Kansas gives up season high of 56 points in Sunflower Showdown loss

MANHATTAN, KAN. — Going on the road and facing a Kansas State team ranked in the top 10, Kansas coach Charlie Weis wanted his players to get off to a fast start.
The Jayhawks either led or tied for the first 20 minutes. Kansas scored first and tried to build the momentum throughout the first half. Kansas State responded to those scores and eventually took the lead in the second quarter and never surrendered it winning 56-16 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday.

When Kansas State had a 21-14 lead late in the first half, senior  quarterback Dayne Crist threw an interception that deflected into the hands of Kansas State cornerback Nigel Malone, who brought the football back 55 yards to the five yard line with 16 seconds until halftime.

Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein had one opportunity to extend the lead. Klein tried to run to the end zone, but was tackled by sophomore linebacker Ben Heeney in bounds at the one yard line. With no timeouts left, the Wildcats could not get another snap off and time expired for the first half.

“Coach Weis came in and even talked about the situation and how the momentum started with us, then over to them and then we got it when we got a stop on the goal line,” senior safety Bradley McDougald said.

That stop also allowed the Jayhawks to go into the locker room knowing they would start the second half with the ball.

“I was a little bit surprised that we didn’t play better in the third quarter because we kind of got a little gift because they did not score on our interception right before halftime,” Weis said. “It was only a one-score game.”

Unfortunately Kansas did not make anything out of its opening drive in the second half. Kansas went three-and-out and ended up punting. Four plays later, the Wildcats found the end zone when Klein found tight end Travis Tannahill in the end zone for a two yard touchdown giving the Wildcats a 28-14 advantage with 10:56 remaining in the third quarter.

Kansas managed to come back with a drive, but an interception by Crist in the red zone gave Kansas State possession on its own two yard line. The Jayhawks managed to grab back momentum once again when senior linebacker Tunde Bakare tackled Kansas State running back John Hubert in the end zone for a safety.

However, a fumble by freshman Tre’ Parmalee on the following kickoff shut down any momentum Kansas had.

“From there on, I think that K-State basically got the best of us the rest of the day,” Weis said. “You just got the emotional high of a safety, and then you have the emotional low of turning the ball over and they score. You always have to respond to a sudden change or a turnover in a proper fashion. But they’re scoring chunks.”

Kansas State outscored Kansas 49-2 since the Jayhawks held a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. The Wildcats ground game corralled 346 yards and six touchdowns, which helped them take the fourth straight Sunflower Showdown.

Meanwhile, Kansas lost its fourth straight game of the season after giving up a season high 56 points.

“The bottom line is when you have a minus five in the turnover ratio to a team that is as good as this, you’re going to lose like this most of the time,” Weis said.

• Updated Oct. 19, 2012 at 11:33 pm