By Erik Stone
Jake Waters passed for 223 yards and two touchdowns and the Kansas State defense turned in another solid performance as the 9th-ranked Wildcats overcame an early Oklahoma State touchdown and ran the Cowboys off the field in a 48-14 trouncing before 53,746 Saturday night at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Oklahoma State needed just eight plays to get on the scoreboard first as Tyreek Hill finished off an 84-yard drive with a two-yard run and a 7-0 lead. That lead lasted exactly 12 seconds as Morgan Burns at first bobbled the ensuing kickoff then rumbled 86 yards for the tying touchdown. K-State would then grab the lead for good and take control of the game with a 10-play, 73-yard drive capped off by a six-yard run by Charles Jones and a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The lone score of the second quarter featured another circus catch for a touchdown by Wide Receiver Curry Sexton who hauled in a 17-yard pass from Waters and managed to get his foot in the end zone allowing K-State to hold a 21-7 advantage at halftime.
K-State started the second half with another efficient drive, a nine-play, 75-yard march down the field that Waters concluded with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett to swell the lead to 28-7. On the drive, Lockett passed former Wildcat standout and current Green Bay Packers Wide Receiver Jordy Nelson for second all-time in receiving yardage and now only trails his father Kevin Lockett for the record.
Following a 37-yard Field Goal by Matthew McCrane, K-State continued to pour it on when Jones scored his second touchdown of the night from three yards out in the Wildcat formation and K-State led 38-7. Backup Quarterback Joe Hubener came into the game in relief of Waters and scored his first career touchdown on a one-yard plunge. On the next series Hubener was picked off by Oklahoma State’s Ramon Richards who returned the interception 38 yards for a score but the outcome was well in hand by then. McCrane then hit a career-long 53-yard Field Goal to provide the final margin of 48-14.
Waters turned in another solid outing and also had his first interception in several weeks wiped off the board by a roughing the passer penalty against Oklahoma State. Jones was the leading ground gainer with 43 of the Wildcats’ 134 yards rushing. Sexton had a monster night leading all receivers with nine catches for 159 yards while Lockett had six receptions for 94 yards.
On Defense, K-State had four sacks including two by Travis Britz and forced three Cowboy turnovers.
The attendance of 53,746 is the second-largest home crowd in K-State history behind only the 53,811 that saw the Wildcats knock off Nebraska during the 2000 season.
Kansas State (7-1, 4-0) ranked 9th in the College Football Playoff rankings, ran its winning streak to five games with Saturday’s victory as they now focus on their final four games, three of which are on the road. The first of those contests is next Saturday at TCU, which won at West Virginia on Saturday 31-30 on a last-second Field Goal. The kickoff time for the game will be announced on Sunday.
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