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That was about as good a win as you can have at this late stage of the season. K-State dominated Oklahoma State in most aspects of the game, and after giving up a lightning quick score on the Cowboys' first possession, the team never looked back. Jake Waters and the offense, while not perfect, played a mostly clean and tight game. More importantly, Waters put some zip on the ball and ran well, both signs that he's probably close to 100%. We got a good look at Joe Hubener and Jesse Ertz too, playing significant minutes in the second half, and it's safe to say our quarterback situation in the post Waters-era is good. The lack of on-field drama in this game means nobody is really talking about the game or K-State's playoff prospects. But as long as K-State keeps winning, things will probably take care of themselves.
Here are all your post-game recaps from the usual suspects: from the K-State SID, from the Associated Press (via ESPN), from Fox, from USAToday, from Vavel.com, from the Kansas City Star (Ken Corbitt), from the Wichita Eagle, (Kellis Robinett), and our own Jon Morse's recap: Making a Statement. Kansas State appears to be firing on all cylinders now, at least according to Max Olson's column. Inevitably, a win like this leads to playoff prognostications. Tim Bisel, writing for the Capital-Journal, takes a peek into the future and notes that K-State's playoffs begin next week. The TCU game begins a series of elimination rounds for the Wildcats, and is likely to be the most difficult contest of the season. Jenni Carlson notes that the first few minutes of the game went just as Oklahoma State planned. Then everything unravelled, thanks to Morgan Burns and his electrifying 86-yard kickoff return. The rest of the game turned into a comic tragedy of penalties and sacks for the Cowboys and they never really recovered, according to Jimmy Gillispie and the Stillwater News-Press. This could have been a trap game, but the Wildcats don't use terms like that. They simply press their advantage and look to win in any way they can. (Tate Steinlage, K-State Collegian) Waters led the offense to a big scoring day, but it was K-State's pass rush that shined, Austin Earl writes in the Collegian. The defense also generated three turnovers, and kept the Cowboys out of the red zone for the rest of the night, including limiting Oklahoma State to just 48 yards in the second half. Travis Britz was an unstoppable force yesterday, tearing through the line of scrimmage to make a play every time Oklahoma State threatened. Kelly McHugh also has a great SE feature on Britz, noting how hard he's worked to get better. Here's a particularly impressive stat from last night: Tyler Lockett now has 2,877 career receiving yards, putting him just 155 yards behind Kevin Lockett. Kellis Robinett grades the team, with the defense and special teams getting the highest marks, but the offense only getting a B, as it sputtered from time-to-time. The Collegian has an excellent photo gallery for the game. Later this week, we'll look ahead to the impending clash of Purple Power, but for now, just bask in the orange afterglow of a great win. The rest of the college football world veered on the edge of chaos yesterday. But in the end, TCU escaped West Virginia, Auburn beat Ole Miss in the final seconds, and Mississippi State somehow survived a stout challenge from Arkansas. Oh, and Oregon ran over Stanford, exorcizing a few demons along the way.
Two Wildcats were in the Top 20 at the Big 12 Championships at the Rim Rock Farm Cross Country Course in Lawrence, Kansas. Laura Galvan took home All-Big 12 honors with an 11th place finish in the 6K race, and teammate Morgan Wedekind finished 20th. The individual honors were marred by a poor team finish for the men and women.
The tennis team put together a strong showing at the Jason's Deli Collegiate Invitational, winning six singles matches and a doubles match. K-State is now 41-32 on the season.
The volleyball team climbed out of a 2-0 hole to put away Texas Tech in five sets this weekend. The No. 22 Wildcats were led by a career-best effort from senior Chelsea Keating, who recorded 17 kills, with 13 of them in the final three sets.