The Kansas State Wildcats (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) extended their winning streak in the Governor’s Cup series to 13 on Saturday in Lawrence, defeating the Kansas Jayhawks (1-8, 0-6 Big 12) 35-10 in Lawrence, even with some missed opportunities.

The Wildcats took the lead on their first possession, with sophomore running back Deuce Vaughn finishing an 8-play, 72-yard drive with a rushing touchdown from the 1. K-State never relinquished the lead the rest of the way.

Quarterback Skylar Thompson added a 68-yard touchdown pass to Malik Knowles on a play when he was given all the time in the world, and fullback Ben Sinnott punched it in from the 1 for K-State’s third score of the first half. The only real miscue by the Wildcats was when Thompson was called for intentional grounding after dropping back 20 yards; even then, the offense was almost able to claw back enough yards for the first down.

Meanwhile, the K-State defense held the Jayhawks to two field goal attempts in the first half, with Kansas kicker Jacob Borcila making the first and missing the second.

Vaughn started the second half with a bang, going 80 yards on the play of the game, doing well to stay in bounds early in the play and shedding an attempted ankle tackle. The K-State defense turned right around, forcing a three-and-out. On the ensuing possession, K-State drove deep into the red zone but was unable to convert, as receivers were unable to haul in a pair of catchable (if not great) passes in the end zone, and Chris Tennant’s field goal attempt from the hash was off the mark.

When the Jayhawks got the ball back, they drove 80 yards for their only touchdown of the game, with third-string quarterback Jalon Daniels finding Kwamie Lassiter II for a 15-yard touchdown on fourth and 4 to cut K-State’s lead to 28-10.

K-State responded well, grinding out a seven-minute, 13-play drive capped by Vaughn’s third touchdown of the game, again from the 1. The defense firmed up the rest of the way, as well, shutting down two fourth down tries by the Jayhawks to preserve the 35-10 victory.

The Wildcats finished the game with 499 yards of offense, balanced nicely between rushing and passing and averaging 8.75 yards per play. K-State’s defense held the Jayhawks to 274 yards on just 4.64 yards per play, including 2.9 yards per rush.

Player of the Game: Deuce Vaughn

Vaughn racked up a career-best 162 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns on just 11 carries, along with 5 catches for 60 receiving yards. Vaughn also had the play of the game with his 80-yard touchdown to start the second half. He nearly added a receiving touchdown, but Thompson overthrew him when he was wide open in the end zone.

Three Thoughts

• Deuce Vaughn is special. K-State fans knew it. The broadcasters knew it. And KU knew it, but even knowing that they had to game plan for him, they couldn’t stop him or even contain him. After his final touchdown of the game, he had more yards from scrimmage than KU.
• K-State gave a lot of guys chances to contribute. Just on the offensive side of the ball, nine Wildcats got rushing carries, and 13 caught one or more passes.
• Jalon Daniels, KU’s third-string quarterback, played well after starter Jason Bean and backup Miles Kendrick were hurt early on, but he was not well suited to leading a comeback.

Up Next

Kansas State returns home for a game against the West Virginia Mountaineers (4-4, 2-3 Big 12), while Kansas goes on the road against TCU (3-5, 1-4 Big 12).