Players of the Game: Kansas State knocks off TCU in Arlington
KANSAS STATE OFFENSIVE MVP: Will Howard
It was not an easy win for Kansas State. It took everything they had, and there was plenty of mistakes and unfortunate injuries that impacted both sides of the ball. However, K-State stalwarts Will Howard and Deuce Vaughn produced massive plays.
The quarterback threw for 199 yards, two touchdowns and ran for a score. Howard wasn’t perfect and missed on a handful of passes, but he also had a lot of throws right on the money in the overtime win. He had a few key runs to keep drives alive throughout the contest, too.
Vaughn didn’t get everything he wanted on the ground, but he did break a 44-yard touchdown run out of the shotgun formation. He sped out to the second level and then broke the ankles of a Horned Frog defensive back before taking it to the house with ease.
The Kansas State back also had two big pass receptions, one in the second quarter and another with under two minutes remaining in regulation.
Ben Sinnott had the first K-State touchdown reception of the game late in the first quarter. He had two key grabs that included a six-yard score and a 26 yard catch early in the third quarter. The leading receiver was Phillip Brooks with six receptions for 48 yards.
Malik Knowles hauled in a big 40-yard pass that he turned up injured from early in the second quarter. He also had a jet sweep in the first half that went for 40 yards. Losing his elite speed required others to step up and they did so.
Kansas State was blessed with contributions from RJ Garcia, who made an impressive 25-yard grab in the end zone for one of his two receptions.
Kade Warner had a hard-earned 22 yards on five receptions. He was targeted a team-leading 10 times, one of which was a near spectacular catch on third down that would have set K-State up with a chance to win the game in regulation.
Back-up running back DJ Giddens only was given three carries but he ran through big holes for almost five yards a tote.
KANSAS STATE DEFENSIVE MVP: Eli Huggins
Eli Huggins had the biggest play of the game. He was the key man in stopping TCU from getting a touchdown on the goal line in overtime. Khalid Duke made the critical play on the previous snap, and Huggins essentially handed the Horned Frogs the loss and catapulted the Wildcats to the Big 12 title.
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Daniel Green led the way for Kansas State with 10 tackles and had a few key quarterback pressures. Safeties Drake Cheatum and Josh Hayes finished second and third in tackles. Freshman linebacker Jake Clifton made a couple big tackles.
Austin Moore had two incredible plays, one of which should have been a game-changing forced fumble that would have resulted in a safety. The officials thought different and called it an incomplete pass. It was still a big stop and forced a punt.
Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Brendan Mott both had their moments disrupting the backfield. The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year produced a key sack early in the third quarter that drove TCU nine yards back and forced a fourth down punt.
Julius Brents had a few great plays and a few disastrous plays.
He was physical and did things that don’t show up on the stat sheet, while also picking Max Duggan off in the end zone. However, the first team All-Big 12 selection for K-State should have had a second interception that fell in his lap. He was also burned a few time on deep shots to Quentin Johnston.
Jacob Parrish stepped in for an injured Ekow Boye-Doe and played well, especially for a true freshman. Kansas State held TCU to just one touchdown trough the air. They did allow Duggan and Kendre Miller to do a lot of damage on the ground.
SPECIAL TEAMS MVP: Ty Zentner
Knowles leaving with an injury limited the return game.
Phillip Brooks did have a key return late in the game that set K-State up with a short field in which they could not convert on with under a minute to go in regulation. He also had a critical mistake on the muffed punt that was the only turnover and provided the Frogs with a short field.
They capitalized quickly and reduced what was a double-digit Kansas State lead.
Ty Zentner had the game-winning field goal in overtime from 31 yards out and seven punts in which all but one were impressive boots. He has one more game to prove he’s the best punter in the country. He probably should have been on the All-Big 12 first team instead of the second team.
