MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State scored four unanswered touchdowns in the second half to defeat West Virginia, 35-12, and gain its first Big 12 win of the season Saturday.
Jake Waters was 10-of-13 for 198 yards and three touchdowns for Kansas State (3-4, 1-3). Daniel Sams was 8-for-8 for 93 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Lockett had eight catches for 111 yards and three scores.
Kansas State had a chance for a big break early in the third quarter when Clint Trickett fumbled and it was recovered by Blake Slaughter at the West Virginia 18-yard line. But on the second play, Sams lost the ball after gaining a first down and it was recovered in the end zone by the Mountaineers' Karl Joseph.
On the next play Trickett hit Kevin White on a slant pass just over the line of scrimmage and White meandered 43 yards through the K-State defense. That resulted in a 50-yard field goal by Josh Lambert and a 12-7 lead for West Virginia (3-5, 1-4).
But Kansas State responded with a 14-play, 78-yard drive, that used up 8:24 with the Wildcats going into the 20-mph wind. The drive was capped by a 9-yard pass from Sams to Lockett in the back of the end zone on third-and-goal.
Another 78-yard drive, this one taking seven plays and 3:40, gave Kansas State a 21-12 lead with 11:11 left in the fourth quarter. Waters hit Tramaine Thompson on a 30-yard touchdown pass on a play that looked exactly like his first touchdown of the day to Lockett.
Waters' hit Lockett with a 24-yard touchdown with 7:31 left to put the game out of reach. John Hubert ran in a 4-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left for the final score.
Kansas State was the first team to find any kind of flow on offense in the first half, but even that took a substitute. Waters replaced Sams at quarterback as the Wildcats faced third-and-15 from the West Virginia 35. Waters, who had started the game for Kansas State, threw a 35-yard touchdown to Lockett, hitting Lockett in stride just shy of the goal line.
After the teams traded punts, West Virginia answered early in the second quarter. Trickett ran off left tackle for a 6-yard touchdown. Travis Britz blocked the extra point, helping Kansas State retain the 7-6 lead.
West Virginia took the lead on a 21-yard field goal by Lambert. The Mountaineers reached the Kansas State 6-yard line on a 50-yard completion from Trickett to Ronald Carswell. But the Wildcats defense stiffened, forcing the field goal.
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