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K-State 55, Texas Tech 24: Any more questions?

K-State overcame a slow start to throttle Texas Tech. The Wildcats now have a chokehold on the Big 12 race and are firmly in the mix for the national title game.

Purple, get ready to roll.
Purple, get ready to roll.
Jamie Squire

It started exactly as we had feared.

Texas Tech drove down the field for an opening touchdown, then stuffed the K-State rushing attack and forced a punt. The Red Raiders had the ball with good field position and a chance to take an early 14-0 lead.

But K-State's defense held and the teams traded body shots the rest of the first half. In the second quarter, K-State finally realized that it would be difficult to run against Tech on first down when the Red Raiders had eight or nine guys within five yards of the line of scrimmage. At that point, Collin Klein opened it up, completing several big passes on first down. With Texas Tech suddenly off balance, K-State took a 13-10 halftime lead.

It was all Wildcats after halftime. Three third-quarter touchdowns gave K-State a 34-17 lead, and it was all over but the shouting. But the Wildcats weren't done, tacking on another three touchdowns in the final stanza to notch a 55-24 lead. It should be noted that Tech's last score, which gave them the most points scored on K-State this season, came in garbage time against the Wildcats' second- and third-string players.

Collin Klein once again stated his case for the Heisman Trophy, going 19-26-0 for 233 yards and two touchdowns, and rushing for 83 yards and another two touchdowns. John Huebert had only 64 yards but tacked on another two touchdowns for K-State. Defensively, Arthur Brown capped off a solid performance with a pick-six late in the second half.

K-State now moves to 8-0, and 5-0 in the Big 12. The Wildcats now effectively have a two-game lead on the field.

Elsewhere, Georgia knocked Florida from the ranks of the unbeatens. Oregon routed Colorado, but the putrid Buffaloes will be a drag on Oregon's computer numbers. Expect K-State to be No. 2 in the BCS standings tomorrow. As I type this, Arizona leads USC, 39-36. A USC loss would kill the Ducks, who are counting on wins over teams like USC, Oregon State and Stanford to boost their sagging computer numbers.

We'll have more on the polls tomorrow when the BCS standings come out. For tonight, raise your favorite beer and celebrate another win. Next week, Oklahoma State visits Manhattan. While it's been a disappointing season overall for the Cowboys, they now have Wes Lunt back and hammered Texas Christian today, 36-14.

Go Cats!