K-State Tops Texas Tech on Senior Day, 21-6

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Led by an all-around effort, including 367 yards of total offense and a defensive effort that held Texas Tech out of the end zone, Kansas State wrapped up its home schedule with a 21-6 win in front of 47,287 fans on Senior Day at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday.

K-State (5-6, 3-5 Big 12) earned its seventh victory in the last eight games against Texas Tech, including the fourth-straight victory over the Red Raiders in Manhattan. The win also gave the Wildcats their fifth-straight victory on Senior Day and the 22nd in head coach Bill Snyder's 27 seasons.

The all-around effort was headed by the K-State defense that held Texas Tech out of the end zone for the entirety of the game, while also holding them to 181 total yards, the least surrendered by the Wildcats since a 117-yard output in 1997. The 181 yards is also the fewest gained by Texas Tech since being held to 144 against Texas in 2010.

Saturday marked Senior Day for the Wildcats, as the program paid tribute to 16 players who have been such an integral part of the program over the last four seasons. The 16 seniors include, Kendall Adams, Abdul Beecham, Jeremy Collier, Dalton Harman, Matt Jones, Osvelt Joseph, Colby Moore, Zach Reuter, Dalton Risner, Duke Shelley, Justin Silmon, Sam Sizelove, Logan Stoddard, David Tullis, Eli Walker and Dalvin Warmack.

HOW IT HAPPENED
On the first two offensive drives of the game, Texas Tech benefited from its special teams play, as senior place kicker Clayton Hatfield connected on a pair of field goals, including a 42-yard field goal with 1:26 left in the first quarter.

After the consecutive Red Raider field goals, the Wildcats gained a spark on their next defensive possession, as redshirt freshman defensive end Wyatt Hubert burst through the line to record a 9-yard sack on the first play of the second quarter.

After forcing the Red Raiders into a punt, the Wildcats moved down the field for a score of their own, as the team totaled 51-yards on eight plays, capped off by a 20-yard field goal from sophomore place kicker Blake Lynch to close the gap to 6-3 with 10:33 left in the quarter.

Later in the second quarter, Texas Tech went for it on fourth and four, and were shut down after fumbling the snap, resulting in another sack by Hubert. The sack gave K-State the football into Texas Tech territory at the 48-yard line.

The offense made good use of the short field position, as the Wildcats drove into scoring position, leading to an 8-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Skylar Thompson to freshman wide receiver Malik Knowles to give K-State the lead, 10-6 with 43 seconds left before halftime. The Wildcats would hold the lead at the half after totaling 127 yards of offense, while posting three sacks on defense.

In the third quarter, it was the K-State special teams that made the first impact, as sophomore defensive back Brock Monty blocked the Texas Tech punt, deflecting the ball through the end zone, resulting in a safety. The safety marked the first since 2009 against Louisiana, as the Wildcats led 12-6 with 9:13 left in the third quarter.

On the ensuing defensive possession, junior defensive end Reggie Walker forced a strip sack, which was recovered by junior linebacker Justin Hughes at the Texas Tech 22-yard line. The turnover led to a 34-yard field goal by Lynch, to give K-State a 15-6 lead with 3:27 left in the third quarter.

Just before the end of the third quarter with Texas Tech in the red zone, sophomore cornerback AJ Parker intercepted Jett Duffey at the 7-yard line, giving K-State its first turnover of the game.

After the turnover, the Wildcats drove down the field for an 11-play, 69-yard drive that led to a 41-yard field goal from Lynch, which improved his day to 3-for-3, as K-State led, 18-6 with 10:23 left in the game.

Late in the fourth quarter, junior defensive end Chase Johnston recovered a Texas Tech fumble deep into Red Raider territory, giving K-State the football in scoring position. The turnover led to another field goal by Lynch, this time from 22 yards, as the Wildcats increased their lead to 21-6 with 3:39 left.

On the subsequent drive, K-State forced another 3-and-out and took over on the Texas Tech 13, running out the rest of the 2:38 on the game clock.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Skylar Thompson - Sophomore quarterback Skylar Thompson set a series of career highs on Saturday, throwing for a career-high 17 completions and career-high 213 passing yards. Thompson connected on 17-of-26 passing for 213 yards and a touchdown, leading to a passing rating of 139.2.

Malik Knowles – As a true freshman, wide receiver Malik Knowles hauled in five receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown, leading the Wildcats in receiving on Saturday. Knowles' touchdown on Saturday also marked the second of his season, the most by a K-State true freshman since Tyler Lockett in 2011.

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Wyatt Hubert – The redshirt freshman defensive end accounted for two of the team's four sacks on Saturday, upping his season total to 4.5 sacks and moving him into tied-for-third in K-State history for most sacks in a season for a freshman. Hubert's 4.5 sacks ties Elijah Lee's 4.5 sacks set in 2014.

AJ Parker - With K-State leading by 9 in the third quarter and Texas Tech threatening, sophomore cornerback AJ Parker jumped a pass by Texas Tech's Jett Duffey in the red zone, forcing the first K-State turnover of the game. The interception marked the second of the season after intercepting West Virginia earlier this year.

Reggie Walker - The junior defensive end was a force in the backfield on Saturday, recording a career-high three tackles for loss, two of which were sacks. Walker also registered six tackles in the game and two forced fumbles.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Brock Monty – The Wildcats found a special teams' score in the third quarter when sophomore defensive back Brock Monty blew up the Texas Tech punt, blocking the punt and sending it through the end zone for a safety. Monty's blocked punt marked his second of the season and first blocked punt for a safety since 2003.

STAT OF THE GAME
181 – The Wildcat defense stepped up to hold Texas Tech to 181 total yards on Saturday, the fewest the Red Raiders have gained since 2010, when they when they were held to 144 yards. The 181 yards were also the least surrendered by the Wildcats to the Red Raiders since a 117-yard output in 1997.

BILL SNYDER, K-STATE HEAD COACH
On the play of the defense…
"The best way I can address it defensively is the progress that we have made incrementally throughout the course of the year. It has been week in and week out we've gotten a little bit better, little bit better, and a little bit better. We've had one hiccup when you look back and look at it through sequence. Its learning how to execute the things that they're asked to do. It's about having the discipline. Playing defense is far different on the other side of the ball. Everybody has to be execution sound, if you make one mistake defensively, the scoreboard lights up. That might be going over here to make a tackle when you should be over here. Our guys have learned to do that better and better week in and week out."

On red zone touchdown obstacles…
"It's more than an obstacle. I think Skylar came alive today a little bit and made some plays on scrambles and plays that really got us out of the hole. I can't tell you the number right now, but we had somewhere in the vicinity of four, first downs on extra long yardage situations created by Skylar scrambling and finding open receivers where, under normal circumstances, we would have to line up and punt. He did a nice job today, played with a great deal of force."

On Reggie Walker and Wyatt Hubert…
"I think everyone across the board on defense played extremely well. You have to look at who you line up and play against and Texas Tech is a good offensive team as you'll find. Numbers will probably prove that. At quarterback, a lot of people say their second team quarterback threw for 440 yards against Texas last week, he's a good player. Our defense collectively, across the board played extremely well."

On the defense on 3rd down….
"Well, I mean we just play our defense and there's a lot of things in our defense. There's a lot of what we do and how we do it is accredit to Blake [Seiler] and the defensive coaches."

On Texas Tech's passing game…
"If you go back and look at the ball game, interestingly enough, they didn't cast the ball down field very much. You have to be able to play both, its not a matter of were going to back up and give you the underneath throws, that's just a slow death against a team that can throw it as well. We just tried to play our defense.

On emotions towards last home game…
"Well they're all special and really, in all reality, I feel badly because there was a number of seniors who didn't get on the field today. That's what is painful. Guys that work as hard and put in as much effort and care as much as they do. Osvelt Joseph was one of those guys who doesn't get on the field and he got on the field on kick-off coverage and made a play. They're all unselfish young guys, even those who didn't play felt the joy of the win. I hope I can always get them on the field."

SKYLAR THOMPSON, SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK
On how satisfying of a game it was...
"I wouldn't say fully satisfying because we left a lot of points out on the field. But I feel like we played really good today on offense, I felt like for all four quarters we were moving the ball and playing aggressive and we were having fun out there, that's the most important thing. Our guys were having fun, playing loose, weren't playing uptight, we weren't afraid to make a mistake and we just were playing to win the game rather than lose. It was very exciting to see that and it was fun to play."

On the touchdown pass to Malik Knowles…
"I was planning to throw the ball to the left side but Texas Tech did a good job playing that so I came back to Malik and he had a little bit of separation, I got my feet wrapped up so I was just trying to get it out there for him to make a play on it and he made a great play."

On coming back after missing time with injuries…
"I felt good. My body's fresh. Having a week off to not practice and not being able to participate in anything, sitting in a dark room all week, it'll put things in perspective really quick. It made me kind of realize that I've taken a little bit of this season for granted, just not really appreciating this game as much as I have in the past. This whole last week of being out and not being able to participate in anything, missing a game, I was so excited to get back into practice this week, so excited to get back and play. I just knew I had nothing to lose, I played loose, I prepared all week, I watched so much film that I thought I just had to trust my eyes and if I see something, I've gotta go attack it, make my throws and I feel like I did that today. But I left some throws out there, there are things I could do better that I wish I could have back but that's football. You're not going to be perfect so you just have to learn from those mistakes and get better and be ready for next week."

BLAKE LYNCH, SOPHOMORE KICKER
On his performance …
"It was a great day. It was special to give the seniors a win and the cold did not harm me, I played good today."

On getting the win...
"It means a lot. We are always the underdogs so it was not a shock. We always find a way to bounce back and get the win."

DALTON RISNER, SENIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
On how much planning went into Risner's touchdown play…
"It's been in the works all season, we've been through a lot of games and said hey, this is what we're going to run this week and it hasn't happened. Coach Coleman looked me in the eye and said 'If we get the chance, it's going to happen on senior night.' What a cool moment, unfortunately I didn't do my job as perfect as I should, I got a little excited and turned around too quick, made it an illegal pass.."

On Skylar Thompson…
"He came up to me after the game and gave me the game ball, and I get to keep this one, so that's pretty special. He's a great football player and I don't think any of us deny that. He's a great football player that works extremely hard and he's a guy that no matter what's going on with him, if he takes a week off for injury he's going to come back and be ready to go. Skylar truly cares about the guys on this team, the whole game we're breaking huddles and he's saying 'I love y'all boys.' He loves us to death. That kid will do anything for us and he's not out there to get it for Skylar, I can promise you guys that. What kind of a quarterback after every huddle says 'I love y'all?' He's truly embracing the process and he truly loves us so much and he wants to make plays for us and make us proud. He could care less about his name being in the papers. Skylar wants to win football games. If he has to go 0-for-12 on passes to win the football game, he doesn't care. That's not what he did, he threw extremely well. He's just a great guy and great teammate and I'm thankful to have him "

On how special the win was...
"It was awesome. The way we've come back these last two weeks and played these good football teams, Texas Tech is a heck of a football team. My defense plays lights out tonight, gave the offense every opportunity to win that football game and we didn't do the best as an offense but we executed when we needed to. It was an amazing experience and I appreciate my teammates so much for just giving me an opportunity to go out like that. I've been here a long time, that was my 50th start here at Kansas State and it just meant so much to win here at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, I have so many memories here and I'm so thankful for so many people. I've met so many great people, teammates, and coaches in this community and you guys have welcomed me and it was just a blessing to win tonight."

JUSTIN HUGHES, JUNIOR LINEBACKER
On the defensive effort in today's game…
"It was amazing. I appreciate my guys for giving out their full effort each play each day, and we just went out there and dominated against a high profile offense, one of the best in the conference. I'm proud of my guys and hopefully we can continue this onto the next game."

On if the defense could play better against Texas Tech...
"That was a pretty good game. We started off slow and let them get down the field and get two field goals on us, but after that we shut them down. We just have to fix what we need to correct on those drives and we can really go out there and get a goose-egg. That's what our goal is each and every week, to go out there and stop the opponent to nothing. The field goals helped, too."

KLIFF KINGSBURY, TEXAS TECH HEAD COACH
On how the team played…
"We did not play very good. I thought we started well and squandered a couple drives there. Settled for field goals and then got out of rhythm offensively. I did not call a very good game and we did not execute very well. We turned the ball over in the second half and you just cannot do that."

On the offensive struggles…
"I am not sure. I thought we had a good week of practice. You have to give them credit but we were not able to run the ball at all and the passing game was not very sharp. We were not very crisp in our decision making like we had been and just kind of floundered around the entire night."

On Jett Duffey's ball security…
"We have had our moments where we have made a lot of good plays but you cannot just drop the snap and throw interceptions down in the red zone. Those are things he has to continue to work on and I have to continue to coach him up on. He fought through some injuries tonight and he has a chance to be a really good player but we have to eliminate the ball security issues."

On the weather playing a factor…
"I did not think they played a factor. We practice in the mornings and we had some chilly mornings in Lubbock. I really did not think it was a factor. I just think we did not execute at all offensively like we needed to. That is bad play calling by me, obviously. I thought they got after us, seemed to play harder and took it to us. We knew where they would be. I thought we had a good plan but I did not put us in positions to be successful."

On Alan Bowman's status…
"I am not sure where he is at. Physically, he could do it tonight but that thing has to heal internally. So we are just waiting to make sure he is fully healed."

On getting big defensive stops…
"They played hard. It is a physical offense and you knew what they were going to do: try to control the football. They had some key turnovers that they created and some stops there that kept giving us a chance offensively. We just could not get anything going. We just squandered it offensively."

TRAVIS BRUFFY, JUNIOR LINEMAN
On team performance during the last five games…
"I think everyone that's a part of this program knows that what we put on the field the past five games is not us. We worked too hard to put that product on the field and that starts with the players. Coach put us in the best position to succeed at any given time and we're just not executing. We're not playing physical enough. Today, we went out there and we just got our butts kicked. That's something you put on the leadership. Us captains, we didn't get the players ready, we didn't hold each other accountable and we're getting called out on that."

On Coach Kingsbury taking the blame for the loss…
"That's coach. He'll take everything on his own shoulders, when in reality, he's putting us in the best positions. He's the best play-caller in college football, and he's proven that in his tenure here. When you're not executing, it falls on the players and that's the culture of letting little things slide. I think that's something we haven't really addressed on this field and we pride ourselves in changing that. The way that we clean up our locker room, having your shoes tied, earrings out when we lift. All these little things that we stress so much and then in the games, we want to let it slide. That falls on the captains and that falls on anyone that calls themselves a leader. We're not holding ourselves accountable and that's the reality of it. It's nobody who is on salary here, it's no coaches, it's no strength coach, it's us as players. It's easy to point fingers at anyone else, but you put it on your own shoulders and that's the reality of it."

JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON, SENIOR DEFENSIVE BACK
On the execution…
"Can't blame the weather. We have been practicing in that weather all week. Just guys didn't execute. We just can't have that in games like this when you want to extend your season."

On the most frustrating part of this loss…
"That's not our team. Everyone in that locker room knows that's not us. It looks like one of the teams in the past. And we are very soft on all three phases. They just dominated us. Credit to them for being prepared and playing a hard game, but we have to be better."

On scoring early in games but not consistently…
"I guess guys are just getting comfortable. They are thinking they got it made, I'm not sure. We have emphasized finish for the last nine months, and we haven't done that. I'm not sure why it's not happening, but we have to do that next week."

On what he can do in the next week for the team to take a step forward…
"We just have to keep everyone positive in the locker room. Don't let guys turn on each other. We have came too far for guys to turn away from each other now. It's been a tremendous season, and we just have to go out and play for each other and these coaches and just let it all out."

SEASON RECORD UPDATE
K-State 5-6 (3-5 Big 12)
Texas Tech 5-6 (3-5 Big 12)

WHAT'S NEXT
The Wildcats will travel to Ames, Iowa to close out their Big 12 competition, as K-State plays the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium. The game is slated for a 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. kickoff and will air on FS1 or FOX. Kickoff time and broadcast information will be released on Sunday.

Kansas State University Athletics

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Team Stats

Game Leaders

Eric Gallon II

Players Mentioned

Kendall Adams

Abdul Beecham

Jeremy Collier

Dalton Harman

Wyatt Hubert

Matt Jones

Osvelt Joseph

Malik Knowles

Brock Monty

Colby Moore

AJ Parker

Zach Reuter

Dalton Risner

Duke Shelley

Justin Silmon

Sam Sizelove

Logan Stoddard

Skylar Thompson

David Tullis

Eli Walker

Reggie Walker