How K-State Wildcats survived a Kansas scare for 16th straight Sunflower Showdown win
Kansas State’s dominant run in the Sunflower Showdown continues.
The Wildcats escaped an upset scare from the Kansas Jayhawks with a 29-27 victory on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Kansas led 27-23 late in the third quarter, but, much has been the case all season for Lance Leipold’s team, the Jayhawks were unable to make winning plays in the fourth quarter.
Those belonged to K-State, which capitalized on a pair of late fumbles by KU quarterback Jalon Daniels to narrowly win this rivalry for the 16th straight time. The Wildcats have won every game in this series since 2009.
Chris Tennant put K-State ahead for good with 1:42 remaining when he drilled a 51-yard field goal. The home fans began cheering before the ball split the uprights.
“After I hit the kick,” Tennant said, “and right when I made contact, I knew it was good.”
The Jayhawks had time to answer with a scoring drive of their own, but the Wildcats dialed up plenty of blitzes against Daniels and forced him into quick throws, long scrambles and regrettable mistakes.
“It was a dream come true,” K-State running back Dylan Edwards said after rushing for 60 yards. “The crowd came with all the energy in the world. We showed everybody that we own this state.”
The Wildcats improve to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12. The Jayhawks drop to 2-6 and 1-4.
K-State will next be in action next Saturday at Houston.
Until then, here are some takeaways from the Sunflower Showdown:
The final minutes of the 4th quarter were wild
K-State coach Chris Klieman opted to go for it on fourth-and-12 near midfield with 4:04 remaining. When the Wildcats were unable to convert, their winning streak over KU was very much in jeopardy.
But the Jayhawks were unable to seize control of the game, because Daniels lost a fumble while trying to scramble upfield on the ensuing possession.
K-State linebacker Austin Romaine forced the loose ball and Brendan Mott recovered it with 3:44 remaining.
The Wildcats were able to take advantage of their ensuing field position. The 51-yard field goal by Mill Valley High product Tennant gave them a 29-27 lead with 1:42 left on the clock.
Then the Jayhawks had one final opportunity to respond, but VJ Payne forced Daniels to fumble the ball out of bounds on a fourth-down attempt to clinch the game.
Much happened in the first three quarters, but the game was decided in those chaotic final moments.
Avery Johnson was more than just a passer
K-State fans have no reason to worry about Avery Johnson.
Some worried that the sophomore quarterback was dealing with lingering injuries when he didn’t attempt a single run for the first time as a college QB last weekend against West Virginia.
But he showed no sign of wear or tear against Kansas.
Johnson was back to his running ways and showed off his dual-threat talents en route to a great all-around game that featured 253 yards and two touchdowns as a passer to go along with 67 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
The Maize High product looked fast in the open field and reeled off runs for as long as 14 yards. He even had a 10-yard run for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Kansas State is the new Tight End U
Forgive the obvious hyperbole at the top of this section, but the Wildcats are getting crazy amounts of production from their tight ends right now.
Johnson has thrown 16 touchdown passes this season, and 10 of them have gone to tight ends.
Not just one or two tight ends, either. Four different K-State tight ends have caught multiple touchdowns this year.
Will Anciaux and Garrett Oakley both had touchdown spikes in this game. The first one went to Anciaux on a 24-yard pass early in the second quarter. Johnson later found Oakley on a short pass near the goal line.
The Wildcats almost got another tight end touchdown in the third quarter, but Anciaux couldn’t reel in a pass that hit him in the numbers while he was in the end zone.
K-State tight ends coach Brian Lepak has done an excellent job identifying recruits at his position and then developing them into contributors in recent years. It shows every week in the form of touchdowns.
The Wildcats struggled with 3rd down on defense
K-State was good enough on defense to force KU into several third-and-long situations, but the Wildcats were unable to convert many of those opportunities into punts.
The Jayhawks gained 401 yards of offense, and it felt like almost all of them came on third downs.
Kansas finished the night eight of 13 on third-down conversions and made K-State pay with its success on those money downs. The Jayhawks scored their first four touchdowns on third downs.
Sevion Morrison started the trend with a 38-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. That was followed by a 10-yard touchdown catch from Luke Grimm, a 24-yard touchdown run by Devin Neal and an eight-yard scoring run from Daniels.
Desmond Purnell did come up with a key sack against Daniels midway through the fourth quarter on an important third down, which forced the Jayhawks to punt.
K-State found ways to make winning plays as the game went on.
This story was originally published October 26, 2024 at 10:55 PM with the headline "How K-State Wildcats survived a Kansas scare for 16th straight Sunflower Showdown win."