Kansas State rallies to knock off Kansas

Manhattan, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Both teams were coming in to Saturday’s game at 3-6 overall, and 1-5 in the Big 12. Something had to give. After a first half that saw little activity, the second half made up for it, as Alex Delton’s 21-yard touchdown run with 2:46 left helped Kansas State rally to knock off Kansas 21-17 in front of 50,062 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

After a scoreless first quarter, the only points would come in the second quarter. KU’s Gabriel Rui hit a 21-yard field goal with 5:38 left in the first half to give the Jayhawks a 3-0 lead. They went 18 plays and covered 94 yards in just under 10 minutes of that drive. That would be the score at halftime.

The Wildcats would be unable to cover the kickoff to begin the second half, and it gave Kansas the ball inside the K-State 35 yard line. Kansas State was able to hold the Hawks on four downs, and would put their first points on the board. Alex Barnes rushed in untouched from 21 yards out with 11:59 left in the third quarter to give them the 7-3 lead with the Blake Lynch PAT. Kansas would answer on the ensuing drive. Peyton Bender found Jeremiah Booker in the middle from nine yards out to give them the 10-7 lead with 7:48 left in the third quarter. The Wildcats came back to retake the lead nearly five minutes later. Barnes scored his second touchdown of the game out of the Wildcat from two yards out with 2:57 left in the third quarter to give K-State the 17-14 lead.

Kansas would strike back on the first play of the fourth quarter. Bender found Steven Sims on a 65-yard touchdown strike with 14:46 left in the game to give the Jayhawks the 21-7 lead. KU would hold the Wildcats on a fourth down at midfield, and eventually, it was a stalemate between the teams.

Following a series of holds on big runs by KU, the Jayhawks punted the ball to set up Kansas State at their own 40 with 5:02 left. K-State converted a fourth down and would eventually find themselves down to the KU 21 yard line on a 28-yard pass from Alex Delton to Dalton Schoen. On the very next play, Delton went left side on a quarterback draw, and found the end zone from 21 yards out with 2:46 left in the game to give the Wildcats a 21-17 lead.

Kansas would have one final crack at it, converting a third and fourth down on the drive. Peyton Bender would see the ball slipped out of his hands at the Wildcat 40 yard line, and Kansas State would recover. They took a knee to close the game out to preserve the win.

Alex Delton went 11-17 passing for 126 yards, and added 55 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries. Alex Barnes rushed 22 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Dalton Schoen had three catches for 48 yards. Kansas State finished with 301 yards and had 175 rushing yards.

Peyton Bender was 21-34 passing for 232 yards and two touchdowns. Steven Sims had five catches for 113 yards and a touchdown and Pooka Williams added 59 yards on 14 carries. Kansas finished with 347 yards of offense.

With the win, Kansas State wins the Governor’s Cup for the 10th consecutive year. The series is now tied 27-27-3 in Manhattan, and KU owns the all time series lead at 65-46-5.

Kansas State improves to 4-6 overall, 2-5 in the Big 12, and will have one final home game next Saturday against Texas Tech. Kansas fell to 3-7 overall, and 1-6 in conference play, as they play at Oklahoma next Saturday.

Head Coach Bill Snyder Postgame