Wildcat report

First Quarter

Key play: Emmanuel Lamur intercepted a Todd Reesing pass on Kansas' second possession near the end zone and helped keep the first quarter scoreless.

Key stat: Minus-2, the Wildcats' passing yards in the opening 15 minutes.

Second Quarter

Key play: Grant Gregory's 31-yard touchdown pass to Lamark Brown with 20 seconds remaining put K-State ahead.

Key stat: 5 for 60 and 1 touchdown, the catches and receiving yards for K-State wide receivers not named Brandon Banks.

Third Quarter

Key play: Daniel Thomas dashed up the field for a 40-yard gain on the second play of the half. It set K-State up with an easy touchdown opportunity.

Key stat: Thomas eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season.

Fourth Quarter

Key play: Facing third and 4 on its final possession, Gregory rushed for a 9-yard gain and made it possible for K-State to run out the clock.

Key stat: 5:20, the time remaining when KU pulled within 17-10. The Jayhawks never got the ball back.

Report card

Offense: B. K-State didn't have much of a passing game, throwing for 66 yards. But when you have Thomas churning out 185 rushing yards on 24 carries you don't really need to put the ball in the air. The Wildcats did a good job of playing to their strengths.

Defense: B+. The Wildcats allowed 301 yards and let the Jayhawks move into scoring position all afternoon, but that rarely cost them. When it mattered, K-State toughened up.

Special Teams: B. Ryan Doerr and D.J. Fulhage had a tremendous day punting and pinned Kansas inside the 20-yard line four times. Josh Cherry also booted a 47-yard field goal.

Coaching: A. When Bill Snyder is coaching, the Governor's Cup resides in Manhattan. The man knows how to beat his cross-state rival.

Player of the game

Daniel Thomas. Once again, the running back paved the way for a K-State victory.

Reason to hope

Kansas State has yet to lose to a team from the Big 12 North. With two games left, the Wildcats are knocking on the door of a bowl bid and a division title.

Reason to mope

There were plenty of open seats at Snyder Family Stadium. Official attendance was 48,306, which ranks behind the season-opener against Massachusetts as the second most attended game of the season. The Sunflower Showdown, it seems, is not recession proof.

Looking ahead

Missouri comes to Manhattan next week, and if everything falls in their favor, the Wildcats could wrap up the North.

—Kellis Robinett