TCU 26, Kansas State 6: key moments, players and grades

K-State player of the game: Trent Tanking. Defense kept the Wildcats in this game, and Tanking was K-State’s best player on that side of the ball. He made a game-high 13 tackles, including one for loss. He also forced a fumble. The senior linebacker continues to be a walk-on success story.

TCU player of the game: Kenny Hill. The TCU quarterback may enter the conversation for national awards if he continues playing this well. He completed 27 of 37 passes for 297 yards against K-State, and those numbers would have been even higher without two ugly drops from his receivers. Hill also rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown. He’s a big reason why the Horned Frogs are the current class of the Big 12.

Key moment of the game: Byron Pringle was penalized for pass interference moments before catching a pass in the corner of the end zone. Pringle made contact with TCU cornerback Ranthony Texada on the play, but it was hard to tell if he shoved the defender or Texada flopped. Nevertheless, a penalty was called and K-State lost a fumble on the next play. Instead of pulling within 10-7, TCU took over and went ahead 13-0.

Grades

Offense: F. K-State was bad in all areas, throwing for 146 yards and rushing for 70. Delton had an ugly debut as a starter, completing 11 of 29 passes, but it’s hard to put all the blame on his shoulders. The Wildcats need to find a way to get running backs Alex Barnes (7 yards) and Justin Silmon (14 yards) going. They are too talented to produce this little.

Defense: B+. The defense continues to do its part. K-State came through with four tackles for loss and created a turnover against TCU. It also looked much improved against the QB scramble, holding Hill to 58 rushing yards.

Special Teams: A. Matthew McCrane scored all six of K-State’s points, and Nick Walsh averaged 44.9 yards per punt. Those two played about as well as they could.

Coaching: D-. The defense was too good for an overall failing grade, but the offense truly was bad. Offensive coordinator Dana Dimel was too predictable with his play-calling, and K-State coach Bill Snyder called out him out, saying: "It is important to me that we do the things that our players can do. I was under the assumption our players could do some of the things we were trying to do today. That was not the case, and consequently we had to be in some other things."

This story was originally published October 14, 2017 at 8:20 PM with the headline "TCU 26, Kansas State 6: key moments, players and grades."