MANHATTAN (AP) — Kenny Hill threw for 297 yards and ran for a touchdown, TCU’s defense shut down Kansas State’s ailing offense and the sixth-ranked Horned Frogs remained unbeaten with a weather-delayed 26-6 victory over the Wildcats on Saturday.
Sewo Olonilua added two short touchdown runs for the Horned Frogs (6-0, 3-0 Big 12), whose gritty defense held the Wildcats (3-3, 1-2) without points both times they ventured into the red zone.
Kansas State was forced to play without quarterback Jesse Ertz, who was hurt in last week’s double-overtime loss at Texas. Sophomore backup Alex Delton got his first start and was 11 of 29 for 146 yards, struggling to run coach Bill Snyder’s complex offense against the Big 12’s best defense.
The Wildcats’ ground-based attack managed just 70 yards on 29 carries.
After kickoff was delayed 3 hours because of lightning, the Horned Frogs wasted little time in taking the lead. Their defense got the ball back deep in Kansas State territory, and Aaron Hicks pounded away five straight times before Hill scampered in from seven yards out for the touchdown.
Jonathan Song added a pair of field goals later in the first half.
The Wildcats’ most promising drive reached the TCU 5, but they followed with a pair of penalties on Byron Pringle — including pass interference to wipe out his TD catch — before fumbling the ball away.
They had a similar meltdown late in the third quarter, when they marched inside the TCU 10. The Horned Frogs’ stout defense proceeded to stuff Delton on third-and-2, and then shot through the line to bring down running back Justin Silmon on fourth-and-inches to get the ball back.
Early in the fourth quarter, another lightning spell sent the teams back to the locker room.
Only a few thousand water-logged fans were left when the teams returned to play the final 12:49, and the Horned Frogs made sure they stayed quiet. They forced a quick punt by Kansas State and breezed 65 yards downfield before Olonilua scored from one yard out for a 26-3 lead.
The Horned Frogs cruised the rest of the way in avenging a defeat from last year for the fourth time in their first six games. They’ve also beaten Arkansas, Oklahoma State and West Virginia.
THE TAKEAWAY
TCU’s salty defense bailed out an offense that played well in back-to-back wins over the Cowboys and Mountaineers but squandered plenty of changes Saturday. Darius Anderson fumbled the ball away in his own territory to set up Kansas State’s first field goal, and KaVontae Turpin dropped a pass in stride early in the fourth quarter that would have gone for a game-sealing touchdown.
Kansas State simply looked inept on offense. Delton’s inconsistency in the passing game allowed the Horned Frogs to stack the line of scrimmage, taking away the Wildcats’ run game. Offensive coordinator Dana Dimel hardly helped with some head-scratching decisions, such as running out of the shotgun when the Wildcats were stuffed on their fourth-and-inches try.
UP NEXT
TCU returns home to face struggling Kansas next Saturday.
Kansas State gets another stiff test in No. 12 Oklahoma on Saturday.
AROUND
THE BIG 12
No. 14 OKLAHOMA STATE 59, BAYLOR 16
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Mason Rudolph passed for 459 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score to help No. 14 Oklahoma State beat Baylor.
Rudolph guided an offense that gained a school-record 747 yards. The senior got his first career win in four tries against the Bears.
Oklahoma State’s James Washington caught six passes for 235 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for a 2-yard score. It was the second-best yardage total of his career. Marcell Ateman caught four passes for 119 yards and a touchdown, and Justice Hill ran for 117 yards and a score for the Cowboys (5-1, 2-1 Big 12).
The Cowboys grabbed control with a 28-point second quarter that made it 35-10 at halftime.
Terence Williams ran for 95 yards for Baylor (0-6, 0-3). Denzel Mims, one of the most productive receivers in the nation so far this season, was held to 20 yards on two catches.
No. 12 OKLAHOMA 29,
TEXAS 24
DALLAS (AP) — Baker Mayfield threw 59 yards to Mark Andrews for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter after Oklahoma had blown a 20-point lead, and the 12th-ranked Sooners held on to beat Texas 29-24 on Saturday.
Mayfield’s second TD throw of more than 50 yards came 68 seconds after freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger ran 8 yards to give the Longhorns their first lead after trailing 20-0 in the second quarter.
The win kept the College Football Playoff hopes alive for the Sooners (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) a week after a stunning home loss to Iowa State when they were ranked third with a nation-leading 14-game winning streak.
Lincoln Riley, the youngest FBS head coach at 34, topped Tom Herman in the first Texas-OU matchup since 1947 with both coaches leading their teams for the first time. Bud Wilkinson, who led the Sooners to three national titles, was the losing coach in that game.
Ehlinger, the second straight freshman to start against Oklahoma for Texas (3-3, 2-1), had to be replaced by last year’s starter, Shane Buechele, on the drive after the Sooners went back in front.
WEST VIRGINIA 46,
No. 24 TEXAS TECH 35
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Will Grier threw four of his five touchdown passes in the second half and West Virginia overcame an 18-point deficit to get the win.
West Virginia (4-2, 2-1) beat a ranked opponent for the first time in 10 tries.
Nic Shimonek threw four first-half TD passes for Texas Tech, but the Red Raiders (4-2, 1-2) got little going after halftime and made plenty of mistakes to enable the Mountaineers to mount their comeback.
Ka’Raun White had fourth-quarter TD catches of 32 and 17 yards to give the Mountaineers their first lead, and Grier capped the scoring with an 11-yard pass to Sills with 3:23 left.
Grier completed 32 of 41 passes for 352 yards. Shimonek went 24 of 39 for 323 yards.
