K-State tops Iowa State in regular-season finale

MANHATTAN — Now Kansas State football players are allowed to dream.

After putting the finishing touches on their most successful season in nearly a decade by defeating Iowa State 30-23 Saturday, they earned that right and more.

It's not something they have done this year. Refusing to daydream is one of the main reasons the Wildcats (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) were able to wildly surpass preseason expectations and put themselves within reach of a BCS bowl.

But with the regular season behind them, and their futures left in the hands of bowl representatives, they wasted no time celebrating with the fans who remained through poor weather conditions and a 90-minute lightning delay.

"I hope we go to the BCS now," junior receiver Chris Harper said. "We controlled what we can control. I think we had some good things go our way. Hopefully we can get in there. I'm trying to play in the best bowl we can play in. We've got a legit shot and we've got a good resume. Why not? Why can't we get in there?"

K-State will certainly be in the mix for an at-large bid to the Sugar Bowl with Houston losing in the Conference USA championship game. Its first 10-win season since 2003, its continual rise up the polls and its traveling fan base make it an appealing team.

But it will face strong competition from Michigan, Boise State, Oklahoma State and TCU. All could steal a spot if they finish in the top 16 the final BCS standings, which will be unveiled Sunday. If K-State misses out on the BCS, it will have to settle for the Cotton Bowl or Alamo Bowl.

There's no telling where the Wildcats will end up. The important thing is they took mastered the challenge presented to them Saturday. They accomplished their goal.

"It's magical. I love having 10 wins," said receiver Tramaine Thompson, who caught two passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. "We'll try to get to 11 wherever we go."

If K-State shows the same poise it displayed against Iowa State (6-6, 3-6) in its bowl game it will have a chance.

Saturday's game was a battle of wills from the start. Heavy rain greeted tailgaters, and drizzle came down at times throughout the afternoon. The weather forced players to stay in the locker room longer than they usually do and hurry through warmups.

It also made life difficult on offense. Iowa State struggled to snap the ball out of the shotgun early, and K-State quarterback Collin Klein lost his footing a few times on designed running plays.

Ball control and toughness became as important as speed and strategy. Some teams don't like to play that way. K-State, which has won eight games by a touchdown or less, didn't mind at all.

"It's just the heart and the will to go out there and fight," said cornerback Nigel Malone. "A lot of times we don't start out games as fast as we would like to, but the goal of the game is to finish. That's a mentality that we have embedded in our team."

That mentality has helped K-State win several close games, and it did again against the Cyclones.

When Iowa State took a 7-0 lead on a 30-yard flea-flicker pass from Jared Barnett to Darius Darks late in the first quarter, Klein and Thompson answered with a 68-yard touchdown pass on the next play.

When Iowa State took a 13-10 lead, senior defensive tackle Raphael Guidry was there to block an extra-point attempt, and again later to intercept a tipped pass that set K-State up for a touchdown.

And when K-State had to close out the first half with a big drive, and the fourth quarter with a defensive stop, it did both.

"They are a collective strong group of principled young guys," K-State coach Bill Snyder said.

On offense, the Wildcats relied heavily on running back John Hubert. Coming off a few lackluster games, he rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. He also caught two passes for 28 yards. His jaw-dropping 26-yard touchdown run put K-State ahead 30-23 with 3:29 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Klein added 86 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 158 yards through the air, and Anthony Cantele made three field goals. But Hubert led the offense.

"It was the last home game. I did it for the seniors," Hubert said. "My offensive line did a great job blocking for me, the holes were there. It felt good running and getting a lot of yards once again."

On defense, Emmanuel Lamur and Arthur Brown set the tone. The Wildcats top two linebackers combined for 24 tackles and helped limit Iowa State to 368 yards on 78 plays.

Their biggest play of the game came in the final moments, with Iowa State facing a fourth-and-2 at the Wildcats' 31.

"This is the No. 11 team in the BCS," Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. "And with a minute and seven seconds left, we are driving down to tie it and go to overtime."

But they never got there. Lamur stormed into the backfield and forced Jeff Woody to fumble. Like K-State, Iowa State has been in several close games, including the double-overtime win over then-unbeaten Oklahoma State.

The Wildcats were simply better when it mattered most.

"We wanted it more," said senior cornerback David Garrett. "We just went and got it. We've fought for this since August in summer workouts, and we worked hard for that fourth-quarter drive. We've done that a lot of times this season. It worked out for us again."

This story was originally published December 3, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "K-State tops Iowa State in regular-season finale."