Game 4
Kansas State at 12/13 West Virginia

Date: Saturday, September 22, 2018

Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. (CT)

Location: Morgantown, W.Va.

Stadium: Milan Puskar Stadium (60,000)

Series: K-State leads, 5-3

WILDCATS OPEN BIG 12 PLAY ON THE ROAD AT NO. 12 WVU
Following a dominating bounce-back win over UTSA last week, K-State will hit the road for the first time in 2018 when it opens Big 12 Conference play at No. 12 West Virginia at 2:30 p.m. (CT), Saturday afternoon at Milan Puskar Stadium. The contest will be shown nationally on ESPN with Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Dan Orlovsky (analyst) and Paul Carcaterra (sidelines) on the call. The game can be heard across the 39-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst) and Matt Walters (sidelines) calling the action. The game will also be on Sirius channel 99, XM Channel 383 in addition to the TuneIn app. Live stats are available at k-statesports.com, and Twitter updates (@KStateFB) will also be a part of the coverage.

A LOOK AT K-STATE

• K-State moved to 2-1 on the year with a 41-17 win over UTSA, a game it led 41-7 entering the fourth quarter.
• K-State has played both Skylar Thompson and Alex Delton in the first three games, but Thompson settled in last week with a career-high 213 yards and three total touchdowns (2 pass, 1 rush). Thompson, who went 13-of-18 through the air, also rushed for 66 yards.
• The running game is solidified by the Wildcats’ leading rusher a year ago, Alex Barnes, who is third in the Big 12 in rushing at 76.0 yards per game. He recorded the fourth 100-yard rushing game of his career in the season opener, but he has become more of a receiving threat this year with five catches for 58 yards.
• Wide receiver Isaiah Zuber tallied the first 100-yard receiving day of his career against UTSA, going for 144 yards and a career-best two touchdowns. He also caught the game-winning touchdown pass late in the game against South Dakota and returned a punt 85 yards for a score against the Coyotes.
• Defensively, K-State held South Dakota to just 77 yards on the ground and 334 total yards, while UTSA came away with 300 total yards, 119 of which came in the fourth quarter.
• Senior defensive back Duke Shelley leads the team with 15 tackles and has six passes defended, the latter tying for second in the Big 12 and 11th nationally.
• Junior defensive end Reggie Walker has eight tackles, which includes 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack. Fellow defensive end Kyle Ball notched his first sack of the year last week.
• Needing to replace a four-year place kicker, Blake Lynch has stepped right in to connect on 6-of-7 field goals, including a 4-of-4 mark in his Wildcat debut against South Dakota. Lynch is tied for eighth nationally in field goals per game, and his only miss was a 52-yarder against the wind in the Mississippi State game.

A LOOK AT WEST VIRGINIA

• West Virginia was off last Saturday as its game at NC State was canceled due to Hurricane Florence.
• The 2-0 Mountaineers won a neutral-site meeting with Tennessee in week one before winning their home opener against Youngstown State on Sept. 8.
• Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Will Grier is 46-of-60 passing for 761 yards and nine touchdowns. Grier and the passing game have led WVU to 586.0 yards per game through two weeks to go along with 46.0 points per game.A LOOK AT THE SERIES
• K-State leads the all-time series, 5-3, including a 4-2 mark since West Virginia joined the Big 12 in 2012. The Wildcats won the first four matchups as conference foes while WVU has won the last two.
• The previous four meetings have been hotly contested as those games have been decided by an average of 3.25 points. The stretch includes a pair of one-point margins as K-State won at home, 24-23, in 2015 before the Mountaineers returned the favor with a 17-16 win in Morgantown in 2016.CONFERENCE CALL
• K-State is an even 11-11 all-time in Big 12 openers, including a 6-3 mark since head coach Bill Snyder’s return in 2009.
• The Wildcats saw a two-game Big 12-opening losing streak come to an end last season with a 33-20 victory over Baylor.BIG 12 ROAD OPENERS
• Opening Big 12 play on the road is nothing new to the Wildcats as this weekend will be the 18th time in the 23-year history of the conference that K-State will open league play away from home (16 road, 2 neutral).
• It is also the second time in three years that K-State will open Big 12 play at West Virginia, doing so in 2016 in a 17-16 loss.RYAN LACKEY
  Director of Football and Golf Communications | K-State Athletics

 

 

 

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Big 12 Conference and FOX Sports announced Monday that Kansas State’s Big 12 home opener against Texas on September 29 will kick off at 2:30 p.m., and be televised by FS1.

 

K-State holds a 10-8 all-time record against Texas, including a 7-1 margin in Manhattan. The Wildcats have won each of their last five home meetings with the Longhorns as Texas’ last victory at Bill Snyder Family Stadium was in 2002.

 

A Wildcat 4-Pack for the game against the Longhorns – which is serves as K-State Athletics Hall of Fame Weekend – starts at $149 for four view level tickets. Tickets can be purchased online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.

 

The Wildcats open Big 12 play away from home for the 18^th time in the 23-year history of the league as they travel to face West Virginia on Saturday inside Milan Puskar Stadium. The game, which kicks off at 2:30 p.m. (CT), will be shown nationally on ESPN.

 

Big 12 TV Selections for Weekend of Saturday, September 29

Oklahoma State at Kansas		11 a.m.		FSN
West Virginia at Texas Tech		11 a.m.		ESPN2 or ESPNU
Texas at K-State		2:30 p.m.		FS1
Baylor at Oklahoma		2:30 p.m.		ABC
Iowa State at TCU		6 p.m.		ESPN2 or ESPNU

 

– k-statesports.com –

RYAN LACKEY
Director of Football and Golf Communications | K-State Athletics

 

 

 

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tyreek Hill turned to face the cameras when the hottest quarterback in the NFL looked up, saw a potential traffic jam and urged his Kansas City Chiefs teammate to conduct his business elsewhere.

“Don’t do that here,” Patrick Mahomes said with a laugh.

Hill responded by shuffling a few steps clear of Mahomes’ stall.

Good idea. There’s little doubt who is calling the shots now in Kansas City. It’s the first-year starter with the big arm.

Mahomes tied a franchise record with six touchdown passes and the Chiefs held off the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 42-37 victory Sunday that showcased why Kansas City traded away veteran Alex Smith in in the spring and put the team in the hands of a 22-year-old with all of one career start under his belt.

“He had a couple good plays you know,” coach Andy Reid said after Mahomes led Kansas City to its first win in Pittsburgh in 32 years.

Maybe more than a couple.

Mahomes, who turns 23 on Monday, finished 23 of 28 for 326 yards. His 10 touchdown passes through two weeks are the most ever by a quarterback through two games in NFL history. Heady stuff for a player who spent almost all of last season on the bench watching Smith guide the Chiefs to a fourth playoff berth in five years.

“You never expect to have 10 touchdowns at this point in the season,” Mahomes said. “But I knew with this offense and the weapons that we have and the scheme coach Reid has drawn up that we had a chance to be really, really good and the possibilities are endless.”

It sure looked that way while Mahomes spread the ball to seven different teammates, five of whom reached the end zone. Travis Kelce caught seven passes for 109 yards and two scores. Tyreek Hill, Chris Conley, Kareem Hunt and Demarcus Robinson also hauled in touchdown passes as the Chiefs (2-0) recovered in the second half after blowing an early 21-pont lead.

“I see Pat doing this all season long,” Kelce said. “He’s got the confidence. As long as we give him time and get open as wide outs and tight ends and running backs, he’s going to be able to get the best out of everyone.”

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger shook off an achy right elbow that limited him in practice during the week, completing 39 of 60 passes for 452 yards and three touchdowns. The 36-year-old also leapt into the end zone for a 3-yard score with 1:59 to go that got the Steelers (0-1-1) within five.

Rather than attempt an onside kick, Pittsburgh sent it deep. Two runs by Hunt gave Kansas City a big first down and Steelers linebacker Tyler Matakevich was flagged for roughing the punter, allowing the Chiefs to run out the clock and put the two-time defending AFC North champions at a crossroads just two weeks into the season.

“It’s not fun, but it’s still early,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s kind of where are we going to go from here. It’s kind of a mirror, gut check, whatever you want to call it. We’ll see how everyone wants to respond.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — There was little for Tyler Austin to be upset about as he headed to the bus on Sunday.

The Twins’ first baseman had hit one of their four home runs in a 9-6 win over the Kansas City Royals. He had escaped unscathed after making a spectacular catch while flipping into the dugout down the first-base line and, perhaps most importantly, he didn’t have to dress up in one of the ridiculous horse-and-jockey costumes that were awaiting his rookie teammates in their locker.

Instead, Austin was able to enjoy all of it — right down to the rookie hazing ritual — after the Twins managed to avoid a four-game sweep and an ignominious start to their final trip this season.

Max Kepler, Johnny Field and Jorge Polanco also went deep for the Twins, who had a season-high 18 hits and got a gritty effort by Kyle Gibson (8-13) to cool off the red-hot Royals.

“You always have something to play for,” said Gibson, who lasted into the seventh to end a four-start losing streak, despite allowing five runs and 11 hits. “When teams start giving up and throwing it in, they’re only doing disrespecting those around you.”

So that’s why Austin was willing to go head-over-heels into an empty dugout, and while the rest of the Twins were there to pick him right back up with a pat on his back.

“I don’t think he cares where fences are,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “He kind of caught it as he got there and unfortunately there were no people there. He took a pretty hard fall but he’s OK.”

Jerry Vasto (0-1) allowed one run on three hits to take the loss in relief.

Ryan O’Hearn and Rosell Herrera staked Kansas City to a 2-0 lead with back-to-back run-scoring doubles in the first, but Minnesota slowly chipped away in building a 5-2 lead in the fourth.

Polanco began the comeback with an RBI single, but it was Kepler’s homer off Jakob Junis — on the pitcher’s 26th birthday, no less — and back-to-back shots by Austin and Field that turned the game.

It was the sixth time Minnesota has gone back-to-back this season.

Brian Goodwin answered for Kansas City with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, and two-run shot by Adalberto Mondesi in the fifth allowed Kansas City to pull even again. But Polanco’s homer off Brian Flynn leading off the sixth gave Minnesota the lead back for good.

“It was a good homestand. I’m glad we’re playing better for our fans,” said Royals manager Ned Yost, whose club has won five straight series. “We haven’t given them much to cheer for all summer long, yet they still cheer for us. So, to have some success here at the end of the season makes me feel a little bit better.”

In what organizers hope will become an annual event, the Pathways to Fitness races, were held on Saturday at Al Simpler Stadium.

Thirteen runners participated in the community mixed two-mile run with Chantalle Schultz-Rut finishing first in 10:53.63. There were 10 runners in both the one-quarter mile and one-half mile races for youth and seven in the community mixed one-mile run.

In the one-quarter-mile run Jaxon Seidle turned in the fastest time of 1:42.00, while in the one-half mile rrun it was Rashod McGowan in 3:07.02. In the community mixed one-mile run Luis Oma Arocho covered the distance in 6:47.00.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ian Kennedy pitched six innings to earn his first win since the first week of April, Alex Gordon drove in five runs and the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 10-3 on Saturday night.

Alcides Escobar added three RBIs while finishing a homer shy of the cycle, and Cam Gallagher ended a 0-for-14 skid with a career-best four hits, as the Royals cruised to their fifth win in six games.

They’ll go for the four-game sweep of their AL Central rivals on Sunday.

Kennedy (2-8) allowed six hits while striking out four in his second start since a two-month stint on the disabled list. The right-hander allowed only Ehire Adrianza’s RBI single in the second and Logan Forsythe’s run-scoring hit in the fifth to earn his second home win in two years.

Gordon had an RBI groundout in the first, a two-run double in the fourth and another two-run double in the sixth. He finished one RBI shy of his career best, set against Baltimore on May 18, 2014.

Most of the damage came against Chase De Jong (0-1), who was pounded for five runs — three earned — on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. It was a far different from his start against the Royals last week, when De Jong allowed one hit over four scoreless innings in a game the Twins won 3-1.

This time, Kansas City jumped out to a 2-1 lead before a four-run fourth provided a comfortable cushion. Escobar started the scoring with an RBI triple, then scored when he was caught in a run-down and the throw toward home hit him in the back and bounced away.

Twins skipper Paul Molitor and third base coach Gene Glynn took exception with the umpiring on the play, and both earned their second ejections of the season. That meant they weren’t around to see Gordon add a two-run double later in the inning and give Kansas City a 6-2 advantage.

The Royals’ longtime outfielder hit his second two-run double a couple innings later, his third hit of the night, before grounding out in his final at-bat.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Six takeaways, including two pick-6s, and an explosive running game carried Kansas to a 55-14 blowout over Rutgers on Saturday, marking the Jayhawks’ first back-to-back wins over FBS opponents since 2009.

Bryce Torneden and Mike Lee each returned interceptions for touchdowns as the Scarlet Knights threw three picks and surrendered three fumbles. Couple that with the dominant performance on the ground, and you get a performance that surprised even coach David Beaty.

“I didn’t see this coming against these guys because they are a very talent-rich football team and I’ve said so many times how good of a coach Chris Ash is,” Beaty said. ” . It was our day. Sometimes, it becomes your day.”

Turnovers plagued the Scarlet Knights from the start, as Torneden jumped in front of a Sitkowski pass on just Rutgers’ second drive and returned it 39 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Torneden was there again the next time out, recovering a fumble by Jonathan Hilliman that set up a field goal.

Early in the second quarter, Lee picked off a Sitkowski pass on the sideline and scored to open a 24-7 lead, weaving his way laterally across the field 31 yards to the end zone in an effort that looked more reminiscent of a punt-return score.

“When the quarterback threw the ball, I felt like I had to make a play,” Lee said. “And that’s what I did.”

True freshman Pooka Williams was the star on offense, the leader of a group of several backs for Kansas that rushed for 400 yards and scored four times. Finishing with 158 yards — including a 52-yard touchdown run — Williams now has 283 yards and three touchdowns in his first two college games.

“It’s crazy,” teammate Dom Williams said of Pooka. “It’s incredible, especially just how fast he is.”

Both Miles Kendrick and Peyton Bender saw time at quarterback for Kansas, but Kendrick carved out a much larger role then in weeks prior thanks to some strong play. After seeing consistent work in the first half, Kendrick started the third quarter and never saw the bench again.

“It was just a matter of time as to when we were going to use those packages and see if they were creating some success for us,” Beaty said. “And he had a pretty good command of it from what we saw from the sidelines. So it really worked out that way.”

Kendrick was responsible for the Jayhawks’ lone score through the air, a goal-line fade to Jeremiah Booker, who lost his shoe while landing in the corner of the end zone. Kendrick also ran for an 8-yard score in the third.

Special teams was one of few bright spots for Rutgers, as Deonte Roberts blocked a Kansas field goal try in the first quarter and took it 64 yards for the touchdown. The Scarlet Knights blocked another field goal later in the quarter, but didn’t get any points out of it.

Sitkowski finished the game with just 47 yards and three interceptions before being replaced by Gio Rescigno in the third quarter. Raheem Blackshear led Rutgers in rushing with 102 yards, and Hilliman added a score on the ground as well.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior wide receiver Isaiah Zuber’s career-best two touchdowns paced a Kansas State offense that rolled up 449 total yards and five touchdowns, as the Wildcats defeated UTSA, 41-10, in front of 50,618 fans at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday.

 

Of the 449 offensive yards, 285 came through the air, as sophomore quarterback Skylar Thompson set a new career high in passing yards (213), while Zuber set new career highs in receiving yards (144), receptions (7) and touchdowns (2). Thompson also led the Wildcat rushing unit, as he carried for 66 yards on 14 attempts and a touchdown.

 

Defensively, K-State (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) held their opponent to under 20 points for the first time this season, as UTSA (0-3, 0-0 Conference USA) totaled 300 yards of total offense in the game. Sophomore defensive back AJ Parker led the Wildcats in tackles with seven.

 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Wildcats wasted no time jumping ahead of the Roadrunners on Saturday, as K-State used a 10-play, 78-yard drive on their opening possession to grab an early 7-0 lead. The drive was spurred by a 37-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Skylar Thompson to senior wide receiver Zach Reuter, which put the Wildcats into position to punch in a 3-yard touchdown rush by junior running back Alex Barnes, his first rushing touchdown of the season.

 

With five minutes remaining in the first quarter, UTSA evened the score at 7-7 on a play-action pass from junior quarterback Cordale Grundy to junior fullback Halen Steward.

 

K-State moved down the field again later in the first quarter, in a drive that saw Barnes bring in a catch for 30 yards from Thompson. The reception marked a new career-long touchdown reception for Barnes, leading to a 33-yard Blake Lynch field goal to bring the score to 10-7.

 

On the ensuing K-State offensive possession, the Wildcats continued to navigate through the air, as Thompson aired out a 42-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Dalton Schoen to expand their lead to 17-7. The touchdown reception marked Schoen’s fifth of his career, with an average touchdown length of 45.8 yards.

 

With under a minute remaining in the first half, the Wildcats ran off 10 points, including a 23-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to junior wide receiver Isaiah Zuber and a 42-yard field goal from Lynch to bring the score to 27-7. The Wildcats went into the break with 290 total yards on offense 213 of which came through the air.

 

Following a strong first half through the air, Thompson made use of his running abilities to start the second half, taking a 27-yard read-option for a touchdown on the first K-State possession of the second-half. The touchdown rush marked a career-long for Thompson as the Wildcats led 34-7 with 9:15 left in the third quarter.

 

Junior quarterback Alex Delton took over for Thompson at quarterback late in the third quarter, where he connected with a familiar target, Zuber for a 72-yard touchdown on his first attempt. The reception for Zuber marked his first-career two-touchdown performance, while also putting him over a career-high in receiving yards. The score put the Wildcats up, 41-7 with 3:31 left in the third quarter.

 

In the fourth quarter, UTSA found the end zone following a K-State fumble in Roadrunner territory. UTSA capitalized on the turnover on the first play of the drive, as senior quarterback D.J. Gillins connected with senior wide receiver Greg Campbell Jr. for a 10-yard touchdown pass to bring the score to 41-17 with 3:35 remaining in the game.

 

K-State finished with 449 yards of total offense, averaging out to 7.1 yards per play. The Wildcats also made efficient use of their trips to the red zone, scoring on all three of their opportunities.

 

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Skylar Thompson – The Wildcat quarterback surpassed his career high in passing on Saturday, throwing for 213 yards through the air on 13-of-18 passing. Thompson found seven different receivers throughout the game, including finding Zuber for six receptions, 72 yards and a touchdown. In addition to his stellar day passing, Thompson led the Wildcats in rushing, accumulating 66 yards on 14 attempts and a touchdown.

 

Isaiah Zuber – On the receiving end of seven passes, Zuber set or tied career-marks in all three receiving cateogries, accumulating seven receptions, 144 receiving yards and two touchdowns on Saturday, as the junior led the Wildcats in receiving for the second time this season.

 

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME

AJ Parker –Parker led the K-State defensive unit in total tackles on Saturday, garnering 7 total tackles and one tackle for loss. Parker’s 7 tackles are the second-most of his career, after totaling 8 tackles against TCU in 2017.

 

Eli Walker – Senior defensive back Eli Walker accumulated five tackles, including a fourth-down tackle-for-loss in the third quarter on Saturday. Walker’s five tackles are the second-most in his career, as he made six tackles against Iowa State in 2017.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS STAR OF THE GAME

Blake Lynch – Placekicker Blake Lynch continued to put the ball between the uprights on Saturday, connecting on each of his two field goal attempts from 33 and 42 yards out. Lynch has now connected on 7-of-8 field goals this season, with a long of 44 yards against South Dakota in the home opener. Lynch’s seven field goal conversions are the most in the first three games of the season since Jack Cantele in 2015.

 

STAT OF THE GAME

October 15, 2016 – K-State orchestrated an efficient passing effort on Saturday, as seven different players recorded a reception, marking the first time the Wildcats have done so since October 15, 2016 against Oklahoma.

 

COACH’S COMMENTS

Head Coach Bill Snyder

On opening drive offensively…

“It is always important to start ball games well in any phase, offense or defense. To think about it, that is the first touchdown we have scored in the first half for the season. It was significant, and it is just something you have to be able to do. It is not just a one time thing and we do not need to do flips because we scored on the first drive, that is just the intent. That is what we need to do and that is what we should do, and fortunately we did. To add onto that, I thought we played reasonably well in the first half and reasonably well halfway through the third quarter, then the wheels fell off.”

 

On defensive performance through non-conference play…

“Improving, meaning we need to get better. There are areas we need to get better and areas where we have made improvement. It was not the same team as last week but we still made some improvement on the defensive side of the ball.”

 

On the area that needs most improvement…

“We have to tackle better, number one. It is pretty simple to say but it is a hard thing to do. We are not tackling like we are capable of. We got soft up there several times where they pushed the pile. Their offensive linemen did a nice job of pushing the pile and getting an extra eight-to-nine yards that you cannot afford to give up.nWe allowed them to get on the edge a few times. We lost some containment and we let their quarterback bring it out scrambling a couple of times, which is always a nemesis. Nevertheless, we have to do a better job of defending the quarterback on draw plays and scrambles.”

 

On passing the ball…

“I think Skylar (Thompson) did a nice job and Alex (Delton) only had the one throw but it was an extremely well thrown ball. Two of Skylar’s touchdown passes were excellent throws, threading the needle. I was pleased. Once again, it starts with protection and our protection was good enough for our quarterback to have some time to get the ball off and some deep throws. I appreciate that. I thought they were a lot firmer up front. Receivers did a nice job of getting themselves open and catching the ball on deep throws. Deep throws are not as easy to catch when you have a guy hanging on your shoulder pads as it may seem some time.”

 

On sophomore quarterback Skylar Thompson’s performance…

“He played well. I do not think his demeanor or his approach was any different he just played a little better than he has. He made good decision for the most part for what he did. That is why you practice.”

 

On back-ups getting some playing time and any standout performances late…

“Nobody caught my eye. I think that’s one of the things I shared with our players afterwards. Young guys that are twos or threes, whatever the case may be, they come to practice, they work hard, they work hard for the opportunity to get on the field, but when they get on the field they have to take advantage of it. We had way too many mistakes in the second half, that’s what slowed the ballgame down and put our defense in a hole with our offense and consequently gave up a score that you probably wouldn’t give up if you were playing reasonably well on offense. They have to play well too, I don’t expect them to play any differently than who they have in front of them. That’s the nature of the game, you have to be the best you can be.”

 

SEASON RECORD UPDATE

K-State 2-1 (0-0 Big 12)

UTSA 0-3 (0-0 Conference USA)

 

WHAT’S NEXT

The Wildcats hit the road for their first road trip of the season, as K-State takes on No. 14/15 West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday, September 22 in Morgantown, West Virginia. The contest marks the first Big 12 Conference matchup for both teams, with kickoff slated for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.

 

–www.kstatesports.com–

 

Kansas State University, the nation’s first operational land-grant institution and a Carnegie Foundation Tier One university, is recognized as one of the nation’s best colleges with world-class research and academic excellence located in America’s No. 1 College Town (Manhattan, KS).

————
TOM GILBERT
Director for Men’s Basketball Communications | K-State Athletics