K-State falls short to Kansas, 30-24

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) - Sophomore quarterback Josh Freeman threw for 305 yards and one touchdown and senior wide receiver Jordy Nelson had 10 catches for 137 yards and a score, as Kansas State dropped a 30-24 decision to archrival Kansas on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns and the Jayhawks overcame some potentially ruinous mistakes to beat their archrivals and start a season 5-0 for just the third time in 39 years.

Reesing, the sophomore quarterback who had thrown for 1,119 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first four games, hit Dexton Fields with a 30-yard scoring pass for a 27-24 lead. That play came just 65 seconds after the Wildcats (2-3) had taken the lead on a halfback option pass. Jeff Webb booted a 24-yard field goal a few minutes later when Kendrick Harper intercepted Josh Freeman's pass on the 26.

Freeman, Kansas State's 6-6 sophomore, outgained the 5-9 Reesing, hitting 31 of 48 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown. But he was also intercepted three times,the last by Aqib Talib, Kansas' two-way star, with 1:12 to play.

Talib, beaten on a 68-yard touchdown pass by Jordy Nelson in the first quarter, got his payback just before halftime when he somehow was left uncovered and caught a 5-yard touchdown pass that tied it 14-14 at halftime. It was the sixth consecutive game the all-Big 12 cornerback had scored a touchdown.

Nelson, who came into the game with 42 catches for 497 yards and was the Big 12 offensive player of the week after the Texas win, caught 10 balls for 137 yards and a TD in Kansas State's first game as a ranked team in three years.

Working against Talib, he made two outstanding catches on the 11-play, 80-yard drive that gave Kansas State a 14-7 lead late in the half.

Stretched out full length and keeping on his toes just inches onto the edge of the playing field while falling out of bounds, Nelson picked up 15 yards to the Kansas 43.

Then on third-and-4, he got five yards by securing the ball between his knees after Talib hit him from behind and jarred it out of his hands.

A moment later, Leon Patton scored on a 6-yard run.

Kansas State caught a huge break late in the fourth when the ball bounced off Fields and soared about 20 feet into the air and was cradled by Chris Carney for his second interception on the Kansas 16.

After converting on fourth-and-inches, Freeman handed off to Patton, who pulled up and found Deon Murphy alone in the end zone for a 24-21 lead with 7:32 left.

Fields quickly made up for his mistake by getting the Jayhawks started a moment later with a 23-yard catch. Then he caught Reesing's pass, shook free of a tackler and went 30 yards for the go-ahead score. The extra point failed, however, leaving it a 3-point game at 27-24.

The Jayhawks got their first touchdown on Kansas State's home field since 1999 when Jake Sharp, apparently stopped for a short gain, burst out of a gang of tacklers and sped 20 yards to make it 7-7 with 9:11 left in the first half. Sharp had picked up 14 yards the previous play.

Kansas went ahead 21-14 when Reesing connected with Dezmon Briscoe for a 28-yard touchdown pass on a five-wide formation that appeared to confuse Kansas State and leave Briscoe uncovered down the middle.

The Wildcats pulled to 21-17 on Brooks Rossman's 32-yard field goal in the final seconds of the third quarter. The Jayhawks, who had averaged more than 550 yards and 53 points while crushing Central Michigan, Southeast Louisiana, Toledo and Florida International, had their highest point total in Manhattan since a 30-12 victory in 1988.