Kansas State 2018 Season

The 2018 season will be known in KSU folk lore for four reasons. The hiring of soon to be legendary coach HAFFnHAFF, the wild upset over Houston in week 4 in HAFFnHAFF's first game as coach, the farewell tour of star running back Dylan Stewart, and the emergence of QB Julius Minnow. Two games into the 2018 season, Kansas State hired coach HAFFnHAFF. Coach HAFFnHAFF promptly knocked off an undefeated Houston team in his first game as coach. But he wouldn't win another game the rest of the season, despite taking undefeated TCU all the way down to the wire. KSU began to transition from a very run heavy offense to a more balanced offense as the season progressed.

# Schedule and Results

## KSU @ Washington State

Not much went right for Kansas State in their debut. Washington State scored on their first possession as Andrew Butts scooted into the endzone from three yards out less than four minutes into the game. Butts would add a second touchdown run later in the first quarter, and the threat of the run would end up opening up the pass. Raoul Gomez was on fire, and wide receiver Jeremy Cook was scintillating. Cook caught a screen pass in the second quarter, got a couple key blocks ahead of him, benefited from a couple Kansas State players getting in each other's way, and sprinted 68 yards down the sideline for a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. Later, Cook would get wide open over the top of the defense, haul in Gomez's pass, and take it for a 52-yard touchdown catch for a 28-0 lead that would carry into halftime. The second half didn't get better. Gomez found Eduardo Cantu for his third touchdown pass of the game and a 35-0 lead. The Wildcats would get set up by a good kick return and convert that into a 2-yard William Proctor touchdown run to at least get on the board. But Wazzu struck back with Gomez's fourth touchdown pass, this one a 20-yarder to K.J. Sykes. In the fourth quarter, the game just managed to get worse for Kansas State. Backup quarterback August Crain threw a pick, and that led to Gomez's fifth touchdown pass and his third to Jeremy Cook. And after yet another Wildcat punt, backup Cougar halfback Elmer McDonald would punch in a 6-yard touchdown run to close the scoring. When the dust had cleared, the final score was 56-7 the worst margin of defeat and most points allowed in Kansas State's history. On the bright side, they were able to pick up 190 yards on the ground despite Dylan Stewart being held out of the game for undisclosed reasons. Stewart is expected to return next week, but this team's issues run much deeper than that.

**KSU 7 - Washington State 57**

## KSU @ #18 Missouri

The season debut of Dylan Stewart was...underwhelming. The senior back picked up just 90 rushing yards on 28 carries, and with no help from quarterback Aiden Higgins (5-10 for 58 yards, 5 carries for negative 17 yards), the Kansas State offense was unable to get virtually anything going. The game was pretty much in hand for Missouri when Tucker Dowden hit Daniel Hobbs on a 10-yard corner fade to put Missouri up 7-0, but having a bit of insurance is always nice. Caleb Sherwin would add a touchdown run of his own late in the second quarter, but that would be the only points Missouri scored in the first half. Kansas State was doing a good job of bending without breaking, forcing Missouri to march all the way down the field before they could score. That did not remain true after the half. David Murray would find himself wide open downfield, and Tucker Dowden didn't need any encouragement to hit him with the 28-yard touchdown pass and a 21-0 lead. The third quarter was the only drive of any significance for Kansas State. They converted on a couple of short third downs, moved the ball into the red zone, and got as far as the 12 before Stewart was stood up at the line of scrimmage on 3rd and short, forcing the field goal unit to come on. At least they were on the board, but that's as far as they'd get. Missouri's defense played shutdown ball for the remainder of the game, and Kansas State didn't do anything to challenge them. To close out the festivities, Cameron Lindsey won his footrace with Ahmad Williams as Dowden put the deep ball up for grabs. Lindsey hauled it in, shook off Williams's tackle, and practically danced the last few yards on the way into the endzone for the 40-yard score. That put the Tigers up 28-3 and pretty much summarized the day for the beleaguered Wildcats. Next up is their home opener on Thursday against Joel King and the Houston Cougars.

**KSU 3 - #18 Missouri 28**

## KSU vs. #23 Houston

Aiden Higgins showed off his chops as a runner in the first half, Dylan Stewart turned up the heat in the third quarter, and the Kansas State Wildcats did just enough to hold off a monster game from Joel King and a comeback bid from the Houston Cougars in a shocking upset win. They never trailed in the feline fight, taking their first lead when Aiden Higgins broke containment on a designed pass play, scrambling out of pressure and never finding resistance downfield en route to a 41-yard touchdown run, which exceeded his rushing total for the season to date. He wasn't done yet, either; with the score tied at 7 after Trainer Joyce's first-quarter touchdown run, Higgins broke the tie for good with a 3-yard keeper just before halftime. Kansas State would get the ball to start the second half, and workhorse back Dylan Stewart began to show off his chops. Big run after big run put the Wildcats into scoring range, and he'd close out the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. This began a run where neither team could get a stop on defense. Joel King found Michael Baxter downfield for a 36-yard touchdown pass. Stewart answered with a 4-yard score. King found James Hampton deep over the middle for a 40-yard score. Stewart answered by practically running over a safety on a 30-yard touchdown run. King found Trainer Joyce on a swing pass for a 16-yard touchdown. Then, with a 35-28 lead, Kansas State stalled at their own 40 and had to punt. However, the defense was able to break up a pass on third and long, and Houston had to punt it back. Kansas State would turn it into a field goal, but Houston came right back and score quickly as Kansas State lost John Mitchell on 4th down, and King found him for his 4th touchdown pass. However, the Cougars would fail to recover the onside kick, and Higgins would get the first down on the quarterback sneak to force Houston to burn its last timeout. The Wildcats knelt out the clock, and their first home game was in the books as their first win. They'll have to head back on the road next, but they'll likely be favored against Louisiana Tech.

**KSU 38 - #23 Houston 35**

## KSU @ Louisiana Tech

It was a miserable day of offense for the Wildcats of Kansas State, and it was a slightly less miserable day of offense for the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech. Kansas State went back to the power run over and over again, running the ball 35 times on the day. While they were able to get reasonably good efficiency out of that (more than 4.7 yards per carry), they struggled to turn yards into points. Louisiana Tech was able to force them into 3rd-down situations, and the Wildcats consistently struggled to stay on the field (3-13 on third downs). Even though the Bulldogs' Lukas Shea hovered just barely over 50% on their completions, they were able to put a couple of big enough plays together that they'd eventually find themselves in Kansas State territory in the first quarter. They made it as far as the 6, in fact, before the Wildcats broke up a pass in the endzone and forced a field goal. That would hold as the game's only score for a while. The first quarter ended. The second quarter came and went. Kansas State went three-and-out to start the third. Then, Louisiana Tech would add another field goal and get those dots on the scoreboard moving around. Meanwhile, Kansas State remained scoreless. At this point, it had gone from a blip on the radar to something alarming. Eventually, Dylan Stewart would put them on the board with a 3-yard touchdown run to close Kansas State's only truly good drive of the game, and the extra point put the Wildcats in the lead. Kansas State fans could breathe a sigh of relief--only to hold their collective breath once again. Louisiana Tech had one last drive in them. Taking to the air against an exhausted Wildcat defense, Lukas Shea found his groove. And the end result was a touchdown pass from Shea to Nicholas Baker to take the lead back with just 1:33 to play. Kansas State would get the ball back needing a touchdown. They wouldn't get it. Aiden Higgins would throw his first career interception with 22 seconds to play, and the Bulldogs knelt the clock out to close out a bad loss for the Wildcats. Kansas State will have a bye week to figure things out before their conference opener against Kansas.

**KSU 7 - Louisiana Tech 13**

## KSU vs. #9 Kansas

On Kansas State's first possession of the game, they reached the Jayhawk 15 before being forced to kick a field goal. That's as close as the Wildcats would get to reaching the promised land, and Kansas would take over the game from there onward to defend the Governor's Cup for the first time ever. Eric Jennings found Timmy Sutton in space and let the redshirt sophomore find his way into the endzone for a 15-yard strike that gave Kansas the lead for good. They'd pad it as Jennings found Jeffrey Goss on a 4-yard stick play for his second touchdown of the game--he'd finish with two touchdowns and 329 yards for the day. The score would remain 14-3 heading into halftime, and not much was developing on offense for Kansas State. That would change a bit in the second half: once again, Kansas State would open the period with a score. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that score would be another field goal, this one from 39 yards out. And even more unfortunately for the Wildcats, Kansas would have an answer by the end of the quarter as Jalen Clayton took a handoff off tackle and stretched the ball across the goal line for the touchdown and a 21-6 lead. Kansas's offense wasn't as powerful as it had been in its first three wins, but it had rebounded nicely from the 7-point effort against Wisconsin. Jayhawk fans will be happy with the defensive effort, though; in addition to allowing just 6 points, they would bottle up Dylan Stewart (128 yards on 29 carries) and get pressure on Aiden Higgins. On one fourth-quarter play, he got caught scrambling and trying to tuck the ball back in to run, only for linebacker Oliver Bates to hit him and jar the ball loose. James Carson fell on it, and it would set up a KU field goal to pad the final margin to 24-6. Kansas moves to 4-1, 3-0 in conference play ahead of a potential top-10 matchup in Lawrence against Texas Tech. Kansas State falls to 1-4 with the loss in their conference opener; they'll head to Morgantown on Thursday to take on a reeling West Virginia.

**KSU 6 - #9 Kansas 24**

## KSU @ West Virginia

When you need a win in the worst way and when the opportunity presents itself, you have to find a way to get it done. Some teams respond to that pressure by hitting a little harder. Others respond by playing a little smarter. On Thursday night, we saw a combination of both. Smarter nearly drew harder to a draw, but West Virginia was eventually able to wear Kansas State down just enough, produce one extra opportunity, and convert it into the win. The Mountaineers never trailed in front of their home fans, but they were also unable to create any sort of separation. They got on the board first with a bit of flair, as Mohammed Foster escaped a sack just in time to put a ball right on the money to Abdoulaye Bowser 29 yards downfield in the endzone, but they gave up that lead before the first quarter ended in surrendering an 18-yard touchdown run to quarterback Aiden Higgins. Kansas State was unable to turn that score into any momentum, and their defense would give up a touchdown run to Mohamed Mustafa to trail 14-7 heading into the half. They were able to take advantage of West Virginia's aggressiveness, using a play-action bomb to Ricky Seau and a pass interference penalty to set up a 1-yard touchdown run for Dylan Stewart to tie it. Neither team would find the endzone again as they struggled to get any separation. West Virginia looked to take the lead back on a 40-yard field goal attempt from Felipe Muñoz, but he shanked it. He'd get another opportunity from 42; this one was right down the middle for a 17-14 lead. Kansas State looked poised to take the lead with a drive that reached the red zone, but Dylan Stewart was stacked up at the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 1 from the 17, and the Wildcats settled for a field goal and the tie with 3:26 to play. That gave West Virginia the ball with plenty of time to score--and the Mountaineers used just about all of it. It came down to a 46-yard field goal attempt from Muñoz, who'd been good from 42 and no good from 40 earlier. Kansas State tried to ice him, but the effort was fruitless. Muñoz had no problem with the kick, and West Virginia celebrated the end of a 3-game losing streak. They'll look to put together back-to-back wins for the first time since the end of last year's 9-0 start when they host Baylor next week. Kansas State will attempt to break their own three-game losing streak as they face Brad Davis and the Texas Longhorns.

**KSU 17 - West Virginia 20**

## KSU @ #16 Texas

Brad Davis has been breaking records in volume this year. Why not add a record in efficiency? Brad Davis was surgical in his dismantling of Kansas State's defense, completing 90.9% of his passes (30-33) for 350 yards and 2 touchdowns in an easy win. His completion percentage set a new Big 12 single-game record, besting Brian Brown's 90.5% posted against Rice in 2013 back when both Rice and Boise State were members of the conference. His 33 pass attempts were a season-low, but he made up for it with 10.6 yards per attempt--his second-highest average of the season. Kansas State had trouble covering all of Davis's weapons, and that showed early on: Davis found second-string tight end Darrell Boyd in the endzone on Texas's first drive of the game to give the Longhorns all the points they'd need. Troy Booker would add a touchdown run later in the game to extend the lead, but that would be the last time Texas's offense would find the endzone for a while. Kansas State was able to limit the Longhorns to field goals of 24 and 39 yards in the second quarter. The deficit would be 20-0 at the half, but it could have been worse. And it did get worse in the second half. Dylan Stewart was struggling to find any traction against the Texas defense, and Aiden Higgins was having an even tougher time throwing the ball. He made an ill-advised throw on third down that turned into his second interception of the year--this one to Troy Marshall. Luckily for the Wildcats, Xavier Jernigan clanked the 40-yarder off the uprights. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Higgins would repeat his mistake to the other side of the field, and Demetrius Patterson wouldn't give his offense the chance to blow another drive. He took the pick all the way back to the house for a 27-0 lead, and that still wouldn't be all. Jernigan got a chance to make up for his previous mistake to pad the lead to 30-0, and Davis would cap it off by firing an absolute bullet down the middle to star tight end Steven Maloney for the final score with just under 2 minutes to play. 37-0 would be the final score of this one-sided matchup. For Texas, it's their fourth shutout win of the season and their biggest win in conference play since thrashing Baylor 37-0 in 2016. It's also their third straight win in conference play after starting 0-2, and they'll look to continue that streak in Lawrence next week when they take on Kansas. And for Kansas State, it's their sixth loss of the year--one more means they become the first team to bowl ineligibility. In addition, it's their largest margin of defeat in conference play and their second-worst loss overall. The rumor is that Aiden Higgins is heading to the bench in favor of true freshman Julius Minnow; maybe he can put a jolt into the team after their bye week when they take on Georgia State.

 **KSU 0 - #16 Texas 37**

## KSU vs. Georgia State

By the time Georgia State's offense gained traction, the third quarter was nearly over. But even that was long before Kansas State's offense could find any ground, and the Panthers held onto the multi-score lead to continue their best season in school history. The first quarter was a scoreless one, and the second quarter threatened to reach the same fate until a last-second 40-yard field goal from Nico Riddle put the Panthers on the board. The game's first touchdown didn't occur until the middle of the third quarter, and it wasn't even on offense. Dylan Stewart was waylaid by Georgia State's Thomas Lewis as he was still corralling the handoff, and the ball came loose. Completing the plan, Lewis scooped it up off the bounce and took it all the way back for a touchdown. However, Kansas State would find some small triumph by blocking the extra point and keeping the deficit at 9-0. It wouldn't stay there for long--Georgia State finally got something working on offense. Evan Grant broke off a couple of big runs, none more important than the catch-and-run on a screen pass that got him into the endzone for a 16-0 Georgia State lead. The Wildcats still had some fight in them, of course. They kept pounding the rock to Dylan Stewart, and they even let Julius Minnow throw the ball a few times in the true freshman's debut. One of Minnow's 12 pass attempts was a beautiful, arcing throw to a wide-open Ricky Seau in the endzone for a 19-yard touchdown pass, the first passing touchdown the Wildcats have had all year. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be enough to save the game. Their next possession would be a punt, and Georgia State would convert that to a 5-yard touchdown run for Evan Grant to put the game well out of reach with 2:15 to play. Kansas State falls to 1-7 and is the first Big XII team to clinch bowl ineligibility this season. They'll host Oklahoma State in what is likely their last, best chance to get a second win this season.

**KSU 7 - Georgia State 23**

## KSU vs. Oklahoma State

Raheem Robinson keeps finding new ways to dazzle, and his work alongside Afasa Neru kept Kansas State out of reach for the entirety of the Cowboys' third win of the season. Robinson's first catch out of nine for the day would be an 18-yard snag over the middle for a touchdown score in the first quarter. Neru would add a 2-yard touchdown run later in the quarter to put Oklahoma State up 14-0. Over the course of the second quarter, though, Kansas State would find its footing and put together a bit of a run. Dylan Stewart plowed through a wall of Oklahoma State defenders on his way to a 5-yard score, and less than two minutes later the Wildcats entered a new statistical category for the season: the interceptions column. Lukas Burke made a bad decision by attempting to throw to a player who was not named Raheem Robinson, and the result was Neal Davis grabbing Kansas State's first interception of the year. That would set up a 36-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-10. The Cowboys would recover before the half, scoring the ball on an Afasa Neru touchdown run to make it 21-10 at the intermission. After halftime, Kansas State would get the ball first and take full advantage. Julius Minnow got more freedom on the offense than his predecessors had, and he made the most of it with a 12-yard strike to Ricky Seau to once again narrow the gap to 4 points. But when Oklahoma State needed a big play from Raheem the Dream, they got one. Burke tossed a tough throw into traffic in the endzone, and Robinson made it look easy as he came down with it. That wasn't quite enough to put the Wildcats away, though. Lightning struck twice, and Kansas State would come away with their second interception of the game (and the season). However, they would once again be limited to a field goal. That would cut it to a one-possession game at 28-20, but guess who would come through to put the game out of reach? If you guessed Raheem Robinson, you'd be wrong--the most explosive player in the country had set a career-high with 175 receiving yards, but it was Afasa Neru and his third rushing touchdown of the game who would truly put the game away. 35-20 was the final as Oklahoma State improves to 3-6, collecting its first conference win of the season. Kansas State drops to 1-8 (0-4 Big 12). Both teams will host schools from the state of Texas next: Oklahoma State welcomes Texas Tech while Kansas State takes on TCU.

**KSU 20 - Oklahoma State 35**

## KSU vs. #3 Texas Christian

At first, this looked like it was going to be a routine game for TCU. The Horned Frogs scored on their first possession, Nathan Burden finding former starting halfback (and current starting fullback) Fredrick Marshall on a swing pass for a 6-yard touchdown. They would add a 39-yard Paul Peterson field goal to make it 10-0 in the first quarter, and Kansas State was only able to muster a field goal of their own before the first quarter was up. Then, Kansas State's offense suddenly lit up. After the defense forced a three-and-out, Dylan Stewart punched in a 3-yard touchdown to tie it up. After a couple of empty possessions, TCU would finally get the lead back with a Shamar Burroughs touchdown run, but Julius Minnow's 30-yard strike to Devon Tillman tied it up just 68 seconds later. And when Peterson added a 34-yard field goal to take the lead with 40 seconds before the half, Kansas State blurred down the field to tie it right back up on Martin Kay's 42-yard field goal as time expired. In the second half, TCU continued to bite on play action, and Julius Minnow kept burning them downfield. The Wildcats got the ball to start the period and scored within 3:16--this one coming on a Minnow pass to Joseph Vaughn. The 27-20 lead was the first lead they've held since a 3-0 advantage over Kansas in week 7. It would last a few minutes, but TCU would tie it up later in the third quarter on Burden's touchdown pass to tight end Emanuelu Lesa. The Wildcats had a chance to respond, but two things got in the way. First, TCU's defense walled up Dylan Stewart on 3rd and 1 from the 11. And second, Martin Kay clanked the 28-yard chippie off the right upright. TCU wouldn't answer immediately, but they'd eventually take advantage. It was Burroughs scoring once again, the freshman's 4th straight 2-touchdown game despite averaging just 16.5 carries per game. However, Kansas State would not say die. With the poise of a quarterback well beyond his years, true freshman Julius Minnow fired a beautiful strike to Grover Shaffer to tie the game up with just 1:48 to play. If the defense could hold for 108 seconds, it would be overtime. Nathan Burden had other ideas. A long strike from Burden to Beckham set the Horned Frogs up in field goal range at the Wildcat 31. The snap was good, the hold was good, and the kick was a no-doubter with 1 second to play. TCU squibbed the kick, snuffed out the lateral play, and survived a bid for what would have been one of the biggest upsets in this conference's history by a 37-34 margin. They improve to 10-0 (6-0), and go on bye next week before hitting the road to Houston for a non-conference tilt at Rice. Kansas State drops to 1-9 (0-5) and has a suddenly intriguing matchup against Oklahoma coming up next.

**KSU 34 - #3 TCU 37**

## KSU vs. Oklahoma

There's still a bit of gas left in Oklahoma's tank. Getting contributions from just about everyone on the field, the Sooners snapped their four-game skid with a blowout road win over Kansas State. It didn't start that way--the first quarter was a scoreless tie as both teams were feeling each other out, and Kansas State was actually the first team on the board on Julius Minnow's touchdown pass to fifth-string wide receiver Steven Goode--a touchdown pass from true freshman to true freshman. That would end up being the highlight of the Wildcats' day, though, as it seemed to wake up the sleeping Sooners. Just over two minutes later, Sean Egloff found a hole and ran straight through the Kansas State defense for a monster 40-yard touchdown run to tie the game up. Kansas State would have a chance to re-take the lead before the half, but Martin Kay bounced the kick off the upright. He'd get another chance to redeem himself on the Wildcats' first drive of the second half. This time, he missed the upright--only to push it even wider, shanking the field goal entirely. Oklahoma took advantage, this time with Graham Burnett and tight end Sean Jones stepping up. Displaying his touch, Burnett found Jones in traffic for the go-ahead 8-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Displaying his arm, Burnett found a wide-open Jones streaking downfield for a 32-yard score later in the period to break it open. Jones will get a lot of the credit for scoring two touchdowns, but Jacob Lewis (6 rec. for 160 yards for the day) had a pair of long catches that set those scores up. Lewis would be held out of the endzone despite his efforts. Burnett would instead find Miles McCullough in the fourth quarter for a 20-yard score to set up the final margin of 28-7. The Sooners improve to 3-7 (2-4) and guarantee themselves a third-place finish in the Big XII North. They'll host Colorado next week for Senior Night. Kansas State drops its eighth straight to fall to 1-10 (0-6) and will finish last in the division. They'll get one last chance at a second win, but it'll be a tough one at Iowa State.

**KSU 7 - Oklahoma 28**