Wildcats miss when it matters, lose to TCU

Football

So that happened. On a day when the offense and defense played well enough to pull off a victory, Kansas State did not live up to its reputation on special teams, and a series of miscues led to a 14-13 loss to TCU.

As Luke Sobba notes—with his usual eloquence—there isn’t really much left to say. The offense played well enough to win, the defense played well enough to win, but the Wildcats still managed to lose. This time around, the difference between a win and a loss were three miscues on special teams. With the loss, Kansas State is all but eliminated from post-season play.

Next week, Kansas State takes on Kansas in this year’s edition of the Sunflower Showdown, which is now a bona fide race to the bottom. Adding new interest to the usual stakes of the in-state rivalry game, Kansas has fired head coach David Beaty who went 6-39 over almost four seasons in Lawrence. He will coach through the end of the season and will therefore get credit for any possible victory over the Wildcats.

That a Kansas win is even a remote possibility should give us all serious pause.

Volleyball

Not all is doom and gloom in Manhattan, this time thanks to the VolleyCats. Kansas State swept West Virginia in three sets (25-12, 25-17, 25-23) at Ahearn Field House last night to break a two-match skid in Big 12 play and to put away the ‘Eers for the first time in four tries.

Redshirt freshman Brooke Heyne had a .393 hitting percentage and her first double-double, leading the team with 11 kills and 10 digs. Teammate Alyssa Schultejans had 10 kills, and the VolleyCats outkilled 40 to 36 despite taking 20 fewer swings.

Up next, the team travels to Austin to take on #6 Texas. The match will begin at 7 PM and will air on LHN and can be streamed via ESPN.