Grades from Kansas State’s 47-27 victory over KU and a look ahead to TCU rematch
The Kansas State football team took care of business in the Sunflower Showdown and defeated KU 47-27 on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
As soon as the game went final, K-State players might as well have done their best Bill Belichick impressions. The mindset inside the locker room was definitely: “We’re on to the Big 12 championship game.”
K-State will be rewarded for its 9-3 regular season and 7-2 finish in Big 12 play. The Wildcats now get a rematch against undefeated TCU and a chance to win their first conference title since 2012. On top of that, they appear locked in to the Sugar Bowl afterward.
There is much to look forward to right now in the land of EMAW.
Let’s peek into the future and look back on the action from Saturday and hand out a few awards and grades from the KU game.
Play of the game
Will Howard hit Deuce Vaughn with a pass over the middle on third-and-long in the second quarter that turned out to be one of the most important plays of the night. The score was close and the Jayhawks were threatening seize momentum and gain excellent field position with a stop. But the Wildcats weren’t about to let that happen.
Vaughn turned up field and turned the short pass from Howard into an 80-yard gain. K-State reached the end zone a few plays later when Howard connected with Phillip Brooks. That sequence gave the Wildcats a 30-14 lead and made it very hard for the Jayhawks to mount a comeback in the second half.
Player of the game
Deuce Vaughn rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown. He also caught two passes for 82 yards.
On a night when it was cold and rainy and offense wasn’t always easy to come by, his ability to gain big yardage on simple plays made a major difference.
Stat of the game
Zero, as in Will Howard didn’t complete a single pass in the second half of Saturday’s game.
Quote to note
“You come to Kansas State, you don’t lose to the Jayhawks.” — K-State quarterback Will Howard
Kansas State football grades
Offense: B. The Wildcats gained 443 yards on 63 plays and ran the ball effectively throughout the entire second half. Malik Knowles gave them a nice lift as a runner. That was good enough to beat the Jayhawks. But part of the reason K-State had to resort to a ground-and-pound approach was because its offensive line struggled mightily in pass protection. Howard was sacked twice and hurried three times. He also lost a fumble and was forced to throw early too many times in the first half.
Defense: B. This game followed a familiar trend on defense. K-State got off to a slow start in the first half and allowed 21 points on three rushing touchdowns. Then coordinator Joe Klanderman made adjustments and the Wildcats only allowed six points in the final two quarters. For some reason, K-State has seemed to play much better on defense in the second half lately.
Special Teams: A. Is there anything Ty Zentner can’t do? He averaged 62.7 yards per punt on Saturday and boomed on 72 yards. Knowles was also dynamite on kick returns and the Wildcats benefited from some KU blunders in this area. K-State was far and away the better team on special teams.
Coaching: B+. Chris Klieman made some clever coaching moves leading up to this game that eliminated any chance of K-State looking past its rival at a potential Big 12 championship rematch against TCU. The Wildcats took care of business and finished the regular season 9-3.
Next up for K-State
The Wildcats will play in the first conference championship game since 2003 when they take on TCU at 11 a.m. inside AT&T Stadium on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
K-State players stopped short of talking trash about the Horned Frogs on Saturday evening, but it’s clear they like their chances in this game.
“A rematch is better for us,” K-State defensive back Drake Cheatum said. “We’re definitely not going to do the same thing as we did last time. I’m not sure if they want to see us again.”
TCU defeated K-State at Amon G. Carter earlier this stadium 38-28. That was an odd game. Adrian Martinez went down early with an injury and the Wildcats appeared doomed. Then Howard led them to a 28-10 lead and it looked like K-State was going to win. Then Howard went down with an injury of his own and TCU surged ahead.
It would have been interesting to see how that game would have played out without any injuries. Luckily, we get a rematch next week.
TCU running back Kendre Miller rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns in that game. Stopping him will be a top priority for the K-State defense.
Both teams will be motivated. Not only is a Big 12 championship on the line for undefeated TCU, the Horned Frogs can also make the playoff with a victory.
The early betting line for the Big 12 title game has TCU favored by 2 1/2 points.