Texas Tech defeats Kansas State 59-44

Bill Snyder and Kansas State have experienced losing seasons before, but it has been a long time since they suffered through a stretch like this.

Texas Tech took an early lead Saturday and held off a K-State comeback attempt for a 59-44 victory at AT&T Jones Stadium, a result that extended the Wildcats’ losing streak to six.

The last time they lost this many consecutive games was 1989, Snyder’s first year in Manhattan.

Back then, Snyder battled a losing culture with a team that didn’t know what it felt like to win. Today, he fights to keep spirits high on a team that is accustomed to winning. K-State went 45-20 over the past five seasons, advancing to a bowl each year. The seniors who were part of those successful times never fathomed this type of season.

Turning things around will be a challenge that feels new and somewhat familiar at the same time.

“You know why we lost six ballgames in a row (in 1989),” Snyder said. “I was pleased with the process our football team made losing six, seven, or eight or 10 in a row, whatever it was. But I was proud of that football team, because they got better every single week.

“I am proud of a number of things this football team is doing, but there are some things that we just haven’t been able to improve at that are disheartening.”

Here’s the situation: K-State, 3-6, 0-6 Big 12, must win its final three games to finish .500 and qualify for the postseason. The remaining schedule — Iowa State, at Kansas and back home against West Virginia — is manageable, but the Wildcats need to improve to take advantage. Outside of Kansas, no team has looked worse throughout the conference season.

They haven’t possessed a lead since Oct. 10 against TCU. That was five games ago.

“We have got to do a better job of starting ballgames better. It’s that simple,” Snyder said. “You go back and look — take your pick, the last five or six ballgames — we have not been able to be functional on the first drive. That puts you behind.”

K-State fell way behind against Texas Tech, 6-5, 3-5. The Red Raiders shredded K-State’s secondary on the opening drive and scored a touchdown in 2 minutes, 52 seconds. It was the fifth time in six games K-State has allowed a touchdown on the opening series.

K-State answered with a 93-yard kickoff return from Morgan Burns that tied the game, but it played catchup the rest of the way.

Texas Tech hammered K-State with a first quarter for the ages, amassing 145 yards and 14 points before the Wildcats attempted an offensive play. Running back DeAndre Washington sped for an 80-yard touchdown on his way to 248 rushing yards. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes tossed two touchdown passes, setting him up for a stat line that featured 384 passing yards and three scores.

When the dust settled and the teams flipped the field, Texas Tech led 28-7. It had never scored more points in an opening quarter.

“Execution was the biggest thing,” freshman K-State defensive back Duke Shelley said. “I have to give credit where credit is due. They came out with a good game plan and came out with some good schemes, but at the end of the day it’s up to us to get it done. We didn’t do that.”

Blame for the defensive breakdowns could be passed around. Defensive coordinator Tom Hayes had his defensive backs start in zone coverage and the Red Raiders exploited its huge gaps for easy gains. But players routinely missed tackles when they were in position.

Washington fought past Shelley and linebacker Charmeachealle Moore on his long touchdown run.

K-State’s offense didn’t help the cause, either, failing to score in the first quarter and giving up on the run far too early. Texas Tech entered the game allowing nearly 300 rushing yards, but the Wildcats attempted 42 passes compared to 34 runs.

“We are at the very bottom right now,” left tackle Cody Whitehair said. “Emotionally, we really have to come back and rally.”

The way they finished should help. K-State fought back to make the score 35-21 at halftime. And an early touchdown in the third quarter made it 35-28. They made things interesting, and refused to quit when the Red Raiders pulled ahead 52-28 with 11:10 remaining. The game appeared over, but K-State scored 16 straight to pull within 52-44 with 3:38 to go.

The run featured a 6-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Hubener to Dominique Heath, a 33-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Klein and a recovered onside kick. Things really would have gotten interesting had K-State snagged a second onside kick with 3:37 to go, which it briefly appeared to do, but the recovery was negated by two penalties and a second try was grabbed by Texas Tech.

“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Hubener said, “We have to focus more in practice. That is the only thing that will help improve that next week.”

Hubener made the comeback possible by throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns on top of three rushing scores. Charles Jones rushed for 99 yards. Klein was also a nice bright spot, catching six passes for 131 yards and a touchdown.

There simply weren’t enough bright spots for the Wildcats to win. There hasn’t been since conference play began more than a month ago.

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Texas Tech defeats Kansas State 59-44."