MANHATTAN, KS – Kansas State quarterback and Heisman Trophy hopeful Collin Klein threw for a touchdown and ran for two as 6th ranked Kansas State defeated 18th ranked Texas 42-24 at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium on Saturday. The Longhorns entered the game an 11-point underdog and hoped to pull off the upset win behind junior quarterback Case McCoy, who started in place of David Ash who is nursing a rib injury.
After falling behind early to Kansas State (11-1) on a Collin Klein touchdown run in the 1st quarter, Nick Jordan nailed a 37 yard field goal which was set up by a 70 yard run-pass to Daje Johnson. McCoy and the Longhorns (8-4) added a touchdown midway through the second quarter when Case hit Jaxon Shipley for a 14 yard score which put the Longhorns up 10-7. Surprisingly, Texas looked to be the more physical team at the half, owning the time of possession and more total yards than Kansas State. Both Case McCoy and Collin Klein threw interceptions in the first half.
Kansas State received the ball on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter and Klein immediately went to work. Mixing in a 29 yard pass to Travis Tannahill combined with a steady dose of Klein scrambles, John Hubert capped the drive off with a 2 yard touchdown run. Kansas State led 14-10 at that point. Malcolm Brown would score a touchdown and Texas would regain the lead 17-14 but not before John Hubert would score another touchdown, allowing Kansas State to take the lead heading into the 4th quarter 21-17.
On Kansas State’s opening possession in the 4th quarter Collin Klein hit Tyler Locket for a 55 yard touchdown pass, and Kansas State scored again on its next possession on John Hubert’s 3rd touchdown run of the game. With 3 minutes left in the game Case McCoy threw his second interception of the night to Alex Chapman who returned it to the Texas 10 yard line. Two plays later Collin Klein ran it in to the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the night as K-State led 42-17.
Case McCoy would hit Malcolm Brown for a 9 yard touchdown with approximately a minute left in the game to make the score 42-24 which is how the game would end.
The Low-Down
Texas played a decent football game this evening but the defense was clearly outmatched by the physical play of Collin Klein and the Kansas State offense. The Horns looked, dare I say it, “good†in the first half but the wheels seemed to fall off in the second half. Manny Diaz’s defense held its own for a good portion of the night, but big plays and untimely turnovers doomed the Longhorns. The game plan for Bryan Harsin included getting the ball into the hands of the Texas speedsters, as evidenced by Daje Johnson’s 6 touches, including a 70 yard scamper the freshman had on an underhanded toss from McCoy. D.J. Monroe was thrown in the mix as well and ran once for 46 yards and caught two passes.
At one point Case McCoy had completed 17 straight passes and was knocking on the door of the consecutive completion record held by his brother Colt, who holds the Texas record with 18 straight. Â Case finished the night with 314 passing yards, second in his career only to his play in the Baylor game last season in which he threw for 356 yards.
Sophmore running back Malcolm Brown emerged after missing significant playing time due to an ankle injury, scoring two touchdowns – one on the ground and one in the air. Joe Bergeron left the game with a shoulder injury in the 2nd quarter and would not return.
The Longhorns lost their 5th straight to Kansas State and finish the regular season 8-4. Texas awaits their bowl fate which more than likely looks like a trip to the Cotton Bowl or Alamo Bowl.
