ARLINGTON, Texas — The Kansas State Wildcats are Big 12 champions.
Kansas State defeated TCU 31-28 in overtime of the Big 12 championship game on Saturday at AT&T Stadium to claim its first league title in a decade.
Ty Zentner won the game for the Wildcats by connecting on a field goal of 31 yards on the final play of the game. That happened after K-State kept TCU out of the end zone with a goal-line stand during its possession in overtime. The Horned Frogs moved the ball to within inches of the end zone, but the Wildcats turned them away with back-to-back tackles for no gain as TCU tried to run the ball and take a lead.
With the win, K-State (10-3) can now bring a trophy home to Manhattan and begin focusing on its upcoming trip to Sugar Bowl.
With the loss, TCU (12-1) will have to wait and see if it did enough during the regular season to warrant a spot in the playoff. Odds are good that the Horned Frogs will be selected, but some will argue for Alabama instead.
Here is some instant reaction on the game:
Championships are rare at Kansas State
This achievement should be celebrated.
Bill Snyder is regarded as one of the best college football coaches of all time, and he only won two league titles during his long tenure with the Wildcats, with the first coming in 2003, the second in 2012.
Chris Klieman won his first in Year 4 on the job.
K-State got here with an impressive regular season and then an epic victory over previously undefeated TCU. Quarterback Max Duggan played a heck of a game for the Horned Frogs. The Wildcats were simply better.
Kansas State quarterback Will Howard threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns. Deuce Vaughn rushed for 130 yards and a score. K-State’s defense came up with important stops when it needed them most, not just in overtime.
And then Zentner made a clutch field goal. This team deserved its first Big 12 championship in a decade.
Vaughn had the play of the game
The Deuce Vaughn experience was on full display during one glorious run in the fourth quarter.
With K-State leading 21-17 and time ticking off the clock, Will Howard handed the ball to Vaughn in the backfield and the junior running back showed a national audience why he is an All-American.
Vaughn avoided a diving tackle by kicking up his feet on the perimeter, which left him with one man to beat. The TCU defender never stood a chance. Vaughn juked to his left and then cut back to his right. Just like that, he was all alone in the middle of the field and able to saunter past the goal line for a 44-yard touchdown run.
He went on to be selected MVP of the game with 130 yards rushing and that touchdown.
An unlikely touchdown for RJ Garcia
Redshirt freshman R.J. Garcia did more than make an unexpected impact in this game.
He caught an important touchdown pass of 25 yards from Will Howard that gave the Wildcats a 21-10 lead in their biggest game of the season.
Take a bow if you saw that coming. Before Saturday, Garcia wasn’t asked to do much of anything. He had five catches for 43 yards playing exclusively as a reserve behind K-State’s starting receivers. But Klieman has raved about his play in practice, and Garcia showed why when he got an opportunity on a big stage.
K-State needed someone to fill in for an injured Malik Knowles, and Garcia did exactly that.
That should bode well for what he is able to do next season when he steps into a larger role.
A game full of swings
Phillip Brooks is usually as sure-handed as reliable as they come as a punt returner, but he made a critical error that let TCU back in the game when K-State appeared poised to pull comfortably ahead.
With the Wildcats leading 21-10 early in the third quarter, they threatened to go ahead by three scores when they forced a TCU punt. But instead of taking over possession and driving down field for a touchdown, Brooks muffed the punt and the Horned Frogs recovered in excellent field position.
TCU took advantage with a touchdown run from Kendre Miller a few moments later, which made the score 21-17 instead of 28-10 like K-State fans were hoping for.
That special teams blunder was potentially a 14-point swing.
But this game turned out to be filled with momentum swings. A long missed field goal from TCU in the first quarter seemed to spark 14 straight points for K-State. And an interception in the end zone at the start of the fourth quarter from Julius Brents turned out to be a 14-point swing in favor of the Wildcats when Vaughn reeled off an electric touchdown run of 44 yards on the ensuing drive.
Injuries were once again an issue against TCU
Kansas State had to deal with myriad injuries in its first game against TCU this season.
Nothing changed in the rematch.
The Wildcats lost two starters before halftime on Saturday and also had to jumble their offensive line for a few plays while left tackle KT Leveston briefly exited the game.
Ekow Boye-Doe was the first loss. The senior cornerback was unable to play beyond the first quarter with some sort of injury to his left arm or shoulder. He complained of pain immediately after breaking up a pass early in the game and was unable to return. Boye-Doe went straight from the field to the injury tent on the sideline. When he emerged, he was no longer wearing pads and walked to the locker room.
Knowles was also unable to play in the second half. It was less clear how or when he was injured, but he didn’t play after piling up 88 yards of offense. His final play of the afternoon came on an end-around run that went for 40 yards. He spent the rest of the game without a helmet and changed into sweat pants at halftime.
