The Kansas State Wildcats had chances to pull off the upset of No. 2 Baylor at home Thursday night, but costly turnovers and penalties held the Wildcats back.

Despite seeing improvements in other areas of the game Kansas State was still unable to do the things that Coach Bill Snyder talks about week in and week out.

“Can’t stop big plays, I mean they scored three times, the longest drive was 1:47, that’s hard to dig out of,” said Snyder. “On the other side, turnovers and penalties. That’s always at the top of the list when you ask me on Tuesdays, I always say the same thing, and that’s what got us. So haven’t done a very good job of coaching against those things.”

Kansas State saw more production out of the offense than they had seen for the last couple of games. The run game continues to improve as the Wildcats rushed for 258 yards on 48 carries, but also passed for 172 yards on 13-23-2 passing.

Defensively the Wildcats held Baylor to their lowest point total all season.

Will Davis, Jr. Linebacker said that the statement the Wildcats were able to make was that they’re going to compete.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, what our record is, what your record is, we’re going to come out and we’re going to try to beat you every Saturday,” said Davis. “It doesn’t matter. We think we can play with anyone and we’re confident in ourselves, we may not be that pretty, but we’re going to show up and compete.”

The loss matches the longest losing streak since 2008, and is the Wildcats third loss by only a one touchdown margin to a top 25 team this season.

Kansas State will be back in action next Saturday when they travel to Texas Tech to take on the Red Raiders.

 

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Royals have declined mutual options on right fielder Alex Rios and starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie, beginning the reshaping of their team one day after celebrating their World Series triumph with a downtown parade.

Other decisions loom Wednesday: All-Star reliever Wade Davis, All-Star shortstop Alcides Escobar and outfielder Jonny Gomes have club options, while Alex Gordon has a player option worth $13.75 million after the All-Star outfielder achieved a series of escalators.

The 34-year-old Rios had a $12.5 million option with a $1.5 million buyout, while the 36-year-old Guthrie had a $10 million option with a $3.2 million buyout.

Both moves had been expected. Rios struggled much of the season, though he contributed a few key hits in the World Series. Guthrie was left off every postseason roster.

Tuesday’s Scores
The Associated Press

Galena 41, Caney Valley 21

Garden Plain 22, Hesston 21, OT

Halstead 46, Southeast Saline 7

Hoisington 76, Cimarron 19

Nemaha Central 56, Riverside 12

Neodesha 31, Cherryvale 26

Norton 37, Marysville 0

Pittsburg Colgan 49, Jayhawk Linn 6

Rossville 49, Maur Hill – Mount Academy 0

Sabetha 42, Centralia 7

Scott City 54, Lyons 0

Silver Lake 49, Pleasant Ridge 0

Washington County 44, Beloit 34

Wellsville 63, Erie 0

Wichita Collegiate 63, Conway Springs 6

Wichita Independent 17, Cheney 13

8-Man, Division I State Tournament
Bi-District
Burlingame 40, Rock Hills 18

Central Burden 70, Uniontown 50

Central Plains 46, Kiowa County 0

Hanover 50, Rural Vista 0

Solomon 46, South Central 44

Spearville 64, Rawlins County 14

St. Francis 72, Hodgeman County 24

West Elk 62, Marais des Cygnes Valley 14

8-Man, Division II State Tournament
Bi-District
Attica/Argonia 48, Hartford 0

Axtell 46, Centre 0

Caldwell 72, Crest 44

Ingalls 74, Ashland 28

Minneola 68, Satanta 44

Pike Valley 26, Chase 24

Victoria 52, Triplains-Brewster 6

Wallace County 65, Otis-Bison 20

Traffic was so heavy before a celebration of the Royals’ World Series championship that some drivers parked along the side of the interstate and walked.

But police spokesman Tye Grant says that overall the fans were “happy and classy and waited their turn to find a place to park.”

People taking public transportation also found themselves waiting anywhere from one to three hours. Kansas City Area Transit Authority spokesman Cindy Baker described the waits as “rough” and that conservative estimates are that 100,000 people were shuttled to the celebration before 2 p.m.

She says the crowds were “definitely more than expected.”

She says that with many school districts calling off classes, school buses were called in to help transport the masses. No official crowd estimates were immediately available.

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The Kansas State football team has their hands full as they prepare for this weeks game.

The Wildcats are currently on their longest losing streak since 2008, at four loses, have yet to win a conference game, are facing the 2nd ranked team in the nation in the Baylor Bears, and are playing on a Thursday night before a national audience on Fox Sports One.

Coach Bill Snyder told the media Tuesday that his team is going to have to put together a strong performance Thursday and do all the things they’re constantly talking about.

“You know first and foremost is to eliminate the critical mistakes that put us with our backs to the wall, offensively or defensively, either one and on occasion on special teams,” said Snyder. “Offensively we’re going to have to be very good on first down, so we don’t always get into those extra long yardage situations were your percentage of achieving first downs go down considerably.”

Defensively Snyder said the Wildcats will have to find a way to not give up the big plays, which will be easier said than done as they go up against a Baylor offense that is ranked in the top ten nationally in both rushing and passing offense.

Kansas State and Baylor kick off from Bill Snyder Family Stadium Thursday night at 6:30 pm. You can catch that game on the “Talk of JC” 1420 AM beginning at 4:30 pm.

Kansas City turned blue as Royals fans line up to watch the World Series championship team parade.

Forty-eight-year-old Kansas City native Steve Spencer marveled at the crowd as he joined the masses walking toward the city’s Union Station. Recalling the years of losing seasons, he says the “crazy” turnout is beyond anything he has ever seen.

Highways leading into the city are packed and city streets are jammed.

Thirty-four-year-old Chris Lasister, of Lenexa, Kansas, brought his 2-year-old son with him to watch the festivities. He says he doesn’t remember the parade when the Royals last won the World Series in 1985, so he can’t miss this one.

Some of the Kansas City Royals fans crowded into the streets and a park near the site of a planned rally have given and left after finding themselves packed tightly in places where they couldn’t see the activities.

The crowds mostly stayed in good spirits during the long wait for the rally, but a few people said they could not tolerate the tight quarters. Cellphone service also was out along much of the parade route.

Mary Winston, of Overland Park, Kansas, said she brought her five children about three hours before the rally but she decided to give up and go home. She says they were disappointed because it was not possible to get close enough to see any part of the rally.

Tiffany Davis, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, also decided to turn around with her 11-year-old daughter, Julia, who rode bikes to the scene. She says she expected the “wild” scene but realized there was no way to get close enough to see the rally.