Aided by a dominant defensive performance, Kansas State cruised past Texas Tech by a final score of 21 to 6 on Senior Day in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcat defense held the prolific Red Raider offense to a mere 181 total yards and forced three turnovers.
The Texas Tech offense, notorious for its lethal air raid attack, was stymied on Saturday. Sophomore Quarterback Jett Duffey, who threw for 444 yards and four touchdowns against Texas last week, threw for only 150 yards and an interception on Saturday. More importantly, the Red Raider offense did not score a touchdown against the Wildcats.
“I was really proud of our defensive players, our coaches. Pretty special,” K-State coach Bill Snyder said. “Regardless of the win, the real effort of how we played was special.”
The Red Raider running game was held to only 31 yards on 26 rushing attempts.
Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury was unimpressed with his team’s production on the ground. “You have to give them credit,” Kingsbury said. “But we were not able to run the ball at all and the passing game was not very sharp. We were not very crisp.”
For its part, K-State’s offense was able to control the game. The game’s only touchdown came on an eight-yard pass from Wildcat quarterback Skylar Thompson to freshman wide receiver Malik Knowles in the second quarter. Thompson completed 17 of 26 passes for 213 yards. Thompson started the game, after being sidelined by injury after the Wildcats’ game against Oklahoma.
Running back Alex Barnes continued to be the workhorse for the Wildcat offense, carrying the ball 32 times for 136 yards. Barnes has now eclipsed 100 yards six times this season. His season total is now 1,171 yards, the seventh most for a Wildcat running back in school history.
K-State’s special teams has struggled over the course of the 2018 campaign, but that was not the case on Saturday. Sophomore kicker Blake Lynch booted 4 field goals in Saturday’s blustery conditions. The Wildcat special teams unit also blocked a third quarter punt, resulting in a safety.
K-State has now won seven of its last eight against the Red Raiders.
A notable subplot of Saturday’s contest was whether it was Snyder’s final time on the sideline of the stadium that bears his name. The answer to that question will have to wait. After the game, Snyder deftly avoided numerous questions on that topic.
Saturday’s favorable result means that the Wildcats still have hope for bowl eligibility if they can seize a win in the regular season finale in Ames, Iowa next week against an impressive Iowa State team. In what could be Snyder’s final game as K-State’s head coach, a win against the Cyclones could salvage a disappointing 2018 season.
