MANHATTAN, Kan. | Now Kansas States football players are allowed to dream.After putting the finishing touches on their most successful season in nearly a decade by defeating Iowa State 30-23 on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, they earned that right and more. Focusing on the next game and only the next game is one of the main reasons the Wildcats finished 10-2 overall and 7-2 in the Big 12, wildly surpassing preseason expectations they were picked to finish eighth in the conference.The Wildcats wasted no time celebrating with the fans that withstood heavy rain, cold and a 90-minute lightning delay. Then they speculated about their postseason destiny.I hope we go to the BCS now, junior receiver Chris Harper said. We controlled what we can control. I think we had some good things go our way. Hopefully we can get in there. Im trying to play in the best bowl we can play in. Weve got a legit shot and weve got a good resume. Why not? Why cant we get in there?K-State will be in the mix for an at-large bid to the Sugar Bowl with Houston losing in the Conference USA championship game. But it will face strong competition from Michigan, Boise State and the loser of Saturday nights Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game. TCU could steal a spot from all of them if it finishes in the top 16 the final BCS standings, which will be unveiled today. If K-State misses out on the BCS, it will have to settle for the Cotton Bowl or Alamo Bowl.Theres no telling where the Wildcats will end up. The important thing is they passed the challenge presented to them Saturday.Its magical. I love having 10 wins, said receiver Tramaine Thompson, who caught two passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. Well try to get to 11 wherever we go.If K-State shows the same poise it displayed against Iowa State, it will have a chance.Saturdays game was a battle of wills. The weather forced players to stay in the locker room longer than they usually do and hurry through warm-ups.It also made life difficult on offense. Iowa State struggled to snap the ball out of the shotgun early, and K-State quarterback Collin Klein lost his footing a few times on designed running plays. Ball control and toughness became as important as speed and strategy. Some teams dont like to play that way. K-State, which has won eight games by a touchdown or less this season, didnt mind at all.Its just the heart and the will to go out there and fight, cornerback Nigel Malone said. A lot of times we dont start out games as fast as we would like to, but the goal of the game is to finish. Thats a mentality that we have embedded in our team.That mentality has helped K-State win several close games this season, and it did again against the Cyclones. When Iowa State took a 7-0 lead on a 30-yard, flea-flicker pass from Jared Barnett to Darius Darks late in the first quarter, Collin Klein and Tramaine Thompson answered by connecting for a 68-yard touchdown pass on the next play.When Iowa State took a 13-10 lead, senior defensive tackle Raphael Guidry was there to block an extra-point attempt, and later intercepted a tipped pass that set up a K-State touchdown. And when K-State had to close out the first half with a big drive, and fourth quarter with a defensive stop it was able to do both. They are a collective strong group of principled young guys, K-State coach Bill Snyder said.On offense, the Wildcats relied heavily on running back John Hubert. Coming off a few lackluster games, he became a workhorse by rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown in 15 carries. He also caught two passes for 28 yards. His highlight of the day came on a jaw-dropping 26-yard touchdown run that put K-State ahead 30-23 with 3 minutes, 29 seconds left in the game.Collin Klein added 86 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 158 yards through the air, and Anthony Cantele made three field goals. But Hubert led the offense.It was the last home game. I did it for the seniors, Hubert said. My offensive line did a great job blocking for me, the holes were there. It felt good running and getting a lot of yards once again.On defense, Emmanuel Lamur and Arthur Brown set the tone. The Wildcats top two linebackers combined for 24 tackles and their biggest play of the game came in the final moments, with Iowa State facing fourth and 2 at the Wildcats 31.This is the No. 11 team in the BCS, Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. And with a minute and seven seconds left, we are driving down to tie it and go to overtime. But they never got there. Lamur stormed into the backfield and forced Jeff Woody to fumble.We wanted it more, K-State senior cornerback David Garrett said. We just went and got it. Weve fought for this since August in summer workouts, and we worked hard for that fourth-quarter drive. Weve done that a lot of times this season. It worked out for us again.KANSAS STATE NOTEBOOKK-State athletic director John Currie said pre-sale tickets for the upcoming bowl game have been selling well on the schools athletic website. Tickets will remain on sale until noon today and become available once again when K-State learns of its bowl destination later in the day.Weve done really, really well, Currie said. In fact, the different ones like the Cotton Bowl is already sold out as an entity and our allotment, essentially, is sold out as well. We encourage our fans to go online and order.Raphael Guidry left the game in the second half with an injury to his left knee, and had to be helped off the field. But he said he was fine after the game, and looking forward to the postseason.Arthur Brown closed out his regular season with a team-leading 105 tackles, which should put him in the running for all-conference and possibly All-American honors. The Miami transfer said his first active season in K-State went great. Though he does regret his brother, Bryce, leaving the team in September.I think about him a lot and I do wish that he could still be here, but that was a decision that he made, Brown said. Im really just happy and enjoying that I am part of this team. Im not really sure what hes up to now.Brodrick Smith saw his first action at receiver since October and caught one pass for five yards. Torrell Miller, another seldom-used receiver, made one grab for 21 yards.

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Kansas State beats Iowa State 30-23

By KELLIS ROBINETT

The Kansas City Star

More News

MANHATTAN, Kan. | Now Kansas State’s football players are allowed to dream.

After putting the finishing touches on their most successful season in nearly a decade by defeating Iowa State 30-23 on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, they earned that right and more.

Focusing on the next game and only the next game is one of the main reasons the Wildcats finished 10-2 overall and 7-2 in the Big 12, wildly surpassing preseason expectations — they were picked to finish eighth in the conference.

The Wildcats wasted no time celebrating with the fans that withstood heavy rain, cold and a 90-minute lightning delay. Then they speculated about their postseason destiny.

“I hope we go to the BCS now,” junior receiver Chris Harper said. “We controlled what we can control. I think we had some good things go our way. Hopefully we can get in there. I’m trying to play in the best bowl we can play in. We’ve got a legit shot and we’ve got a good resume. Why not? Why can’t we get in there?”

K-State will be in the mix for an at-large bid to the Sugar Bowl with Houston losing in the Conference USA championship game. But it will face strong competition from Michigan, Boise State and the loser of Saturday night’s Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game. TCU could steal a spot from all of them if it finishes in the top 16 the final BCS standings, which will be unveiled today. If K-State misses out on the BCS, it will have to settle for the Cotton Bowl or Alamo Bowl.

There’s no telling where the Wildcats will end up. The important thing is they passed the challenge presented to them Saturday.

“It’s magical. I love having 10 wins,” said receiver Tramaine Thompson, who caught two passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. “We’ll try to get to 11 wherever we go.”

If K-State shows the same poise it displayed against Iowa State, it will have a chance.

Saturday’s game was a battle of wills. The weather forced players to stay in the locker room longer than they usually do and hurry through warm-ups.

It also made life difficult on offense. Iowa State struggled to snap the ball out of the shotgun early, and K-State quarterback Collin Klein lost his footing a few times on designed running plays.

Ball control and toughness became as important as speed and strategy. Some teams don’t like to play that way. K-State, which has won eight games by a touchdown or less this season, didn’t mind at all.

“It’s just the heart and the will to go out there and fight,” cornerback Nigel Malone said. “A lot of times we don’t start out games as fast as we would like to, but the goal of the game is to finish. That’s a mentality that we have embedded in our team.”

That mentality has helped K-State win several close games this season, and it did again against the Cyclones.

When Iowa State took a 7-0 lead on a 30-yard, flea-flicker pass from Jared Barnett to Darius Darks late in the first quarter, Collin Klein and Tramaine Thompson answered by connecting for a 68-yard touchdown pass on the next play.

When Iowa State took a 13-10 lead, senior defensive tackle Raphael Guidry was there to block an extra-point attempt, and later intercepted a tipped pass that set up a K-State touchdown.

And when K-State had to close out the first half with a big drive, and fourth quarter with a defensive stop it was able to do both.

“They are a collective strong group of principled young guys,” K-State coach Bill Snyder said.

On offense, the Wildcats relied heavily on running back John Hubert. Coming off a few lackluster games, he became a workhorse by rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown in 15 carries. He also caught two passes for 28 yards. His highlight of the day came on a jaw-dropping 26-yard touchdown run that put K-State ahead 30-23 with 3 minutes, 29 seconds left in the game.

Collin Klein added 86 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 158 yards through the air, and Anthony Cantele made three field goals. But Hubert led the offense.

“It was the last home game. I did it for the seniors,” Hubert said. “My offensive line did a great job blocking for me, the holes were there. It felt good running and getting a lot of yards once again.”

On defense, Emmanuel Lamur and Arthur Brown set the tone. The Wildcats’ top two linebackers combined for 24 tackles and their biggest play of the game came in the final moments, with Iowa State facing fourth and 2 at the Wildcats’ 31.

“This is the No. 11 team in the BCS,” Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. “And with a minute and seven seconds left, we are driving down to tie it and go to overtime.” But they never got there. Lamur stormed into the backfield and forced Jeff Woody to fumble.

“We wanted it more,” K-State senior cornerback David Garrett said. “We just went and got it. We’ve fought for this since August in summer workouts, and we worked hard for that fourth-quarter drive. We’ve done that a lot of times this season. It worked out for us again.”

KANSAS STATE NOTEBOOK

•K-State athletic director John Currie said pre-sale tickets for the upcoming bowl game have been selling well on the school’s athletic website. Tickets will remain on sale until noon today and become available once again when K-State learns of its bowl destination later in the day.

“We’ve done really, really well,” Currie said. “In fact, the different ones like the Cotton Bowl is already sold out as an entity and our allotment, essentially, is sold out as well. We encourage our fans to go online and order.”

•Raphael Guidry left the game in the second half with an injury to his left knee, and had to be helped off the field. But he said he was fine after the game, and looking forward to the postseason.

•Arthur Brown closed out his regular season with a team-leading 105 tackles, which should put him in the running for all-conference and possibly All-American honors. The Miami transfer said his first active season in K-State went great. Though he does regret his brother, Bryce, leaving the team in September.

“I think about him a lot and I do wish that he could still be here, but that was a decision that he made,” Brown said. “I’m really just happy and enjoying that I am part of this team. I’m not really sure what he’s up to now.”

•Brodrick Smith saw his first action at receiver since October and caught one pass for five yards. Torrell Miller, another seldom-used receiver, made one grab for 21 yards.