<strong><span class="infobox-head">FIRST QUARTER </span></strong><br /> <strong>Key play:</strong> John Houlik broke up a Missouri pass in the end zone with the back of his helmet on a third-down play. The Tigers had to settle for a field goal.</p><p><strong>Key stat:</strong> K-State stopped MU on two of its three third-down conversion attempts.</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-head">SECOND QUARTER </span></strong><br /> <strong>Key play:</strong> On the second play of the quarter, Brandon Banks caught a pass near the goal line and attempted to reach the ball into the end zone. Instead, he fumbled and the ball rolled out of bounds in the end zone for a touchback.</p><p><strong>Key stat:</strong> The Wildcats had more passing yards (73) than rushing yards (55) in the first half.</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-head">THIRD QUARTER </span></strong><br /> <strong>Key play:</strong> Daniel Thomas broke free for a 22-yard gain on K-State&rsquo;s second drive of the quarter. It was his first long run of the game.</p><p><strong>Key stat:</strong> By the end of the third quarter, K-State had possession of the ball for 30 minutes, 10 seconds &mdash; but trailed by 12 points.</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-head">FOURTH QUARTER </span></strong><br /> <strong>Key play:</strong> Grant Gregory threw a bad interception with 9:08 to go, and Missouri scored on its next possession.</p><p><strong>Key stat:</strong> On its fifth and final trip to the red zone, K-State was turned away for no points on four straight plays near the goal line.</p><p><strong>Player of the game:</strong> Josh Cherry &mdash; as the only player who scored for Kansas State.</p><p><strong>Reason to hope:</strong> All is not lost. If K-State can win next week at Nebraska, it will become eligible for a bowl game and win the North. </p><p><strong>Reason to mope:</strong> Daniel Thomas looked human for the first time in several weeks. If he fails to rush for 100 yards next week in Lincoln, K-State&rsquo;s in trouble.</p><p><strong>Looking ahead:</strong> It all comes down to this. The winner of next Saturday&rsquo;s game at Nebraska will play for the Big 12 championship.</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> <strong><span class="subhead">&ensp;K-STATE REPORT CARD</span></strong></p><p><span style="line-height:0"><br clear="all" /></span><table border="0" class="story-table"> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td>C</td><td>Offense</td><td align="left">Grant Gregory threw for 239 yards, but running back Daniel Thomas was bottled up.</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td>D</td><td>Defense</td><td align="left">The Wildcats knew all about Danario Alexander but could not stop him. He became the first Missouri wide receiver to hit the 200-yard mark in back-to-back games.</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-even-row"><td>A</td><td>Special teams</td><td align="left">K-State&rsquo;s return game was solid and Josh Cherry made all four of his field goals.</td></tr> <tr class="story-table-odd-row"><td>C</td><td>Coaching</td><td align="left">The Wildcats insisted on running the ball all afternoon against a solid rushing defense and gained just 112 yards. With the Tigers scoring quickly from long distance, K-State had no chance to keep up once it committed mistakes.</td></tr> </table> </div> <hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> &ldquo;</p><p></div>