Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, September 16
Nashville, Tenn.
6:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
2-1
7
at
14
Vanderbilt
3-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Kansas State
0
7
0
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7
Vanderbilt
7
0
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14
No. 18 K-State Comes Up Short at Vanderbilt, 14-7
Sep 16, 2017 | Football
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Senior quarterback Jesse Ertz came up a yard short on fourth down with 52 seconds left at the Vanderbilt 12-yard line, as the Commodores held on for a 14-7 win on Saturday night to hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season before 40,350 at Vanderbilt Stadium.
The loss spoiled the spirits of an estimated 17,000 K-State faithful that descended upon Nashville to watch the Wildcat take on the Commodores for the first time since 1984.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Following opening possession three and outs by both teams, Vanderbilt drove down the field behind the strength of their air attack, including a 38-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Shurmur to wideout Jared Pinkney. The big play setup a 2-yard touchdown pass for the Commodores, as the score marked the first of the game, and the first time K-State did not score first this season.
Despite trailing for the first time this season, K-State responded with a confident 13-play drive, led by Ertz. The offense marched down the field and converted a fourth-and-one that resulted in a 15-yard touchdown rush by Ertz. The next score would come 27 minutes later, in a decisive turn of events that would decide the game.
In the fourth quarter, both the Wildcats and Commodores would commit their first turnovers of the season, as the ball was turned over on three consecutive drives. Ertz threw his first two interceptions on subsequent K-State drives, with the latter resulting in a one-yard Shurmur rushing touchdown that proved to be the difference.
K-State would have one last chance in the closing minutes to even up the score, but Ertz fell short on fourth and eight and Vanderbilt prevailed, 14-7.
OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME
The methodical K-State offense relied heavily upon Ertz throughout the game, carrying the ball 24 times for 126 yards, including 84 yards that came in the first half. Through the air, sophomore Isaiah Zuber had a team-high four receptions for 37 yards. Zuber came off of a career day versus Charlotte, recording a career-high seven receptions for 73 yards.
Making his first appearance of the season, junior running back Justin Silmon provided a spark in the third quarter, carrying the ball three times for 41 yards. Silmon was the second-leading rusher for the Wildcats in the game behind Ertz.
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME
The K-State defense stood particularly strong on third down in the first half, holding the Commodores to convert 2 of 8 third downs, including a sack by Will Geary. Geary's sack marked his first of the season, and what looked to be a fumble recovery return for a touchdown by Kendall Adams before being overturned after review.
Senior Trent Tanking was included on 10 total tackles on Saturday, as he played an influential role in the run defense. Tanking's tackle total marks the most of his career.
SPECIAL TEAMS STARS OF THE GAME
Despite only seeing the field twice in the first two games of the season, punter Nick Walsh made an impact in Nashville, punting six times for 209 yards. Walsh was joined by punter Mitch Lochbihler in the fourth quarter, who recorded one boot that pinned the Commodores at the 5-yard line.
STATS OF THE GAME
Entering Saturday's game, Kansas State and Vanderbilt were two of only four teams to commit zero turnovers this season and have a 2-0 record. Both teams would suffer their first turnovers of the season in the fourth quarter.
SEASON RECORD UPDATE
K-State: 2-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Vanderbilt: 3-0 (0-0 SEC)
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bill Snyder
On his team's struggles in the passing game…
"We had a bunch of them. Number one, Vanderbilt is a good defensive football team. I thought they covered well, I thought they pressured the quarterback well and we dropped a ton of passes and busted some assignments. That's not to take anything away from what [Vanderbilt] did, because they played well."
On his team getting two touchdowns called back due to penalties…
"That goes back to me. There's not the discipline that we need to have on our football team, and consequently, you get some of those kinds of penalties. Not just the two that called back touchdowns, but there were some other penalties that were very costly. It doesn't mean your guys aren't playing hard, but it means that we're not playing with the kind of discipline and focus that we need to."
On Jesse Ertz's interceptions…
"I thought we made some inappropriate throws. You have to be able to see ahead of your throws and make sure the opponent doesn't have a chance [at the pass], so it's a part of discipline as well."
On his wide receivers dropped passes on the night…
"It goes back again to discipline and focus. Trying to go someplace before you have the ball in your hands and put away is something we have to correct. That's on us, the coaches."
Senior Quarterback Jesse Ertz
On the mood of the locker room…
"I think everyone on the team would be saying the same thing, obviously disappointed. That's a good team we played. I don't think anyone questions that, but we didn't come to execute tonight. We didn't deserve to be in the game tonight, our defense played great, that's about all I can say."
On the Vanderbilt defense…
"They were good. They had size and they were fast and had a good game plan. Its tough. We didn't come up with the answers we needed to and when we did we didn't make plays and a lot of that's on me. I probably started forcing the ball a little bit when we weren't moving the ball and consequently put them in good field position to score after the interception. It's tough but it's not the end of the world."
On the second interception…
"Initial thoughts was that is was basically man coverage with two high safeties and they ended up zoning off. I basically didn't run him off and ended up throwing it to him. I have to be better than that."
On being their own worst enemy on offense…
"Yes and no. It's not like they were giving us a bunch of easy quick plays. That was a good team, I'm not going to take away from them. We had our fair share of errors and that's not going to get you a win."
On lack of execution after Weeks 1 and 2…
"I think we've been there before, I don't think we panicked. I think we fought till the end and we were trying to make adjustments, we just didn't make the plays to win the game."
On last run…
"To be honest when I was going down I thought I had gotten it, and I looked when I was on the ground and saw I was a couple yards short."
On timing of bye week…
"I think it's at as good as time as any. You've got time to watch the film and just kind of dissect what happened and what you would do next time. I think we'll get ready for Baylor and that's all we can do."
Junior Offensive Lineman Dalton Risner
On late hit penalty…
"We get coached to go to the whistle and I guess it was too late. We'll see it on film, I don't know what it looks like. Run by on the option and see Alex Barnes still up, so I hit somebody and I get the penalty. Obviously upsetting, but we'll go back and see what the coaches have to say about it."
On run game…
"A lot of credit to Vanderbilt. I'm not going to really comment on their defensive front. They are a good team, they only let us score seven points and I can't really say much about what we did or any excuse, we got shutout to seven points and they earned the win that's for sure."
On lack of execution...
"It's a number of things, whether it be not being prepared for some of the defensive looks or not being able to pass protect or be able to throw the ball down the field as well as we should or be able to make plays that we didn't. Without addressing the film, it's hard to say five minutes after the game what really happened."
On offense shooting themselves in the foot…
"Yea that's what it felt like for sure. Every time we went out there we wanted to put points on the board, but we kept backing ourselves up with penalties or five-yard play followed by a fifteen-yard penalty or interception or tackle in the backfield, but it definitely felt like we were shooting ourselves in the foot all night."
Senior Linebacker Trent Tanking
On the play of the defense tonight…
"I felt like we were on our game. Obviously on that long drive we weren't. We got out-flanked and they did a great job scheming us and then you know I thought we did a pretty good job coming back. We got the adjustments, got lined up right, and had some decent success against them."
On if the struggles of the offense tonight affected their mentality on defense…
"We just try to focus on what we have to do. You know we have faith in our offense. So, even to our last time we just knew if we could get the ball to our offense one more time you know they would score. So, we still have total faith in our offense and we know that at Baylor everybody's going to be clicking.
On Will Geary's play on defense tonight…
"He does a great job. I was just saying he doesn't get enough credit for the way he is. He is a great D-Tackle. He is one of the best in the nation and that makes us linebackers' job a lot easier when he is taking up two guys."
Sophomore Defensive End Reggie Walker
On feelings after the tonight's game…
"You know, things happen. We could have played a little better, we could have prevented some things but they were a pretty good football team so you have to give them that credit."
On getting pressure on the QB all night but not being able to finish…
"That was pretty frustrating because I know this week we came in as a D-Line mentality like, we don't have any sacks and it's time we step up and prove. Just to get so close every time and still not come out with a sack is pretty frustrating."
On if there are any positives the defense can take away from this game…
"Oh, of course. We all learn from our mistakes. We will go tomorrow and watch the film and get on it."
On Coach Snyder's message to the team after tonight's loss…
"He really didn't talk too much. He said we could have played better and basically that is about it."
On if he feels that the defense took a step in the right direction after the improved play tonight…
"Oh yeah, a pretty big step forward. The defense played well you know but that is what we create. We came in with the mentality like we are going to prove that we can be just as great their defense. We knew they had a great defense."
Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek Mason
On the game…
"Hats off to K-State and Coach Snyder - what a class act. I talked with him before the game and said, 'Coach, why did you stay in Manhattan [Kansas] for so long?' He said, 'A lot of people chase the money, I chase the opportunity.'"
"We had some issues along the O-line. We had too many penalties. Those set us back a ton, but our guys strained for four quarters. This was a field position game. Special teams were going to play a factor in it... We battled. It felt like a heavyweight fight. It felt like those fights back in the 80s."
"Our secondary stepped up big. They were huge. We had to figure out how to stop the run game. We had to figure out how to make [K-State] one-dimensional. I thought it would be by stopping the run, but we figured out how to stop the pass... We [also] did a great job on third down."
"We held K-State's special teams in check. We also punted away from guys. You don't kick to guys who can take it to the house."
"It was a great win for Commodore Nation. We're trying to get all of the monkeys off our back."
On containing Kansas State quarterback Jesse Ertz…
"We had to make adjustments and adapt in-game. We knew they'd try to run the QB, but we didn't think they'd do it that much. We made some good adjustments in the second quarter that took us all the way into the fourth quarter. We threw different fronts at him to make sure he wasn't looking at the same thing."
On Vanderbilt's upperclassmen…
"All we did was take a bunch of juniors and seniors and put them in a position to succeed. You have to grow guys up in your system and hold them accountable."
On whether Vanderbilt should be ranked in the top 25…
"I don't care about rankings. We play the game to win. We just want to go out and play football. I've always said we're a blue-collar team... If they put us in the top 25, great. If they don't put us in the top 25, we'll continue playing good football."
On Vanderbilt's youth…
"I thought they grew up tonight. The win helped them grow up."
On Kyle Shurmur's go-ahead touchdown run…
"He's a guy who can go out and make mistakes and forget about them. He's unflappable in that way. These guys are all accountable too. When you get a group that's accountable, that's when you go out and succeed."
On whether he's looking ahead to next week's game against Alabama…
"Give me my hour and 45 minutes [until midnight]. We earned it."
Junior Quarterback Kyle Shurmur
On his touchdown run…
"When something goes wrong, you try to minimize damage. If I try to pick it up, then the slant has to be on time. The window got smaller, so I tried to score."
On his thought process heading into one of the final drives of the game…
"Our defense played amazing. Everyone tried to stay calm. As long as we get the W."
Senior Wide Receiver C.J. Duncan
On his touchdown…
"It felt good. I thank God for the opportunity. When your number's called, answer the phone."
Senior Linebacker Emmanuel Smith
On the defensive mentality on 4th down…
"It's on us. We looked at each other and knew it was time to go."
Senior Safety Ryan White
On his game-winning interception…
"We knew that they like to throw the ball. It was a team effort. We were keyed up on their game plan."
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State enters a bye week next week before playing host to Baylor at Bill Snyder Family Stadium to open their conference schedule.
The loss spoiled the spirits of an estimated 17,000 K-State faithful that descended upon Nashville to watch the Wildcat take on the Commodores for the first time since 1984.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Following opening possession three and outs by both teams, Vanderbilt drove down the field behind the strength of their air attack, including a 38-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Shurmur to wideout Jared Pinkney. The big play setup a 2-yard touchdown pass for the Commodores, as the score marked the first of the game, and the first time K-State did not score first this season.
Despite trailing for the first time this season, K-State responded with a confident 13-play drive, led by Ertz. The offense marched down the field and converted a fourth-and-one that resulted in a 15-yard touchdown rush by Ertz. The next score would come 27 minutes later, in a decisive turn of events that would decide the game.
In the fourth quarter, both the Wildcats and Commodores would commit their first turnovers of the season, as the ball was turned over on three consecutive drives. Ertz threw his first two interceptions on subsequent K-State drives, with the latter resulting in a one-yard Shurmur rushing touchdown that proved to be the difference.
K-State would have one last chance in the closing minutes to even up the score, but Ertz fell short on fourth and eight and Vanderbilt prevailed, 14-7.
OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME
The methodical K-State offense relied heavily upon Ertz throughout the game, carrying the ball 24 times for 126 yards, including 84 yards that came in the first half. Through the air, sophomore Isaiah Zuber had a team-high four receptions for 37 yards. Zuber came off of a career day versus Charlotte, recording a career-high seven receptions for 73 yards.
Making his first appearance of the season, junior running back Justin Silmon provided a spark in the third quarter, carrying the ball three times for 41 yards. Silmon was the second-leading rusher for the Wildcats in the game behind Ertz.
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME
The K-State defense stood particularly strong on third down in the first half, holding the Commodores to convert 2 of 8 third downs, including a sack by Will Geary. Geary's sack marked his first of the season, and what looked to be a fumble recovery return for a touchdown by Kendall Adams before being overturned after review.
Senior Trent Tanking was included on 10 total tackles on Saturday, as he played an influential role in the run defense. Tanking's tackle total marks the most of his career.
SPECIAL TEAMS STARS OF THE GAME
Despite only seeing the field twice in the first two games of the season, punter Nick Walsh made an impact in Nashville, punting six times for 209 yards. Walsh was joined by punter Mitch Lochbihler in the fourth quarter, who recorded one boot that pinned the Commodores at the 5-yard line.
STATS OF THE GAME
Entering Saturday's game, Kansas State and Vanderbilt were two of only four teams to commit zero turnovers this season and have a 2-0 record. Both teams would suffer their first turnovers of the season in the fourth quarter.
SEASON RECORD UPDATE
K-State: 2-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Vanderbilt: 3-0 (0-0 SEC)
IN THEIR WORDS
K-State Head Coach Bill Snyder
On his team's struggles in the passing game…
"We had a bunch of them. Number one, Vanderbilt is a good defensive football team. I thought they covered well, I thought they pressured the quarterback well and we dropped a ton of passes and busted some assignments. That's not to take anything away from what [Vanderbilt] did, because they played well."
On his team getting two touchdowns called back due to penalties…
"That goes back to me. There's not the discipline that we need to have on our football team, and consequently, you get some of those kinds of penalties. Not just the two that called back touchdowns, but there were some other penalties that were very costly. It doesn't mean your guys aren't playing hard, but it means that we're not playing with the kind of discipline and focus that we need to."
On Jesse Ertz's interceptions…
"I thought we made some inappropriate throws. You have to be able to see ahead of your throws and make sure the opponent doesn't have a chance [at the pass], so it's a part of discipline as well."
On his wide receivers dropped passes on the night…
"It goes back again to discipline and focus. Trying to go someplace before you have the ball in your hands and put away is something we have to correct. That's on us, the coaches."
Senior Quarterback Jesse Ertz
On the mood of the locker room…
"I think everyone on the team would be saying the same thing, obviously disappointed. That's a good team we played. I don't think anyone questions that, but we didn't come to execute tonight. We didn't deserve to be in the game tonight, our defense played great, that's about all I can say."
On the Vanderbilt defense…
"They were good. They had size and they were fast and had a good game plan. Its tough. We didn't come up with the answers we needed to and when we did we didn't make plays and a lot of that's on me. I probably started forcing the ball a little bit when we weren't moving the ball and consequently put them in good field position to score after the interception. It's tough but it's not the end of the world."
On the second interception…
"Initial thoughts was that is was basically man coverage with two high safeties and they ended up zoning off. I basically didn't run him off and ended up throwing it to him. I have to be better than that."
On being their own worst enemy on offense…
"Yes and no. It's not like they were giving us a bunch of easy quick plays. That was a good team, I'm not going to take away from them. We had our fair share of errors and that's not going to get you a win."
On lack of execution after Weeks 1 and 2…
"I think we've been there before, I don't think we panicked. I think we fought till the end and we were trying to make adjustments, we just didn't make the plays to win the game."
On last run…
"To be honest when I was going down I thought I had gotten it, and I looked when I was on the ground and saw I was a couple yards short."
On timing of bye week…
"I think it's at as good as time as any. You've got time to watch the film and just kind of dissect what happened and what you would do next time. I think we'll get ready for Baylor and that's all we can do."
Junior Offensive Lineman Dalton Risner
On late hit penalty…
"We get coached to go to the whistle and I guess it was too late. We'll see it on film, I don't know what it looks like. Run by on the option and see Alex Barnes still up, so I hit somebody and I get the penalty. Obviously upsetting, but we'll go back and see what the coaches have to say about it."
On run game…
"A lot of credit to Vanderbilt. I'm not going to really comment on their defensive front. They are a good team, they only let us score seven points and I can't really say much about what we did or any excuse, we got shutout to seven points and they earned the win that's for sure."
On lack of execution...
"It's a number of things, whether it be not being prepared for some of the defensive looks or not being able to pass protect or be able to throw the ball down the field as well as we should or be able to make plays that we didn't. Without addressing the film, it's hard to say five minutes after the game what really happened."
On offense shooting themselves in the foot…
"Yea that's what it felt like for sure. Every time we went out there we wanted to put points on the board, but we kept backing ourselves up with penalties or five-yard play followed by a fifteen-yard penalty or interception or tackle in the backfield, but it definitely felt like we were shooting ourselves in the foot all night."
Senior Linebacker Trent Tanking
On the play of the defense tonight…
"I felt like we were on our game. Obviously on that long drive we weren't. We got out-flanked and they did a great job scheming us and then you know I thought we did a pretty good job coming back. We got the adjustments, got lined up right, and had some decent success against them."
On if the struggles of the offense tonight affected their mentality on defense…
"We just try to focus on what we have to do. You know we have faith in our offense. So, even to our last time we just knew if we could get the ball to our offense one more time you know they would score. So, we still have total faith in our offense and we know that at Baylor everybody's going to be clicking.
On Will Geary's play on defense tonight…
"He does a great job. I was just saying he doesn't get enough credit for the way he is. He is a great D-Tackle. He is one of the best in the nation and that makes us linebackers' job a lot easier when he is taking up two guys."
Sophomore Defensive End Reggie Walker
On feelings after the tonight's game…
"You know, things happen. We could have played a little better, we could have prevented some things but they were a pretty good football team so you have to give them that credit."
On getting pressure on the QB all night but not being able to finish…
"That was pretty frustrating because I know this week we came in as a D-Line mentality like, we don't have any sacks and it's time we step up and prove. Just to get so close every time and still not come out with a sack is pretty frustrating."
On if there are any positives the defense can take away from this game…
"Oh, of course. We all learn from our mistakes. We will go tomorrow and watch the film and get on it."
On Coach Snyder's message to the team after tonight's loss…
"He really didn't talk too much. He said we could have played better and basically that is about it."
On if he feels that the defense took a step in the right direction after the improved play tonight…
"Oh yeah, a pretty big step forward. The defense played well you know but that is what we create. We came in with the mentality like we are going to prove that we can be just as great their defense. We knew they had a great defense."
Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek Mason
On the game…
"Hats off to K-State and Coach Snyder - what a class act. I talked with him before the game and said, 'Coach, why did you stay in Manhattan [Kansas] for so long?' He said, 'A lot of people chase the money, I chase the opportunity.'"
"We had some issues along the O-line. We had too many penalties. Those set us back a ton, but our guys strained for four quarters. This was a field position game. Special teams were going to play a factor in it... We battled. It felt like a heavyweight fight. It felt like those fights back in the 80s."
"Our secondary stepped up big. They were huge. We had to figure out how to stop the run game. We had to figure out how to make [K-State] one-dimensional. I thought it would be by stopping the run, but we figured out how to stop the pass... We [also] did a great job on third down."
"We held K-State's special teams in check. We also punted away from guys. You don't kick to guys who can take it to the house."
"It was a great win for Commodore Nation. We're trying to get all of the monkeys off our back."
On containing Kansas State quarterback Jesse Ertz…
"We had to make adjustments and adapt in-game. We knew they'd try to run the QB, but we didn't think they'd do it that much. We made some good adjustments in the second quarter that took us all the way into the fourth quarter. We threw different fronts at him to make sure he wasn't looking at the same thing."
On Vanderbilt's upperclassmen…
"All we did was take a bunch of juniors and seniors and put them in a position to succeed. You have to grow guys up in your system and hold them accountable."
On whether Vanderbilt should be ranked in the top 25…
"I don't care about rankings. We play the game to win. We just want to go out and play football. I've always said we're a blue-collar team... If they put us in the top 25, great. If they don't put us in the top 25, we'll continue playing good football."
On Vanderbilt's youth…
"I thought they grew up tonight. The win helped them grow up."
On Kyle Shurmur's go-ahead touchdown run…
"He's a guy who can go out and make mistakes and forget about them. He's unflappable in that way. These guys are all accountable too. When you get a group that's accountable, that's when you go out and succeed."
On whether he's looking ahead to next week's game against Alabama…
"Give me my hour and 45 minutes [until midnight]. We earned it."
Junior Quarterback Kyle Shurmur
On his touchdown run…
"When something goes wrong, you try to minimize damage. If I try to pick it up, then the slant has to be on time. The window got smaller, so I tried to score."
On his thought process heading into one of the final drives of the game…
"Our defense played amazing. Everyone tried to stay calm. As long as we get the W."
Senior Wide Receiver C.J. Duncan
On his touchdown…
"It felt good. I thank God for the opportunity. When your number's called, answer the phone."
Senior Linebacker Emmanuel Smith
On the defensive mentality on 4th down…
"It's on us. We looked at each other and knew it was time to go."
Senior Safety Ryan White
On his game-winning interception…
"We knew that they like to throw the ball. It was a team effort. We were keyed up on their game plan."
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State enters a bye week next week before playing host to Baylor at Bill Snyder Family Stadium to open their conference schedule.
Team Stats
KS
VANDY
Total Yards
277
270
Pass Yards
76
205
Rushing Yards
201
65
Penalty Yards
68
50
1st Downs
13
11
3rd Downs
4
4
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
30:27
29:33
1st Quarter
KS 0, VANDY 7
VANDY - C.J. Duncan 2 yd pass from Kyle Shurmur (Tommy Openshaw kick) 13 plays, 84 yards, TOP 7:53
2nd Quarter
KS 7, VANDY 7
KS - Ertz, Jesse 15 yd run (McCrane, M. kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:13
4th Quarter
KS 7, VANDY 14
VANDY - Kyle Shurmur 2 yd run (Tommy Openshaw kick), 4 plays, 33 yards, TOP 1:53
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
10
TD
0
YDS
76
INT
2
Players Mentioned
DB
/ Football
RB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
DT
/ Football
P
/ Football
OL
/ Football
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
P
/ Football
WR
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