After a somewhat slow start, the Kansas State Wildcats kicked things into high gear and ran away from a solid Texas Tech team in a 55-24 Homecoming victory on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
K-State trailed 10-3 in the second quarter before tying the score on Running Back John Hubert’s four-yard run. Kicker Anthony Cantele drilled his second field goal of the game from 19 yards out with just over a minute and a half left in the second quarter to send the Cats into the locker room with a 13-10 lead. On their first second half possession, Quarterback Collin Klein added to his Heisman Trophy resume by leading a 75-yard drive for a touchdown capped off by a 21-yard scoring pass to Wide Receiver Tramaine Thompson. Following a Texas Tech turnover on the Red Raiders’ next drive, Klein scampered in from 16 yards out to swell the lead to 27-10. Klein would later add a 22 yard touchdown run later in the quarter and finish the day with 93 yards rushing on 12 carries and going 19 for 26 through the air for 233 yards.
The Wildcat defense was just as impressive despite giving up 442 yards. The defensive unit forced three turnovers including Arthur Brown’s 37-yard interception return for a score early in the fourth quarter.
K-State which went into the game #3 in the BCS Standings is now 8-0 for the first time since 1999 and just the third time in school history. The Wildcats’ eight-game winning streak is the longest since a streak that spanned the latter part of the 1999 season and the first half of the 2000 campaign.
Next up for the Cats, Oklahoma State which rallied from a 14-0 first half deficit to crush TCU Saturday in Stillwater 36-14.