Jake Waters passed for 115 yards and two touchdowns and John Hubert broke the 100-yard rushing barrier for the first time this season and added a receiving touchdown as Kansas State overcame a sluggish start to down Massachusetts 37-7 before a Band Day crowd of 52,958 Saturday evening at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
It didn’t take long for K-State to get on the scoreboard when on the first series for the Minutemen, Defensive Back Kip Daily stepped in front of an A.J. Doyle pass for a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown. A bad snap on the extra point resulted in K-State holding a 6-0 advantage. UMass took the lead late in the first quarter on a two-yard run by Stacy Bedell and the extra point.
The Wildcats turned the game around with a 21-point second quarter starting with a one-yard run on fourth down by Quarterback Daniel Sams who helped to set up the score with a 37-yard scamper earlier in the drive. Jack Cantele’s extra point made the score 13-7. Running Back Robert Rose then scored his first career touchdown on the next series with a 26-yard run and then with 11 seconds left in the first half, Waters and Hubert connected on a 43-yard touchdown pass to allow the Cats a 27-7 halftime advantage.
Waters then found Fullback Glenn Gronkowski for his career touchdown on the first drive of the second half on a 50-yard pass and run play to swell the lead to 34-7. Cantele’s 42-yard Field Goal early in the fourth quarter closed out the scoring.
Hubert by far had his best game of the season rushing for 120 yards on 18 carries and Sams added 79 yards of his own. Hubert and Gronkowski each were the receiving leaders with 50 yards apiece and the Defense held UMAss to 309 yards of total offense while K-State put up 456.
With non-conference action in the books, K-State begins defense of its Big 12 title against the team they beat to win the 2012 crown. The Wildcats will head to Austin next Saturday night to face a Texas team on a two-game losing streak after being throttled at home by Ole Miss Saturday 44-23. Kickoff at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium is set for 7 p.m. with National Television coverage on ABC.
