

A 5-foot-11 fullback and occasional tight end from Palos Park, Ill., Zunica, like any KU senior who spent more than two years in the program, wasn’t recruited by Beaty and his staff. But the former backup linebacker who finally got to score a touchdown in his college finale said he’ll leave Kansas appreciating the experience.

“It just taught me to work hard and taught me to grind. The coaches have taught me a lot, even the (assistants) that have been here for only a year,” Zunica said. “They taught me the game and taught me what it takes to win. I know we did not win as many as we wanted to this year, but I think they will be a force in the next years.”

Beaty said once he took over at KU he wanted to make sure the players he inherited didn’t feel overlooked or undervalued.

Kansas fullback Michael Zunica (44) runs in a touchdown after a catch during the fourth quarter, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

“When we got here I talked to our first group of seniors and told em, ‘Look, you’re our kids.’ There’s a lot of times when people come in and they can’t wait to get this new class in and get ‘our kids.’ Those are our kids. They’re my kids. They’re my babies. So I want those guys, I want them to experience the best senior year they possibly can. We owe that to those guys. And a lot of our seniors are playin’ for us. We’re gonna miss those guys.”

The KU defense will lose the following seniors who either started or played key roles in 2016: linebacker Marcquis Roberts, corner Stewart, safety Smithson, corner Marnez Ogletree, end Mosby, linebacker Arnick, safety Tevin Shaw, end Anthony Olobia and end/linebacker Cameron Rosser.

The same goes for the following offensive seniors: running back Ke’aun Kinner, fullback Zunica, right tackle D’Andre Banks and receiver Shakiem Barbel.

Kansas will lose Wyman, too, who handled kickoffs, field goals and extra points.

Beaty’s message to those seniors and others resonated with the Jayhawks, according to Kinner.

“We just said we love each other. I’ll give my all for this team any day and they would do the same for me,” the running back shared. “(Beaty) told us that we set the foundation for this team and that means a lot to me.”