K-State defeats Baylor 36-35

MANHATTAN — There was Robert Griffin, standing with his Baylor teammates 73 yards from the end zone with time winding down and the game on the line. His team trailed Kansas State by a point, and the Bears needed him.

The stage was set to walk off the field a hero. There was little reason to doubt he would.

Few have been better than Griffin this season. The junior quarterback entered Saturday's game at Snyder Family Stadium with a catchy nickname (RG3), a crazy stat line (more touchdown passes than incompletions) and a legit chance to win the Heisman Trophy.

Everyone knew his story.

Today, at least some of that attention will shift to Kansas State's best player: Arthur Brown.

The two went head-to-head in the fourth quarter, and Brown, a junior linebacker, came out on top. K-State won 36-35.

"He's a great player," Wildcats receiver Chris Harper said of Griffin. "But we stopped him. That gives us a lot of national attention. People are going to start taking notice."

K-State (4-0 overall, 1-0 Big 12) will likely generate more attention in the national polls when they come out today.

Brown is a main reason why.

"That speed of his really helps out on the defense," defensive end Jordan Voelker said. "RG3 is fast, but he kind of slowed RG3 down a little bit. Knowing that Arthur is just about as fast, and that he can run him down if he gets loose in the open field, that helped. Not many people want to get hit by Arthur."

Not after K-State's past two games, anyway. Much as it did a week ago at Miami, this game came down to K-State's defense.

The 15th-ranked Bears (3-1, 0-1) moved the ball on the Wildcats throughout much of the day for 429 yards and five touchdowns. Griffin accounted for much of that success by completing 23 of 31 passes for 346 yards and five touchdowns. His favorite target was Kendall Wright, who caught nine passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns.

It seemed only natural they would connect even more in crunch time. But that wasn't the case. Brown, a former five-star recruit out of Wichita East who transferred to K-State from Miami, stymied the Bears during their final six plays from scrimmage.

He put K-State in position for a go-ahead field goal by intercepting Griffin across the middle with 5 minutes, 26 seconds remaining. Then he help clinch the game on Baylor's final possession by sacking Griffin and stuffing running back Terrance Ganaway for a short gain two plays later.

"He plays inspired football," K-State coach Bill Snyder said. "... The real value of Arthur on the football field is he has the old adage: A nose for the football. He just knows how to find it and go get it."

Instead of watching Griffin lead his second game-winning drive of the season, the 49,399 on hand cheered as Baylor turned the ball over on downs after four plays and K-State won its first game over a ranked opponent since 2007.

"That was a big stand for our defense," Brown said. "A great opportunity against a great team and really just a chance to identify who we are as a defense."

When it was over, Brown, who is not known as an emotional player, danced on the sidelines and hugged anyone who came near him.

"My energy from that last play came from me seeing enjoyment from my team," Brown said. "... When you have that energy and emotion around you, you're definitely going to get involved."

It was a welcome sight for the Wildcats, who are improving by the week under coach Bill Snyder.

On Saturday, they showed toughness and poise. Baylor hit K-State hard early, taking less than 2 minutes to score the game's first touchdown.

Griffin connected on all four of his passes that drive, and the Bears' offense moved to the line of scrimmage quicker than expected. But no one on the Wildcats' sideline panicked. Not the offense, which suddenly felt pressure to score on its opening drive, and not the defense, which knew it had to pick things up.

"We kinda regrouped and said, 'OK, they didn't really do anything special,' " senior safety Tysyn Hartman said. "They just went faster. We can handle this."

From there, K-State's offense answered back with a touchdown and two field goals to take a 13-7 lead. Baylor pulled back ahead 21-19 at halftime, and K-State took a 26-21 lead after scoring on the opening drive of the second half.

Quarterback Collin Klein led K-State's offense with 113 yards and a touchdown rushing and 146 yards and two touchdowns passing. He hit John Hubert and Harper for touchdown passes.

But the Bears had even more weapons and headed into the fourth quarter with a 35-26 lead.

K-State's defense was able to hold firm, though. Behind Brown, it played its best with the game on the line.

Afterward, the player of the game was asked if he enjoyed this defensive stand more than the goal-line stand his team pulled off a week ago in Miami. He thought for a moment, and said he was looking forward to the next game against Missouri.

"I can't pick and choose. I take them all," Brown said. "It was a great win for us and something that we can really build on as a team."

This story was originally published October 1, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "K-State defeats Baylor 36-35."