K-State Wins Sunflower Showdown, 51-13

Postgame Notes

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kansas State continued its dominance over Kansas, posting its sixth consecutive win over its archrival with a 51-13 victory in front of the 20th consecutive sellout at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday.

With the win, the Wildcats (9-2, 7-1 Big 12) tallied their 13th nine-win season under legendary head coach Bill Snyder, including the third since the start of his second tenure in 2009. The squad has now won 19 of the 23 matchups with the Jayhawks (3-9, 1-8 Big 12) under Snyder, including 18 of the 19 meetings under his direction.

Senior quarterback Jake Waters accounted for five touchdowns, including four through the air, in just over three quarters of work, completing 21 of 27 passes for 294 yards to go with five rushes for 21 yards. Senior receivers Tyler Lockett and Curry Sexton combined for 260 of the 294 yards through the air and three touchdowns. He teamed with Lockett for the third dual 100-yard games this season and the fourth time in their careers.

The running game also redeemed itself against the Jayhawks after subpar performances against TCU and West Virginia, netting 194 yards on the ground, including 64 by senior Demarcus Robinson while Charles Jones had a touchdown.

Lockett, who hauled in nine receptions for 119 yards with two touchdowns, broke the school career record for receptions at 222, passing his father, Kevin, who had 217 catches from 1993-96. His two touchdown catches gave him 26 for his career, which ties the school record, which is also held by the elder Lockett. He also extended his own school record for career receiving yards, which now stands at 3,388 and ranks sixth in Big 12 history.

All told, the offense racked up 505 yards of total offense against Kansas, which marked the second time this season that the Wildcats have eclipsed 500 or more yards of offense and the most since totaling 535 against Texas Tech.

The defense also did their part in the victory, holding Kansas to 197 total yards with just 58 on the ground and forcing two interceptions of quarterback Michael Cummings.

Place-kicker Matthew McCrane connected on two field goals from distances of 41 and 52, while Jack Cantele concluded the scoring with a 39-yard field goal with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter. McCrane became the first K-State kicker to connect on two 50-yarders in a single season since Jeff Snodgrass in 2009, while he moved into the single season Top 10 list with 14 field goals and extended his school record for points by a freshman to 77.

HOW IT HAPPENED | First Half
• Forcing a three-and-out on the game's opening drive, Kansas State immediately took control of the game with 6-play, 65-yard drive that was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Waters. Taking over at its own 39, the drive was keyed by a 35-yard scamper by Robinson, which put the squad in scoring position at the Kansas 14.

• Just three plays later, K-State was once again in the end zone, as Cummings threw the first of his two interceptions on the Jayhawks' second play of its second drive to Dante Barnett. Waters immediately took advantage, completing a 44-yard pass to Lockett to make it 14-0 with 10:18 left in the first quarter.

• After Randall Evans' intercepted Cummings at the K-State 2, Waters orchestrated a 12-play, 74-yard drive that was capped by a 41-yard field goal by McCrane to make it 17-0 with 38 seconds left in the first quarter. Back-to-back pass plays between Waters and Sexton set up the score, including a 31-yard connection that set it up on the Kansas 38.

• Kansas got on the board in the second quarter with a 6-play, 54-yard drive that was capped by 27-yard strike from Cummings to Nick Harwell to cut the lead to 17-6 with 8:42 before halftime. K-State was able to block the extra point, as DeAndre Roberts crashed the middle to record the team's second extra-point block.

• After Morgan Burns returned the kickoff 65 yards to the Kansas 23, Waters gave the momentum back to K-State by directing a 4-play drive that was capped by an 11-yard touchdown run by Charles Jones to give the Wildcats a 24-6 lead with 6:56 remaining in the second quarter.

• After another 3-and-out by the Kansas offense, Waters continued the offense's great start by leading an 11-play, 68-yard drive that nearly ran out the clock before halftime. Keyed by two catches by Lockett, Waters again came back to the senior wide out to make it 31-6 at the half with a 6-yard pass-and-catch.

HOW IT HAPPENED | Second Half
• K-State started the second half like it left off, as Waters capped the 7-play, 59-yard drive with a 13-yard strike to Jones that made it 38-6 just four minutes into the third quarter.

• Kansas cut it to 38-13 at the 6:32 mark with a 19-yard touchdown catch by Trent Smiley from Cummings to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive.

• The Wildcats again responded to Jayhawk score with a 5-play, 62-yard drive to make it 45-13 with 3:16 left in the third quarter. The drive was capped by a 37-yard reception by Sexton from Waters.

• McCrane made it 48-13 early in the fourth quarter with a 52-yard field goal after a short 4-play drive.

• After a Kansas drive stalled on its own 37, K-State concluded the scoring with a 39-yard field goal from Jack Cantele to make it 51-13 with 4:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. The field goal capped a 13-play, 51-yard drive that spanned over seven minutes.

UP NEXT: 7/5/6 BAYLOR (10-1, 7-1 Big 12)
• K-State will play for a share of its second Big 12 title in the three seasons on Saturday, Dec. 6, as the Wildcats travel to Waco, Texas to play No. 7/5/6 Baylor (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) at McLane Stadium. The game will kick off at 6:45 p.m. CT and will air nationally on ESPN.

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Team Stats

Jake Waters

Joe Hubener

Players Mentioned

Dante Barnett

Morgan Burns

Jack Cantele

Randall Evans

Charles Jones

Tyler Lockett

Matthew McCrane

DeAndre Roberts

Curry Sexton

Jake Waters

Players Mentioned

Dante Barnett

Morgan Burns

Jack Cantele

Randall Evans

Charles Jones

Tyler Lockett

Matthew McCrane

DeAndre Roberts

Curry Sexton

Jake Waters

Kansas State University Athletics