K-State game report: Wildcats top West Virginia 24-23
First quarter
Key play: Josh Lambert kicked a 45-yard field goal to give West Virginia a 3-0 lead.
Key stat: Neither team gained 100 yards of offense.
Second quarter
Key play: Skyler Howard hit Jovon Durante for a 24-yard touchdown pass to give West Virginia a 10-3 lead.
Key stat: West Virginia amassed 188 yards of offense.
Third quarter
Key play: Kody Cook connected with Deante Burton for a 77-yard touchdown pass to give K-State a 17-13 lead.
Key stat: Cook engineered two scoring drives after K-State managed a field goal in the first half.
Fourth quarter
Key play: Morgan Burns returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, giving K-State a 24-23 lead.
Key stat: West Virginia didn’t score in the final 13 minutes.
The grades
Offense
C
The Wildcats accomplished little in the first half and were out-gained by nearly 150 yards. They made key plays in the second half, but needed special teams help to win this game.
Defense
B
K-State surrendered a large amount of yardage, but it came up with big plays when it had to make them.
Special teams
A+
Dana Holgorsen said K-State won the game on special teams, thanks to Morgan Burns totaling 201 return yards and a touchdown.
Coaching
B+
Bill Snyder and his staff deserve credit for keeping K-State fired up after a 3-6 start, and fighting back to a .500 record despite mounting injuries.
Takeaways
Player of the game: Charmeachealle Moore. The junior linebacker made a game-high 17 tackles, including four for loss. He also made a key stop on fourth down in the final quarter.
Reason to hope: K-State had its back against the wall two weeks ago at 3-6 and responded with three straight victories. Now it gets a bowl game and 15 extra practices. This could be a nice springboard into next season.
Reason to mope: Imagine how much better K-State’s record might be if it had learned to finish games earlier in the season.
Looking ahead: The Wildcats will either play in the Liberty Bowl or the Cactus Bowl. If they end up in Memphis, which is likely, they will face a SEC opponent, potentially Arkansas. It will be a challenging game regardless of opponent.
Kellis Robinett: @KellisRobinett
This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 10:21 PM with the headline "K-State game report: Wildcats top West Virginia 24-23."