Five takeaways from Kansas State football’s last-second loss to the Baylor Bears
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Game-deciding blocked 56-yard kick cost K-State in a 35-34 road loss at Baylor.
- K-State engineered multiple long drives, highlighted by a 97-yard touchdown march.
- Jayce Brown returned with 106 yards and a TD; BU’s Michael Trigg dominated with 155 yards.
Kansas State’s trip to McLane Stadium ended in heartbreak Saturday when the Baylor Bears blocked a potential game-winning kick from Luis Rodriguez in the final moments of action.
A wild and crazy game came down to a single play when Rodriguez lined up for a 56-yard field goal with 5 seconds remaining. A make would have given the Wildcats a much-needed and hard-earned victory in their first conference road game of the season.
Instead, the block resulted in a 35-34 loss.
It was an intense moment for everyone in attendance. The Wildcats (2-4, 1-2 Big 12) had every reason to feel confident in their kicker. Rodriguez was perfect on both field goals and extra points leading up to that moment. But he had never attempted a game-winner or a 56-yarder in a purple uniform.
No one knew what to expect, especially after Baylor kicker Connor Hawkins connected on a 53-yarder to put Baylor ahead with 31 seconds to go.
But the kick was low and the Bears (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) blocked it with ease.
The Wildcats sulked off the field as the home crowd went bonkers.
K-State made enough plays to leave town with a win. It possessed a 14-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. But the Wildcats couldn’t come through in the clutch. That has been a theme all season. All four of their losses have been decided by a single score.
Chris Klieman’s team will try to bounce back when it returns to action next week against TCU.
Until then, here are some takeaways from Saturday’s action...
The fourth quarter was an intense roller-coaster ride
For a brief moment early in the fourth quarter, it looked like this game was going to end without much drama. K-State punted to Baylor with a 31-17 lead, and a good chunk of Baylor fans were on their way to the exits.
Those Baylor supporters probably lived to regret that decision. The final 10 minutes were filled with two touchdowns, two field goals, three lead changes and a season’s worth of pressure-packed moments.
It was a thrill to watch.
The Bears made things interesting on a touchdown pass from Sawyer Robertson to Bryson Washington that cut the deficit to 31-23 with 8:50 remaining. A two-point conversion run by Robertson pulled Baylor within 31-25.
K-State had an opportunity to ice the game on its next drive. But Jacob Redding intercepted a pass from K-State quarterback Avery Johnson and he returned it 66 yards for a touchdown to give a Baylor an unlikely lead.
All of a sudden, it looked like the Bears were in control. But K-State answered with a short field goal from Rodriguez to take the lead 34-32 with 1:48 left. Then Baylor marched downfield and connected on a 53-yard field goal for the go-ahead score.
K-State had another chance in the final moments and Baylor needed a big play on special teams to survive.
The first three quarters felt dull by comparison. The fourth quarter was all fireworks.
Jayce Brown had some nice moments in his return
K-State football fans checked the Big 12 availability reports daily leading up to this game to monitor the status of top wide receiver Jayce Brown.
He was far and away the best playmaker on the team in the first four games of the season, and the Wildcats missed him after he left the UCF game early last week with an undisclosed injury.
Brown was healthy enough to make his return on Saturday, and he delivered some big plays for the Wildcats after he got back on the field.
Even though it was a somewhat quiet day for him in terms of targets (seven), he caught four passes for 106 yards and a touchdown.
He made two big catches on a K-State touchdown drive that spanned 97 yards and he helped keep the Baylor defense off balance by running routes that took attention away from his teammates.
He nearly scored another touchdown, but the play was blown dead because a Baylor defender ripped his helmet off as he prepared to zoom into open space. The Bears were penalized on the play, and the Wildcats moved into the red zone late in the fourth quarter.
K-State scored a field goal on that drive. A touchdown would have been huge. With that in mind, some K-State fans griped that Baylor benefited from the penalty.
Avery Johnson led K-State on multiple long touchdown drives
The Wildcats pulled off their best touchdown drive of the entire season Saturday.
Things looked bleak for the K-State offense when Baylor pinned the Wildcats at their own 3 with a perfect punt near the beginning of the third quarter. But that turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it gave Johnson an opportunity to lead his team on a 97-yard touchdown drive.
That is exactly what happened over the next 6 minutes, 41 seconds. The Wildcats reeled off 14 straight productive plays and found the end zone with a 12-yard catch by wide receiver Jayce Brown.
K-State found success on the ground and in the air with a nice mixture of play calls from offensive coordinator Matt Wells. Blake Barnett, Jaron Tibbs, Joe Jackson, Brown and Johnson all picked up first downs.
But that wasn’t the only long drive of the day from K-State. The Wildcats also started the game with a 75-yard touchdown drive and ended the first half with a 72-yard touchdown drive.
It was an impressive collection of methodical drives.
Johnson couldn’t recreate the magic when it mattered most in the fourth quarter, but he did lead K-State to 34 points by completing 29 of 45 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns.
Baylor was ready for Blake Barnett
For the second straight week, backup quarterback Blake Barnett saw extensive time on the field for gadget plays.
He wasn’t as productive against Baylor as he was against UCF.
To his credit, he did move the chains with a short run on a fourth down in the third quarter. But he otherwise did little, finishing the day with 4 rushing yards on three carries.
K-State might have been better off using its traditional offense in some of those situations.
Michael Trigg was the best player on the field
This space is usually dedicated to K-State football analysis more than its opponent, but we have to acknowledge just how good Baylor tight end Michael Trigg was in this game.
The 6-foot-4 and 240-pound playmaker put on an absolute show every time Sawyer Robertson threw his way.
When he was open, he caught the ball and zoomed up field for important yards after the catch. When he was covered, he used his athleticism to make leaping catches over his defender. Trigg made several K-State defensive backs look silly on jump balls. He finished with eight catches for 155 yards.
He nearly had an even bigger day, as he made an acrobatic catch in the end zone for a potential touchdown in the second quarter, but the play was overturned on video review.
There were three NFL scouts in attendance at McLane Stadium. They had to like what they saw from Trigg.
This story was originally published October 4, 2025 at 3:10 PM.