Baylor snaps K-State’s win streak

eManhattan, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Two of the hottest teams in the Big 12 Conference met up on Senior Night Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, as Kansas State played host to Baylor. The Bears entered with hopes of being in the mix for a conference championship spot, while the Wildcats had their sights on a top three finish in the Big 12. Baylor’s defense, and ball control would be the story as they doubled up Kansas State 20-10.

Baylor went three-and-out on their opening possession, but would cash in moments later thanks to a K-State muffed punt. Trestan Ebner’s six-yard run with 11:09 left in the first quarter put the Bears up 7-0 after the Isaiah Hankins PAT.

The Bears would go up 14-0 after a drive that took 7:21 off the clock in 15 plays. Gerry Bohanon’s two-yard touchdown pass to Drake Dabney gave them the two score lead. Kansas State responded quickly. After Baylor was offsides on fourth and five from the 30, Deuce Vaughn took advantage of the penalty on the very next play, and scored from 65 yards out, with 2:51 left in the first half to pull the Cats to within 14-7. The Bears went 13-plays in the final 2:51 of the half, and got a 24-yard field goal from Isaiah Hankins to give them a 17-7 lead at the break.

Both teams would score field goals in the second half. K-State got a Chris Tennant 28-yard field goal with 8:24 left in the third quarter to pull them within 17-10. Early in the fourth quarter, Hankins booted in a 28-yard field goal to push the Bears back up 10 at 20-10.

Kansas State had their chances, but missed a field goal and threw an interception in their final two possessions, as the Bears won their fourth straight in the series.

Baylor possessed the ball for just under 36 minutes, and ran 83 plays for 402 yards, with 213 coming through the air and 189 on the ground. Backup quarterback Blake Shapen threw for 137 yards on 16-21 passing, and Gerry Bohanon was 9-14 for 76 yards with a touchdown. Trestan Ebner had 86 yards rushing on 11 carries with a touchdown, and Tyquan Thornton caught five passes for 75 yards.

Skylar Thompson as 15-29 passing for 158 yards, before leaving with an injury in the fourth quarter. Malik Knowles had one reception for 48 yards, and Deuce Vaughn cracked the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season with 128 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown. Kansas State finished with 263 yards on 51 plays and had 105 yards on the ground and 158 through the air.

Kansas State saw their four-game winning streak come to an end, as they are now 7-4 overall and 4-4 in Big 12 play. They’ll wrap up the regular season at Texas on Friday morning at 11 am. The Longhorns fell 31-23 at West Virginia on Saturday, dropping them to 4-7 overall, and 2-6 in Big 12 play. Baylor improved to 9-2 overall and 6-2 in conference play, as they will face Texas Tech on Saturday at 11 am. The Red Raiders were shut out by Oklahoma State 23-0 Saturday night, and fell to 6-5 overall, 3-5 in conference play. It was their first shutout since 1997, when they lost at Nebraska and their first home shutout since their loss at home to Arkansas in 1987.

Coach Chris Kleiman Postgame