Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, November 10
Manhattan, Kan.
11 a.m.
Kansas State University
4-6 , 2-5
21
vs
17
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Kansas
3-7 , 1-6
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Kansas
0
3
7
7
17
Kansas State
0
0
14
7
21
Late TD Propels Wildcats to Sunflower Showdown Victory, 21-17
Nov 10, 2018 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan.– The Kansas State Wildcats used a late fourth quarter game-winning touchdown drive and a crucial defensive stop in the final minute to record their 10thconsecutive victory in the Dillon's Sunflower Showdown, defeating Kansas 21-17 in front of 50,062 fans at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday.
Junior quarterback Alex Delton's 21-yard scamper gave K-State (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) the lead with 2:46 to play before sophomore defensive end Bronson Massie recovered a fumble by Kansas quarterback Peyton Bender with 20 seconds remaining to clinch head coach Bill Snyder's 23rdwin over the Jayhawks in the last 27 meetings.
Snyder's 23 wins being the most by all active head coaches over any one opponent. The Wildcats improve to 13-1 at home under Snyder in the series.
While Delton finished the day with 126 yards passing on 11-of-17 completions to go with 55 yards rushing, junior running back Alex Barnes enjoyed a milestone day, becoming the 16th Wildcat to reach the 1,000-yard plateau in a season in school history. He finished the day with 117 yards on 22 attempts and 2 rushing touchdowns. Barnes now has the seventh-most career rushing yards (2,296) and ninth-most rushing touchdowns (24) in school history.
Defensively, K-State held Kansas (3-7, 1-6 Big 12) out of the end zone in the final minutes to cap off their victory. Throughout the game, K-State forced the Jayhawks into 2 turnovers, while recording 5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage throughout the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Defense proved to be influential from the opening snap, as redshirt freshman defensive end Wyatt Hubert burst through the Kansas offensive line to record a sack on the first play of the game, resulting in an opening-drive 3-and-out for the Jayhawks.
After a 27-yard Kansas punt, the Wildcats worked with a short field with the drive stalling in Jayhawk territory. The Wildcats attempted a 53-yard attempt by redshirt freshman placekicker Andrew Hicks, though the attempt came up short.
With a scoreless first quarter, the Jayhawks got on the scoreboard first with a long 18-play, 94-yard drive that resulted in a 21-yard field goal from placekicker Gabriel Rui to take over a 3-0 lead with 5:38 left in the half.
The theme of the first half was strong defensive play from both units, as the teams combined for 225 yards in the first half. The Jayhawks held the advantage with time of possession, retaining the ball for 20:58 in the half, as compared to
K-State's 9:02 time of possession.
The scoreless half for the Wildcats was the first for Kansas since the 2008 edition of the Sunflower Showdown.
Leading by 3, Kansas recovered the second-half kickoff after a short kick, giving the Jayhawks the football in K-State territory at the 35 yard-line. Despite Kansas' starting field possession, the Wildcat defense held strong, forcing Kansas to go for it on 4thand 8, which led to a 9-yard sack by junior defensive end Chase Johnston.
On the ensuing possession, the K-State offense marched 64 yards on five plays, capped off by a 24-yard touchdown rush by junior running back Alex Barnes, as K-State took the lead at 7-3 with 11:59 left in the third quarter.
Kansas responded with a touchdown of its own, as the Jayhawks moved 75-yards down the field on 9 plays, including a 9-yard touchdown pass from senior quarter Peyton Bender to senior wide receiver Jeremiah Booker to retake the lead at 10-7 with 7:48 left in the third quarter.
After a scoreless first half, the Wildcats found the end zone on their first two possessions of the second half, with the latter coming on a two-yard rush by Barnes out of the Wildcat formation. The score put K-State back ahead, 14-10 with 2:57 left in the third. Barnes' touchdown rush also put him over the 1,000-yard mark on the season.
Kansas responded on its next offensive possession, as Bender found wide receiver senior Steven Sims across the middle for a 66-yard touchdown. Kansas led 17-14 with 14:46 remaining in the game.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats put together a game-winning scoring drive, spurred by a 26-yard completion from sophomore quarterback Alex Delton to junior wide receiver Dalton Schoen, putting the Wildcats in scoring position. On the next play, Delton took the ball himself 21 yards for a score, giving K-State the lead, 21-17 with 2:46 left.
Needing to keep Kansas out of the end zone to hold on to the victory, the Wildcats pressured Bender to lose possession before throwing the football, resulting in a fumble recovered by sophomore defensive end Bronson Massie. The Wildcats were able to run out the clock to secure the Governor's Cup trophy.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Alex Barnes– Junior running back Alex Barnes reached the 1,000-yard plateau for the season, becoming the 16thWildcat to accomplish the feat in program history. Barnes carried the ball 22 times for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns on Saturday, moving him into seventh all-time in career rushing yards (2,296). Barnes' two scores also moves him into ninth all-time in career rushing touchdowns (24).
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Justin Hughes – Junior linebacker Justin Hughes forced a fumble on Saturday, while also totaling 5 tackles, including 3 that came behind the line of scrimmage.
Da'Quan Patton – Junior linebacker Da'Quon Patton registered a team-high 9 tackles, including 7 solo tackles, leading the K-State unit to several key defensive stops. Patton's 9 tackles tied a career-high set earlier this season at West Virginia.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Chase Johnston – After recording his first career sack on defense in the third quarter, junior defensive end Chase Johnston proved crucial on special teams as well, forcing the Jayhawks into their first turnover of the game in the third quarter.
STAT OF THE GAME
23– With Saturday's victory in the 116thDillon's Sunflower Showdown the Wildcats have won their 10thstraight game over Kansas, including Bill Snyder's 23rdvictory over the Jayhawks in the last 27 meetings. The 23 victories under Snyder are the most by all active head coaches over any one opponent.
POSTGAME COMMENTS
Head Coach Bill Snyder
On significance of this win..
"Every game is significant. Nothing changed. Obviously, it was meaningful in a variety of different ways, in particular because of young players that we have in our program, Kansas youngsters for instance, seniors that have never lost this particular ball game and wouldn't want to be the first to do it. It has a variety of different positive meanings."
On Alex Barnes' 1,000-yard season…
"He's a tremendously fine player and he's an excellent running back in regards to all facets of it - he can catch the ball, he can pass protect; running the ball, I don't have to tell you anything about that. That's all evident. You also have to realize that someone's got to block for him; if you don't block for him, you're not gonna get very many yards, you're not gonna get a thousand. We have people up front getting the job done and they certainly did well today."
On the frustration of special teams struggles…
"Take dropping an extra point or field goal snap, that's so unlikely. That youngster that did it twice in succession and having gone through basically his whole career here and never put one on the ground. So that's concerning and I think that's one of those things that sometimes things happen and you start to worry about it and can't get it out of your mind and whether that had an impact today or not I don't really know. Some other things, we had that sky kick at the beginning of the second half and that ball hit the ground. We've got to do a better job of understanding where to be and that's coaching. That's not the players, that's me being able to get guys in the right position to be able to catch those. And playing back there with the young guy that hasn't really been back there before so we certainly can't fault him."
On how quarterback injuries affected the offensive play calling…
"We can't be afraid to play. We've got to play. There isn't a snap that we have where the quarterback might not get hit, we can't just turn around and hand it off every snap. That probably wears pretty thin after a period of time. It concerns you but there's not a whole lot you can do about it."
On how proud he is of Alex Delton's performance…
"Nothing's ever changed about Alex. He's a young guy that genuinely cares, he's extremely competitive - he's going to battle you to the very end. He's one of those guys that gets into every single snap. You can't say enough good things about him, probably the number one phrase or term would probably be that you appreciate how competitively tough he is all that."
DALTON SCHOEN, JUNIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On mood and mentality before K-State's last touchdown...
"We knew it was kind of now or never. We started the second half pretty good, but then stalled out there for a little bit, so we knew we had to put it in the end zone right then."
On the win against KU…
"It's huge given where we're at in the season right now. It's also huge because it's KU, and I think that just means so much more to all of the guys on this team, all the guys from the state of Kansas, and all these fans. It was big for that."
JUSTIN HUGHES, JUNIOR LINEBACKER
On feeling when the last fumble was recovered …
"It's the best feeling in the world looking over to the sideline after I see Bronson Massie get on top of the ball. I look to the sideline and the crowd is excited and I look at my guys on the sideline, they're jumping up and down. It's the best feeling in the world just knowing you get a win, and a close win at that. Knowing that, being a defensive guy, we went out there and got a stop, it makes it even better."
On how much confidence he is playing with...
"I prepare each week the best I can. I know what the offense is going to run in certain situations. I know what formations they're gonna come out in and what they run in those types of formations. It's just about preparing yourself and I feel like I prepared really well, so I go out there and I try to play fast and run to the ball."
DALTON RISNER, SENIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
On Alex Delton's late touchdown…
"Oh man, I was so happy. I got to pull on the play, and as soon as I blocked my guy out, I turned and heard the crowd roar and saw Alex taking off. It's a pretty great feeling, you know. That's a big opportunity for the offense, to get the ball back with five minutes left at our own 40 yard line, then drive 60 yards for a touchdown. That's crunch time right there, and kudos to Alex for scoring a touchdown."
On the team's family mentality…
"You know, we talked before the game. We all got in a group in the locker room and held hands. We were all able to look at each other in a big circle and just say, 'Let's just play as a family today.' We know it's not going to be a perfect game but in all parts of the game, let's just play as a family. Through all the ups and downs, be as a family, even on the sideline. That's what we did the entire game. We made bad plays here and there, but we stuck together as a family. We've been really trying to push ourselves in truly what family is. We talked earlier in the week, about what I think a family is and I think we really resembled that today."
On the playcall for Delton's touchdown run...
"I love it. You know that's a tough one-on-one call, a big block for No. 74. He has his head up, he's a head up guy, and he's gotta wheel that guy up front to get me a look and he did just that. I got up to the back clean, and that's not a very hard block for me. So, I think (Scott) Frantz is the one that needs the kudos on that play, and I think Delton needs the kudos because he read my block extremely well and he hit the hole and ran really fast. So kudos to those guys for making that happen."
On his thoughts of KU...
"I respect them tremendously, man. Of course it's KU and I know that we are rivals, but you know those are hard fighting football players. A lot of those guys have great talent. Daniel Wise, No. 96, he's NFL talent, great football player. Joe Dineen, No. 29, great football player, we've been going against each other since my redshirt freshman year. You know, me and Joe have been battling it out for years. We have a mutual respect for each other, and leaving that field today, it wasn't smack talk, you know, 'Get out of here.' There's an appreciation for guys like that, and you could tell that they're working hard for their coach. And just like I respect my coach, and just like we've had a tough season. I'm playing for my coaches as well."
ALEX DELTON, JUNIOR QUARTERBACK
On the significance of this win…
"It means a lot. Not only is it a conference win but it is an in-state rival that means a lot. We get a chance to represent the university, the community and the football team in a positive way. Hopefully we use this for some momentum."
On his touchdown run…
"It was a designed quarterback run. A play we have run a thousand times since I have been here. The guys up front did a great job battling and lead blocking for me and I did the easy part running it in. That is one of our bread and butter plays so I felt confident."
On his long completion to Dalton Schoen on their final drive…
"I was reading one of their nickel backs and his demeanor. After I saw we made that communication I was going to throw it to him and he made a heck of a catch. The nickel played it pretty well and had a good angle but Dalton made a good catch."
On second half improvements…
"I felt no rhythm in our offense in the first half. We did not have the ball that long either. We only had three or four possessions and KU had the ball a lot of the time in the first half. I knew that there were things in their defense that I liked but we just did not get to them. Once we finally got it more we felt we were ready to get into that rhythm and feel confident."
WYATT HUBERT, REDSHIRT FRESHMAN DEFENSIVE END
On the win…
"I'm just glad we can get the game off with some good enthusiasm. Throughout the game we struggled at times, I'm just glad we got the dub at the end.
On the pass defense…
"We had pretty good pressure today. There was a few times where their quarterback was pretty comfortable so that's probably a reason why the secondary had trouble covering wide receivers at times. We have to improve our pass rush and get better at that."
ALEX BARNES, JUNIOR RUNNING BACK
On the win…
"It was really big to finally get off the losing streak and finally secure a win. It's always good to beat KU. Being from Kansas, we always want to beat KU. Where I'm from everyone is a big KU fan, Southeast Kansas is pretty much Jayhawk territory. Getting to home, I didn't want to hear them talking all this stuff like, 'Should've went to KU.' So I'm glad I will be able to shut them up for another year."
On the second half…
"We've definitely shown to be a second half team, which hasn't been a good thing for us this year since we're now 4-6. We did have an identity more in the second half, we just have to figure out how to do that in both halves."
DAVID BEATY, KU HEAD COACH
On his thoughts of the outcome of the game…
"It was a back-and-forth game there in the second half and they did what exactly they needed to do to make enough plays to win it and we were not able to do that. That's unfortunate because I felt like we had a pretty good showing for most of the day, but that's why you play all four quarters, every minute of each one of them. Got a lot of growth that we still have yet to do and when we do that, we'll start benefiting but we just weren't able to get it done today."
On the final play…
"He (Peyton Bender) was very disappointed. I thought he did some really nice things today moving down towards the end of the game but there's really no one person to point the finger at. It's a team game, it truly is and there's going to be times when each of us is going to have to pick each other up by making a play here or there. I thought that he did that for the most part today, that last play is certainly not the play that lost us the game. There was a lot of other things that I can point to that probably kept us from being able to win it but those guys will stay together and we'll be ready to go next week against Oklahoma."
On the role of special teams in the game…
"It obviously played a huge role in the game. I thought we had an opportunity to seal the game there at the end when the kid dropped the punt and weren't able to make the recovery, he made the recovery. We've got to be ready for a guy to drop the punt and we got to make the recovery there. I thought our kickoff team coming out of the second half, we got a turnover right there. It was a heck of a kick by Liam (Jones), something we planned for all week thinking there would be some wind and our guys went down there and made the play and recovered it, which was good. Their punter I thought did a pretty good job, he did a really nice job for them, he pinned us a couple times and that makes it tough sledding when you're backed up against the goalline.
On the importance of the Governor's Cup to the players…
"I'm proud of our men, I'm sad for them because I know that they're hurt. There's a lot of tears in there right now because this Governor's Cup was important to so many people in this state and certainly important to those guys to be able to grab that thing today and we weren't able to get that done and we were obviously within reach and we weren't able to get it done."
On how difficult it was taking the field after being fired earlier this week…
"Not at all. What a great game. It was really a cool experience to be able to go out there and see that stadium full again and play in a meaningful game right here within our state. What a great rivalry game and that's really what you want them to be like. When I first got here, after the first year I said it, our state deserves that game to be a good game and it was a good game today. It wasn't good for the Jayhawks because we want to finish with a victory but it was a good game. I think it was entertaining until the very end but from our standpoint, we got to win games and that's why what happened this week happened. You've got to produce, that's the way it works."
On if the players told him they wanted to win the game for him…
"I simply won't allow that. It has nothing to do with me, never was, never will. But for them, for each other I think that's where the tears are. I'm proud of them because as far as this week goes, we simply won't let them be distracted and they won't be distracted. Great, great men. Proud to be a part of them."
JOE DINEEN, SENIOR LINEBACKER
On how badly he wanted to win this game for Coach Beaty…
"Yeah, you know after all that stuff happened, earlier in the week, it was a lot of motivation to come out here to play hard for him because he has done so much for us, we wanted to send him off with the Sunflower Showdown win. We wanted to send him out with that one. We just didn't get it done."
On the defense…
"It's a team game. Our offense scored and made some big time plays. It's just timing we didn't get a stop when we needed to. Offense didn't score when we needed them to. Just stuff like that, complementary football. We didn't have very much of it today."
On the team's prospects headed into the contest...
"Just going into this game, I felt like we were prepared to win this one. We know that they are a well-coached team. You have good players on both sides of the ball. But we thought that we would come in and compete well and come away with a victory. They made more plays than we did, so credit to them, but this one hurts."
On taking time to take everything in...
"Throughout the week the build up to the game was emotional. It was a cool deal. We have two games left and it has been a long ride and it has been fun. Hopefully we finish out strong."
On Alex Barnes' fourth-down conversion…..
"He is a good back and athletic back. He is just an athletic dude and a hard runner. He never falls backwards, he always finds a way. Just a good player making a big time play."
STEVEN SIMS, SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On the frustrating penalties late in the game…
"It is tough. We were fighting hard and those guys are giving it their all. We honestly do not think either one of those plays were holding penalties but it is just what the refs called. We left it in their hands and this is the outcome we have."
On his touchdown…
"We thought they were going to be in cover four. Peyton (Bender) just gave me a chance and I made a good play on the ball and I just started running."
On what a win like this would have meant…
"It definitely could have been a spark but it did not turn out that way. We wanted that Governor's Cup bad. We have never had it so we played our heart out today and we came up short."
On their final drive…
"We felt like they could not stop us all game. It was just us handling our jobs and executing our offense. Making routine plays. A throw and catch, running ahead and getting a tough five yards. Things like that. It felt good but we came up short. We have to fix it and come back better next week."
JEREMIAH BOOKER, SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On the last play…
"I didn't see (Peyton Bender) on the field, but just encouraging him in the locker, and telling him it wasn't on him and to keep his head up. It's a team effort, so we keep motivating him."
On the mistakes in the fourth quarter…
"We made mistakes, but you have to give them credit like always. They finished the game off strong, and we didn't do our job, so you have to credit them."
On the emotions at the end of the game...
"It hurts. It's all of us brothers and all the work we have put in, and all the coaches and their work they put in, and then to come up short. But at the end of the day, I keep telling the guys keep your chin up, it's going to make us better men, and better football players at the end of the day. We have a life ahead of us, so keep working like we have always done."
On the remaining two games of the season…
"Finish. Just finish what I started. For all of the seniors. That's our goal is to finish because we are going to be in situations like this in life, after we leave football and this university. At all times, we have to finish what we started and keep working hard and that's going to take us places we never imagined in life."
SEASON RECORD UPDATE
K-State 4-6 (2-5 Big 12)
Kansas 3-7 (1-6 Big 12)
WHAT'S NEXT
The Wildcats host their second-straight home game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, as K-State takes on the Texas Tech Red Raiders on November 17. The game time and broadcast will be announced on Monday, November 12.
Junior quarterback Alex Delton's 21-yard scamper gave K-State (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) the lead with 2:46 to play before sophomore defensive end Bronson Massie recovered a fumble by Kansas quarterback Peyton Bender with 20 seconds remaining to clinch head coach Bill Snyder's 23rdwin over the Jayhawks in the last 27 meetings.
Snyder's 23 wins being the most by all active head coaches over any one opponent. The Wildcats improve to 13-1 at home under Snyder in the series.
While Delton finished the day with 126 yards passing on 11-of-17 completions to go with 55 yards rushing, junior running back Alex Barnes enjoyed a milestone day, becoming the 16th Wildcat to reach the 1,000-yard plateau in a season in school history. He finished the day with 117 yards on 22 attempts and 2 rushing touchdowns. Barnes now has the seventh-most career rushing yards (2,296) and ninth-most rushing touchdowns (24) in school history.
Defensively, K-State held Kansas (3-7, 1-6 Big 12) out of the end zone in the final minutes to cap off their victory. Throughout the game, K-State forced the Jayhawks into 2 turnovers, while recording 5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage throughout the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Defense proved to be influential from the opening snap, as redshirt freshman defensive end Wyatt Hubert burst through the Kansas offensive line to record a sack on the first play of the game, resulting in an opening-drive 3-and-out for the Jayhawks.
After a 27-yard Kansas punt, the Wildcats worked with a short field with the drive stalling in Jayhawk territory. The Wildcats attempted a 53-yard attempt by redshirt freshman placekicker Andrew Hicks, though the attempt came up short.
With a scoreless first quarter, the Jayhawks got on the scoreboard first with a long 18-play, 94-yard drive that resulted in a 21-yard field goal from placekicker Gabriel Rui to take over a 3-0 lead with 5:38 left in the half.
The theme of the first half was strong defensive play from both units, as the teams combined for 225 yards in the first half. The Jayhawks held the advantage with time of possession, retaining the ball for 20:58 in the half, as compared to
K-State's 9:02 time of possession.
The scoreless half for the Wildcats was the first for Kansas since the 2008 edition of the Sunflower Showdown.
Leading by 3, Kansas recovered the second-half kickoff after a short kick, giving the Jayhawks the football in K-State territory at the 35 yard-line. Despite Kansas' starting field possession, the Wildcat defense held strong, forcing Kansas to go for it on 4thand 8, which led to a 9-yard sack by junior defensive end Chase Johnston.
On the ensuing possession, the K-State offense marched 64 yards on five plays, capped off by a 24-yard touchdown rush by junior running back Alex Barnes, as K-State took the lead at 7-3 with 11:59 left in the third quarter.
Kansas responded with a touchdown of its own, as the Jayhawks moved 75-yards down the field on 9 plays, including a 9-yard touchdown pass from senior quarter Peyton Bender to senior wide receiver Jeremiah Booker to retake the lead at 10-7 with 7:48 left in the third quarter.
After a scoreless first half, the Wildcats found the end zone on their first two possessions of the second half, with the latter coming on a two-yard rush by Barnes out of the Wildcat formation. The score put K-State back ahead, 14-10 with 2:57 left in the third. Barnes' touchdown rush also put him over the 1,000-yard mark on the season.
Kansas responded on its next offensive possession, as Bender found wide receiver senior Steven Sims across the middle for a 66-yard touchdown. Kansas led 17-14 with 14:46 remaining in the game.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats put together a game-winning scoring drive, spurred by a 26-yard completion from sophomore quarterback Alex Delton to junior wide receiver Dalton Schoen, putting the Wildcats in scoring position. On the next play, Delton took the ball himself 21 yards for a score, giving K-State the lead, 21-17 with 2:46 left.
Needing to keep Kansas out of the end zone to hold on to the victory, the Wildcats pressured Bender to lose possession before throwing the football, resulting in a fumble recovered by sophomore defensive end Bronson Massie. The Wildcats were able to run out the clock to secure the Governor's Cup trophy.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Alex Barnes– Junior running back Alex Barnes reached the 1,000-yard plateau for the season, becoming the 16thWildcat to accomplish the feat in program history. Barnes carried the ball 22 times for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns on Saturday, moving him into seventh all-time in career rushing yards (2,296). Barnes' two scores also moves him into ninth all-time in career rushing touchdowns (24).
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Justin Hughes – Junior linebacker Justin Hughes forced a fumble on Saturday, while also totaling 5 tackles, including 3 that came behind the line of scrimmage.
Da'Quan Patton – Junior linebacker Da'Quon Patton registered a team-high 9 tackles, including 7 solo tackles, leading the K-State unit to several key defensive stops. Patton's 9 tackles tied a career-high set earlier this season at West Virginia.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Chase Johnston – After recording his first career sack on defense in the third quarter, junior defensive end Chase Johnston proved crucial on special teams as well, forcing the Jayhawks into their first turnover of the game in the third quarter.
STAT OF THE GAME
23– With Saturday's victory in the 116thDillon's Sunflower Showdown the Wildcats have won their 10thstraight game over Kansas, including Bill Snyder's 23rdvictory over the Jayhawks in the last 27 meetings. The 23 victories under Snyder are the most by all active head coaches over any one opponent.
POSTGAME COMMENTS
Head Coach Bill Snyder
On significance of this win..
"Every game is significant. Nothing changed. Obviously, it was meaningful in a variety of different ways, in particular because of young players that we have in our program, Kansas youngsters for instance, seniors that have never lost this particular ball game and wouldn't want to be the first to do it. It has a variety of different positive meanings."
On Alex Barnes' 1,000-yard season…
"He's a tremendously fine player and he's an excellent running back in regards to all facets of it - he can catch the ball, he can pass protect; running the ball, I don't have to tell you anything about that. That's all evident. You also have to realize that someone's got to block for him; if you don't block for him, you're not gonna get very many yards, you're not gonna get a thousand. We have people up front getting the job done and they certainly did well today."
On the frustration of special teams struggles…
"Take dropping an extra point or field goal snap, that's so unlikely. That youngster that did it twice in succession and having gone through basically his whole career here and never put one on the ground. So that's concerning and I think that's one of those things that sometimes things happen and you start to worry about it and can't get it out of your mind and whether that had an impact today or not I don't really know. Some other things, we had that sky kick at the beginning of the second half and that ball hit the ground. We've got to do a better job of understanding where to be and that's coaching. That's not the players, that's me being able to get guys in the right position to be able to catch those. And playing back there with the young guy that hasn't really been back there before so we certainly can't fault him."
On how quarterback injuries affected the offensive play calling…
"We can't be afraid to play. We've got to play. There isn't a snap that we have where the quarterback might not get hit, we can't just turn around and hand it off every snap. That probably wears pretty thin after a period of time. It concerns you but there's not a whole lot you can do about it."
On how proud he is of Alex Delton's performance…
"Nothing's ever changed about Alex. He's a young guy that genuinely cares, he's extremely competitive - he's going to battle you to the very end. He's one of those guys that gets into every single snap. You can't say enough good things about him, probably the number one phrase or term would probably be that you appreciate how competitively tough he is all that."
DALTON SCHOEN, JUNIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On mood and mentality before K-State's last touchdown...
"We knew it was kind of now or never. We started the second half pretty good, but then stalled out there for a little bit, so we knew we had to put it in the end zone right then."
On the win against KU…
"It's huge given where we're at in the season right now. It's also huge because it's KU, and I think that just means so much more to all of the guys on this team, all the guys from the state of Kansas, and all these fans. It was big for that."
JUSTIN HUGHES, JUNIOR LINEBACKER
On feeling when the last fumble was recovered …
"It's the best feeling in the world looking over to the sideline after I see Bronson Massie get on top of the ball. I look to the sideline and the crowd is excited and I look at my guys on the sideline, they're jumping up and down. It's the best feeling in the world just knowing you get a win, and a close win at that. Knowing that, being a defensive guy, we went out there and got a stop, it makes it even better."
On how much confidence he is playing with...
"I prepare each week the best I can. I know what the offense is going to run in certain situations. I know what formations they're gonna come out in and what they run in those types of formations. It's just about preparing yourself and I feel like I prepared really well, so I go out there and I try to play fast and run to the ball."
DALTON RISNER, SENIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
On Alex Delton's late touchdown…
"Oh man, I was so happy. I got to pull on the play, and as soon as I blocked my guy out, I turned and heard the crowd roar and saw Alex taking off. It's a pretty great feeling, you know. That's a big opportunity for the offense, to get the ball back with five minutes left at our own 40 yard line, then drive 60 yards for a touchdown. That's crunch time right there, and kudos to Alex for scoring a touchdown."
On the team's family mentality…
"You know, we talked before the game. We all got in a group in the locker room and held hands. We were all able to look at each other in a big circle and just say, 'Let's just play as a family today.' We know it's not going to be a perfect game but in all parts of the game, let's just play as a family. Through all the ups and downs, be as a family, even on the sideline. That's what we did the entire game. We made bad plays here and there, but we stuck together as a family. We've been really trying to push ourselves in truly what family is. We talked earlier in the week, about what I think a family is and I think we really resembled that today."
On the playcall for Delton's touchdown run...
"I love it. You know that's a tough one-on-one call, a big block for No. 74. He has his head up, he's a head up guy, and he's gotta wheel that guy up front to get me a look and he did just that. I got up to the back clean, and that's not a very hard block for me. So, I think (Scott) Frantz is the one that needs the kudos on that play, and I think Delton needs the kudos because he read my block extremely well and he hit the hole and ran really fast. So kudos to those guys for making that happen."
On his thoughts of KU...
"I respect them tremendously, man. Of course it's KU and I know that we are rivals, but you know those are hard fighting football players. A lot of those guys have great talent. Daniel Wise, No. 96, he's NFL talent, great football player. Joe Dineen, No. 29, great football player, we've been going against each other since my redshirt freshman year. You know, me and Joe have been battling it out for years. We have a mutual respect for each other, and leaving that field today, it wasn't smack talk, you know, 'Get out of here.' There's an appreciation for guys like that, and you could tell that they're working hard for their coach. And just like I respect my coach, and just like we've had a tough season. I'm playing for my coaches as well."
ALEX DELTON, JUNIOR QUARTERBACK
On the significance of this win…
"It means a lot. Not only is it a conference win but it is an in-state rival that means a lot. We get a chance to represent the university, the community and the football team in a positive way. Hopefully we use this for some momentum."
On his touchdown run…
"It was a designed quarterback run. A play we have run a thousand times since I have been here. The guys up front did a great job battling and lead blocking for me and I did the easy part running it in. That is one of our bread and butter plays so I felt confident."
On his long completion to Dalton Schoen on their final drive…
"I was reading one of their nickel backs and his demeanor. After I saw we made that communication I was going to throw it to him and he made a heck of a catch. The nickel played it pretty well and had a good angle but Dalton made a good catch."
On second half improvements…
"I felt no rhythm in our offense in the first half. We did not have the ball that long either. We only had three or four possessions and KU had the ball a lot of the time in the first half. I knew that there were things in their defense that I liked but we just did not get to them. Once we finally got it more we felt we were ready to get into that rhythm and feel confident."
WYATT HUBERT, REDSHIRT FRESHMAN DEFENSIVE END
On the win…
"I'm just glad we can get the game off with some good enthusiasm. Throughout the game we struggled at times, I'm just glad we got the dub at the end.
On the pass defense…
"We had pretty good pressure today. There was a few times where their quarterback was pretty comfortable so that's probably a reason why the secondary had trouble covering wide receivers at times. We have to improve our pass rush and get better at that."
ALEX BARNES, JUNIOR RUNNING BACK
On the win…
"It was really big to finally get off the losing streak and finally secure a win. It's always good to beat KU. Being from Kansas, we always want to beat KU. Where I'm from everyone is a big KU fan, Southeast Kansas is pretty much Jayhawk territory. Getting to home, I didn't want to hear them talking all this stuff like, 'Should've went to KU.' So I'm glad I will be able to shut them up for another year."
On the second half…
"We've definitely shown to be a second half team, which hasn't been a good thing for us this year since we're now 4-6. We did have an identity more in the second half, we just have to figure out how to do that in both halves."
DAVID BEATY, KU HEAD COACH
On his thoughts of the outcome of the game…
"It was a back-and-forth game there in the second half and they did what exactly they needed to do to make enough plays to win it and we were not able to do that. That's unfortunate because I felt like we had a pretty good showing for most of the day, but that's why you play all four quarters, every minute of each one of them. Got a lot of growth that we still have yet to do and when we do that, we'll start benefiting but we just weren't able to get it done today."
On the final play…
"He (Peyton Bender) was very disappointed. I thought he did some really nice things today moving down towards the end of the game but there's really no one person to point the finger at. It's a team game, it truly is and there's going to be times when each of us is going to have to pick each other up by making a play here or there. I thought that he did that for the most part today, that last play is certainly not the play that lost us the game. There was a lot of other things that I can point to that probably kept us from being able to win it but those guys will stay together and we'll be ready to go next week against Oklahoma."
On the role of special teams in the game…
"It obviously played a huge role in the game. I thought we had an opportunity to seal the game there at the end when the kid dropped the punt and weren't able to make the recovery, he made the recovery. We've got to be ready for a guy to drop the punt and we got to make the recovery there. I thought our kickoff team coming out of the second half, we got a turnover right there. It was a heck of a kick by Liam (Jones), something we planned for all week thinking there would be some wind and our guys went down there and made the play and recovered it, which was good. Their punter I thought did a pretty good job, he did a really nice job for them, he pinned us a couple times and that makes it tough sledding when you're backed up against the goalline.
On the importance of the Governor's Cup to the players…
"I'm proud of our men, I'm sad for them because I know that they're hurt. There's a lot of tears in there right now because this Governor's Cup was important to so many people in this state and certainly important to those guys to be able to grab that thing today and we weren't able to get that done and we were obviously within reach and we weren't able to get it done."
On how difficult it was taking the field after being fired earlier this week…
"Not at all. What a great game. It was really a cool experience to be able to go out there and see that stadium full again and play in a meaningful game right here within our state. What a great rivalry game and that's really what you want them to be like. When I first got here, after the first year I said it, our state deserves that game to be a good game and it was a good game today. It wasn't good for the Jayhawks because we want to finish with a victory but it was a good game. I think it was entertaining until the very end but from our standpoint, we got to win games and that's why what happened this week happened. You've got to produce, that's the way it works."
On if the players told him they wanted to win the game for him…
"I simply won't allow that. It has nothing to do with me, never was, never will. But for them, for each other I think that's where the tears are. I'm proud of them because as far as this week goes, we simply won't let them be distracted and they won't be distracted. Great, great men. Proud to be a part of them."
JOE DINEEN, SENIOR LINEBACKER
On how badly he wanted to win this game for Coach Beaty…
"Yeah, you know after all that stuff happened, earlier in the week, it was a lot of motivation to come out here to play hard for him because he has done so much for us, we wanted to send him off with the Sunflower Showdown win. We wanted to send him out with that one. We just didn't get it done."
On the defense…
"It's a team game. Our offense scored and made some big time plays. It's just timing we didn't get a stop when we needed to. Offense didn't score when we needed them to. Just stuff like that, complementary football. We didn't have very much of it today."
On the team's prospects headed into the contest...
"Just going into this game, I felt like we were prepared to win this one. We know that they are a well-coached team. You have good players on both sides of the ball. But we thought that we would come in and compete well and come away with a victory. They made more plays than we did, so credit to them, but this one hurts."
On taking time to take everything in...
"Throughout the week the build up to the game was emotional. It was a cool deal. We have two games left and it has been a long ride and it has been fun. Hopefully we finish out strong."
On Alex Barnes' fourth-down conversion…..
"He is a good back and athletic back. He is just an athletic dude and a hard runner. He never falls backwards, he always finds a way. Just a good player making a big time play."
STEVEN SIMS, SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On the frustrating penalties late in the game…
"It is tough. We were fighting hard and those guys are giving it their all. We honestly do not think either one of those plays were holding penalties but it is just what the refs called. We left it in their hands and this is the outcome we have."
On his touchdown…
"We thought they were going to be in cover four. Peyton (Bender) just gave me a chance and I made a good play on the ball and I just started running."
On what a win like this would have meant…
"It definitely could have been a spark but it did not turn out that way. We wanted that Governor's Cup bad. We have never had it so we played our heart out today and we came up short."
On their final drive…
"We felt like they could not stop us all game. It was just us handling our jobs and executing our offense. Making routine plays. A throw and catch, running ahead and getting a tough five yards. Things like that. It felt good but we came up short. We have to fix it and come back better next week."
JEREMIAH BOOKER, SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On the last play…
"I didn't see (Peyton Bender) on the field, but just encouraging him in the locker, and telling him it wasn't on him and to keep his head up. It's a team effort, so we keep motivating him."
On the mistakes in the fourth quarter…
"We made mistakes, but you have to give them credit like always. They finished the game off strong, and we didn't do our job, so you have to credit them."
On the emotions at the end of the game...
"It hurts. It's all of us brothers and all the work we have put in, and all the coaches and their work they put in, and then to come up short. But at the end of the day, I keep telling the guys keep your chin up, it's going to make us better men, and better football players at the end of the day. We have a life ahead of us, so keep working like we have always done."
On the remaining two games of the season…
"Finish. Just finish what I started. For all of the seniors. That's our goal is to finish because we are going to be in situations like this in life, after we leave football and this university. At all times, we have to finish what we started and keep working hard and that's going to take us places we never imagined in life."
SEASON RECORD UPDATE
K-State 4-6 (2-5 Big 12)
Kansas 3-7 (1-6 Big 12)
WHAT'S NEXT
The Wildcats host their second-straight home game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, as K-State takes on the Texas Tech Red Raiders on November 17. The game time and broadcast will be announced on Monday, November 12.
Team Stats
KU
KS
Total Yards
347
301
Pass Yards
232
126
Rushing Yards
115
175
Penalty Yards
53
55
1st Downs
19
17
3rd Downs
5
3
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
33:11
26:49
2nd Quarter
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KU 3, KS 0
KU - Rui, Gabriel 21 yd field goal 18 plays, 94 yards, TOP 9:40
3rd Quarter
KU 3, KS 7
KS - Barnes, Alex 24 yd run (Lynch, Blake kick), 5 plays, 64 yards, TOP 2:04
KU 10, KS 7
KU - Booker, J. 9 yd pass from Bender, Peyton (Rui, Gabriel kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:11
KU 10, KS 14
KS - Barnes, Alex 2 yd run (Lynch, Blake kick), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:54
4th Quarter
KU 17, KS 14
KU - Sims, Steven 65 yd pass from Bender, Peyton (Rui, Gabriel kick) 2 plays, 71 yards, TOP 0:21
KU 17, KS 21
KS - Delton, Alex 21 yd run (Lynch, Blake kick), 6 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:16
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
11
TD
0
YDS
126
INT
0
CMP
0
TD
0
YDS
0
INT
0
Players Mentioned
RB
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PK
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LB
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DE
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DE
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LB
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WR
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