Wildcats Sprint Past Baylor
Oct 26, 2002 | Football
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
WACO, Texas - Even with sensational quarterback Ell Roberson struggling, Kansas State had no problem beating Baylor.
Darren Sproles ran for 124 yards and a touchdown, making up for his two fumbles, and the Wildcats (6-2, 2-2 Big 12) returned an interception and a blocked field goal for touchdowns in a 44-10 win Saturday.
Jesse Tetuan's 34-yard interception return for a TD with four minutes left in the first half broke a 3-3 tie. It also started a streak of 27 straight points for the Wildcats, including Randy Jordan's 93-yard blocked field goal return.
"The interception return may have been the major play; it gave us a little breather," said Kansas State coach Bill Snyder. "Sproles gave a tremendous effort, but put the ball on the ground. And Ell was out of rhythm in the passing game. He just didn't do it today."
Roberson ran for 90 yards on 11 carries, but he was just 7-of-17 passing for 54 yards with an interception. He didn't play in the fourth quarter.
Baylor quarterback Josh Zachry's only interception went through the arms of safety Rashad Washington, then bounced off his leg and straight to Tetuan.
Sproles is the first Kansas State running back in 29 years with four straight 100-yard games. The only Kansas State runner with more than four in a row is Isaac Jackson, who had six straight in 1973.
The one fumble by Sproles that Baylor recovered came in the first quarter. After running through the middle for a 10-yard gain to the Bears 10, Sproles was stripped by Matt Johnson as he fought for more yardage.
Baylor (3-5, 1-3) then drove for Daniel Andino's 34-yard field goal that tied the game at 3 and broke the Bears' streak of almost 139 minutes over nine-plus quarters without a point.
Sproles had a career-high 26 carries and his fifth 100-yard game of the season. The sophomore is averaging 6.3 yards per carry - a full yard better than the school record for a season.
"You give me the ball, I'm gonna run it," said Sproles, who had a fumble in the fourth quarter right before coming out of the game.
The Bears had been outscored 75-0 in their last two games after scoring 11 points in the final two minutes Oct. 5 to beat Kansas 35-32. That victory ended Baylor's 29-game Big 12 losing streak.
"As we were watching film, we got to think they're not very good and we were not as prepared for Baylor as we were for other games," said Wildcats defensive back Terence Newman, whose interception set up a field goal in the third quarter.
Kansas State may have gotten off a slow start, but they finished strong.
Sproles' 12-yard TD run capped a six-play, 60-yard drive that started the second half.
Baylor then drove to the Baylor 1, but had to settle for a field goal attempt after a penalty and an incompletion. Andino's 22-yard attempt was blocked by Andrew Shull and picked up by Jordan.
"It was a big play and crushed them a little bit," Jordan said. "The inside rush got to the kicker. I was supposed to hold back for the fake and took the ball in stride."
Zachry, starting in place of injured Aaron Karas, was knocked woozy by linebacker Terry Pierce on a keeper in the third quarter. Zachry didn't return. Two plays later, Greg Cicero's pass was intercepted by Newman.
Zachry completed 17 of 24 passes for 248 yards, and Cicero was 7-of-13 for 90 yards, but the two were sacked nine times. The 338 yards passing were offset by Baylor's minus-37 yards rushing.
Reggie Newhouse had nine catches for 173 yards for the Bears.
"I truly believed that we would be able to go in there and move the ball," Newhouse said. "They are really an aggressive team, but they make mistakes."
Newman's interception set up a 37-yard field goal by Joe Rheem that put the Wildcats ahead 30-3.
Rheem also had field goals of 39 and 26 yards while kicking instead of Jaret Brite, who had an extra point and a potential game-tying field goal blocked in Kansas State's 17-14 loss to Texas last week.
