Mistakes cost Kansas State Wildcats in 37-34 loss to Baylor Bears

It was a day of missed opportunities for the Kansas State football team.

Baylor kicker Connor Martin connected on a last-minute field goal to lift the Bears over the Wildcats 37-34 on Saturday at McLane Stadium. K-State players walked off the field frustrated as they thought about what might have been.

If not for missed tackles, missed field goals and an abundance of other errors K-State (2-4, 0-3 Big 12) could have easily won this game. Instead, Baylor (4-2, 2-1) pulled off an exciting victory.

K-State and Baylor exchanged big plays throughout an exhilarating fourth quarter like a pair of heavyweight fighters trading haymakers.

It was a surprising end to a game that felt dull for 45 minutes. The first three quarters were filled with more mistakes than highlights, and the Bears seemed in control with a 20-14 lead.

Then everything changed. Alex Barnes broke free for a 48-yard touchdown run for K-State to tie the score 20-20. Then Skylar Thompson scrambled his way 52 yards for a touchdown that gave the Wildcats a 27-20 lead with 10:38 remaining.

All of a sudden, it seemed like K-State was in control. But that feeling was short lived when Charlie Brewer led the Bears 71 yards in a shade over 2 minutes and connected with Denzel Mims in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Baylor followed that up with a 21-yard touchdown run from Craig Williams to take a 34-27 lead.

But K-State answered right back with a 28-yard touchdown strike from Thompson to Dalvin Warmack. Five touchdowns in the span of 10 minutes left the scored tied 34-34 with 4:26 on the clock.

Baylor handled the situation with poise and drove into field-goal range as the game neared its end. Martin kicked his field goal, of 29 yards, with 8 seconds remaining. K-State moved the ball to midfield for a final play, but Thompson couldn’t find an open receiver.

The final score ruined what was otherwise a banner day for K-State running back Barnes. The junior rushed for 250 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries.

K-State erupted for several long running plays, including four touchdowns of 34 yards or longer.

The game began to turn Baylor’s way on the opening kickoff of the third quarter. K-State was in excellent position to take control of things when Isaiah Zuber caught the ball in front of the end zone and began his return. The Wildcats led 14-12 at halftime and had a chance to pad their lead.

But it was Baylor that scored a touchdown 32 seconds into the second half.

Zuber lost a fumble on a controversial replay review at the 19 and the Bears found pay dirt two plays later on a short run from Jalen Hurd.

Just like that, Baylor led 20-14. Talk about a momentum swing.

It was a difficult sequence of events for the Wildcats to swallow. The officials originally ruled Zuber down by contact, and replays showed his right forearm strike the turf before the ball came loose. But, after review, the officials found sufficient video evidence to change the ruling and award Baylor the ball in prime scoring position.

The Wildcats threatened to even the score on the ensuing drive, but Thompson missed Barnes streaking wide open to the right, and a missed field goal from Nick McClellan left them without any points to show from what was once a promising drive.

Special teams, overall, was a weakness for both teams in this one. Martin missed three field goals and an extra point for Baylor. K-State missed a field goal and an extra point. The Wildcats were also ineffective on kickoff returns.

What was already a frustrating season for the Wildcats just became more trying. It may be difficult for them to bounce back from this defeat and extend their bowl streak to nine.

K-State will try to rebound next week with a home game against Oklahoma State.

This story was originally published October 6, 2018 at 6:35 PM.