Wildcat report: K-State 23, Texas 0
First quarter
Key play: Jake Waters rushed 12 yards for a first down on the first play of K-State’s second series, easing doubts that he was feeling lingering injury effects from last week.
Key stat: DeMarcus Robinson rushed for 49 yards on seven carries.
Second quarter
Key play: Jake Waters hit Curry Sexton for a 24-yard pass on third-and-long to spark a touchdown drive.
Key stat: K-State passed for 63 yards.
Third quarter
Key play: Jaxon Shipley lost a fumble on an attempted reverse at midfield.
Key stat: K-State committed its first three penalties of the game.
Fourth quarter
Key play: Jonathan Truman and Dante Barnett stuffed Johnathan Gray on fourth-and-short to help preserve the shutout.
Key stat: Joe Hubener rushed for 46 yards on his lone series at quarterback.
Report card
Offense: B. Give the Wildcats credit for keeping the ball away from Texas, holding possession for 39 minutes, 14 seconds, but it was far from a flawless day.
Defense: A+. K-State held Texas under 200 yards and stopped it every time it threatened to score. What more can you ask?
Special teams: A+. Matthew McCrane connecting on all three of his field-goal attempts was an important part of the game.
Coaching: B. K-State’s defensive coaches deserve accolades for a noticeable turnaround from the Oklahoma game, but the offensive staff’s play-calling was off every time the Wildcats reached the red zone.
Player of the game
Dante Barnett. On top of making seven tackles, the safety broke up four passes.
Reason to hope
K-State’s defense overpowered a Texas offense that was starting to click.
Reason to mope
The Wildcats have struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone all year, and that didn’t change against the Longhorns.
Looking ahead
K-State hosts Oklahoma State next week in a game the Wildcats should be favored to win somewhat easily. The Cowboys haven’t looked good since they won at Kansas.
Notes
That’s 500 – Kansas State’s 23-0 victory Texas will go down as a milestone in the program’s record books.
The Wildcats have now won 500 games. That’s a landmark number for any football team, but it carries extra meaning for K-State coach Bill Snyder.
Before Snyder arrived at K-State in 1989, the Wildcats had won 299 games in their first 93 seasons. They were averaging 3.2 victories a year. At that pace, it would have taken them another 31 years (2020) to reach 400 victories and another 63 years (2052) to reach 500 victories.
Snyder sped up the process significantly. The Wildcats have averaged 7.7 victories, advanced to 16 bowls and won two Big 12 championships since 1989. K-State’s record is now 500-621-41. Under Snyder, the Wildcats are 184-91-1.
Snyder reflected on that progress Saturday.
“What it means to me is,” Snyder said, “when I first came here it was the only program that had accumulated, in NCAA football, 500 losses. We caught up with our losses somewhere along the road.”
Slow moving – Traffic prevented Snyder Family Stadium from filling up to capacity in time for kickoff Saturday. An accident on K-177, also known as Coach Bill Snyder Highway, brought incoming traffic from I-70 to a standstill. The backup was so long that Riley County law enforcement used social media to urge travelers to find other routes to the stadium. The Texas band and cheer squad were delayed by the traffic and didn’t arrive until midway through the first quarter.
No show – Linebacker Dakorey Johnson dressed but did not play against Texas. He has been battling ankle injuries all season.
Bowl eligible – With six victories, K-State is bowl eligible for the fifth straight season and the 16th time under Snyder.
In attendance – Special guests at the game included two scouts from the Kansas City Chiefs and a representative with the Florida Citrus/Russell Athletics Bowl.
Kellis Robinett
This story was originally published October 25, 2014 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Wildcat report: K-State 23, Texas 0."