Wildcat report
First quarter
Key stat: Two turnovers for K-State – a fumble by Jake Waters deep in K-State territory to set up Auburn’s lone score and an interception by Waters in Auburn’s end zone.
Key play: An interception by Auburn’s Jonathan Jones in the end zone hit K-State wide receiver Tyler Lockett square in his chest and would’ve given the Wildcats a 7-3 lead.
Second quarter
Key stat: -12, as in the number of yards Waters lost on a fumble deep in Auburn territory, seemingly putting K-State kicker Jack Cantele out of range. Cantele missed a 42-yard field goal-attempt as time expired.
Key play: Auburn’s Nick Marshall found Ricardo Louis for a 40-yard touchdown pass with 1:34 left to give the Tigers a 10-7 lead.
Third quarter
Key stat: Auburn picked up four first downs, all in the final four minutes of the third quarter, on a drive that led to a nine-yard touchdown pass from Marshall to D’haquille Williams at the start of the fourth quarter.
Key play: Cantele missed a 22-yard field goal with 4:44 left that would’ve tied the score – the Wichita native’s third missed field goal of the game.
Fourth quarter
Key stat: Auburn had the ball for 10:27 of the fourth quarter.
Key play: Marshall found Williams for a 39-yard pass on third-and-9 with 2:06 left that sealed the win for Auburn.
Grades
Offense: D. K-State went 2 of 5 in the red zone after coming into the game 12 of 12, with 10 touchdowns. The Wildcats’ 40 rushing yards was also a season low.
Defense: B. The Wildcats did everything they needed to win, though a lack of presence on the interior defensive line hurt as Auburn continually gashed K-State with big runs up the gut in the second half.
Special teams: D. Cantele’s three missed field goals were only offset by Tyler Lockett’s 71 yards on three punt returns.
Coaching: B+. K-State’s staff had a good game plan. The Wildcats just couldn’t execute.
Player of the game
K-State wide receiver Curry Sexton. The Abilene native finished with a career-high 11 catches for 121 yards.
First touchdown for Robinson
DeMarcus Robinson, a senior running back from Northwest, scored the first touchdown of his K-State career on a three-yard run in the second quarter.
“I just excited we got in the end zone as a team, more than anything,” Robinson said. “But we came up short and that was tough. The offensive line got great movement on that play so it was easy.”
In attendance
A stadium-record 25 NFL scouts were in attendance. K-State normally hosts a handful of NFL scouts, seating them next to reporters in the press box. This time they were moved to the top level of the press box, next to the TV cameras. Other special guests included representatives from the Sugar Bowl, Texas Bowl and Florida Citrus Bowl.
Overall, K-State distributed a record 409 media credentials. That number was up nearly 200 from the season-opener against Stephen F. Austin.
Powered by beet juice
Some teams drink Gatorade to help them win football games. Others stick with water. At Auburn, they prefer beet juice.
The beverage choice sounds strange, but a Wall Street Journal story earlier this week revealing that the Tigers began drinking beet juice when Gus Malzahn arrived as coach. The team immediately improved for 3-9 in 2012 to national prominence, playing for the BCS championship last season.
From the article: “Before each game, between team warm-ups and the opening kickoff, Auburn’s staff distributes small pouches of beetroot concentrate. The players swirl the beetroot crystals around their water bottles and then slug the deep-purple concoction—which they don’t exactly savor.”
The taste may not be ideal, but it has delivered the desired results.
Another Thursday game?
K-State athletic director John Currie was hesitant to move the Auburn game away from its scheduled Saturday time slot because he didn’t want to inconvenience fans that build their weekends around home games. But he approved the date change, because it provided K-State and Manhattan with a “showcase moment.”
Expect more Thursday home games in K-State’s future. Just not immediately. This was its first Thursday home game since Nebraska in 2010.
“We don’t want to do this every game,” Currie said. “We have done this once since I have been here, in 2010. Once every four or five years, that is a reasonable pattern, but there are also some great advantages … That doesn’t happen if you aren’t the Thursday night game because you are one of 30 games on Saturday.”
Big-game treatment
ESPN and K-State fans treated the game like a special event. The student section was completely full 70 minutes before kickoff and TV cameras followed K-State players during their walk from the team’s buses to the locker room.
Kellis Robinett, Tony Adame
This story was originally published September 18, 2014 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Wildcat report."