MANHATTAN, Kansas —
FINAL: TEXAS SURVIVES LATE KANSAS STATE PUSH, WIN 19-14.
SUMMARY:
Texas started out strong... really strong. Sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger completed 17 of 22 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Texas shot out to a 19-0 lead -- including a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown by freshman D'Shawn Jamison -- and held that into halftime, but this game was a tale of two halves.
Kansas State made a change at quarterback at halftime -- switching from junior Alex Delton to sophomore Skylar Thompson -- and that made all the difference. The Kansas State offense could not move the ball the entire first half, but under Thompson's first drive, the Wildcats marched 10 plays and 82 yards for their first score of the game. After a three-and-out and a missed field goal from Texas, Thompson led another long touchdown drive -- this time for 16 plays and 70 yards -- including four back-breaking first down conversions (two on third down and two on fourth down). After 14 unanswered points, Texas only led by five with just under 10 minutes remaining and we had ourselves a game. Arguably the play of the game, however, was a sack by senior defensive end Breckyn Hager on a third and six in the fourth quarter. Texas could not stop Kansas State on third and fourth down the entire second half, but that Hager sack got the Texas defense off the field in order for the Longhorn offense to milk the final six and a half minutes of the game.
Ehlinger finished the game 29-for-36 passing with 207 yards, one touchdown, but most importantly... no interceptions. Ehlinger has not thrown an interception since week one against Maryland. He's boasted a 7-0 touchdown to interception ratio in that span.
By all means, Texas survived what was seemingly an inevitable Kansas State comeback. The more the second half progressed, the more the curse of the Big Apple seemed to loom in the eyes of the Longhorns. But, the curse was broken this year. Texas won its first game in the Big Apple since 2002 and for the second time in program history.
Now, all eyes turn to Dallas, where the Longhorns will face Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry on Oct. 6 at 11 a.m. Texas will enter the matchup on a four-game winning streak.
4TH QUARTER
***TEXAS WINS 19-14***
TEXAS (OWN 40)
Ingram lost one yard on a first down carry. Ehlinger completed a swing pass to the left to Ingram and picked up five yards. A false start on third and six backed up the Longhorns to third and 11. Ehlinger stopped the bleeding for the Longhorns with a 12-yard pass to Johnson.
Ehlinger gained two yards on a quarterback keeper and Ingram set up a short third down with a seven yard run on third down. Ehlinger rushed for a first down and moved the chains to the Kansas State 36-yard line. Ehlinger rushed for another first down and essentially ended the game. Kansas State only has one timeout and the clock ticked under a minute with a fresh set of downs. Texas kneeled the ball and won 19-14.
KANSAS STATE (OWN 15)
Barnes rushed for four yards and Thompson threw an incomplete pass on second down. On third and six from their own 20-yard line, Thompson's pass was tipped at the line and fell incomplete. Kansas State punted the ball to the Texas 40-yard line.
TEXAS (OWN 25)
Texas responded on this drive with a 12-yard Ingram run, a six-yard pass to Ingram, and another seven-yard pass to Ingram. Texas is at midfield at this point. A short pass to Beck gained five yards and a Daniel Young run was stopped for a loss. On third and seven from the Kansas State 47-yard line, Ehlinger threw an incomplete pass intended for Johnson. Kansas State has all the momentum now. Texas punted the ball down to the Kansas State 15-yard line.
KANSAS STATE (CONT)
Back-to-back incompletions set up third and 10, but Thompson converted another third down pass for a first down. Shortly after, Thompson found his receiver for a 19-yard gain to bring the Wildcats to the red zone. Thompson tested Texas' Kris Boyd on back-to-back plays in the end zone trying to connect with Zuber. Kansas State dialed up a designed quarterback run on third and seven and Thompson picked up one yard. On fourth and six from the Texas 17-yard line, Thompson converted yet another first down on this drive. Kansas State ran the ball with Barnes three straight times and the Longhorns defense held strong. On fourth and goal from the one yard line, Barnes punched it in for a Wildcats touchdown. This drive was 16 plays, 70 yards. Texas leads 19-14.
3RD QUARTER
***TEXAS LEADS 19-7***
KANSAS STATE (OWN 30)
Thompson threw an incomplete pass on first down, and Dalvin Warmack ran for one yard on second down. On third and nine, Thompson converted a crucial first down to keep the momentum. This was the last play of the third quarter. The Wildcats will start the fourth quarter with first and 10 at their own 44-yard line.
TEXAS (OWN 13)
Ehlinger started the drive with a five-yard completion to tight end Andrew Beck. Humphrey caught a short pass to the left and made a few people miss on his way to a first down. Beck got his second catch of the drive on the next play and picked up another first down. Ehlinger found Duvernay for a pick up of nine and then a speed option to Watson was stopped for a one-yard loss. On third down, Ehlinger kept a zone read look and rushed for another Longhorns first down as they approached midfield. The Longhorns crossed deep into Wildcat territory after a 20-yard pass from Ehlinger to Humphrey. Back-to-back short runs set up a long third down, which was not converted. Cameron Dicker finished the Texas drive with a missed 48-yard field goal attempt.
KANSAS STATE (OWN 35)
Back-to-back tough runs by Barnes moved the chains to midfield. Texas' Breckyn Hager sacked Thompson for a eight-yard loss.
An incomplete pass set up third and long. Thompson completed his next pass to Isiah Harris for 10 yards, but he was short of a first down. Kansas State punted the ball to the Texas 13-yard line.
TEXAS (OWN 25)
Keaontay Ingram got the ball early and often on the Longhorns first drive out of halftime. Ingram picked up a first down on a swing pass and then picked up one yard on another swing pass on the next play. Ingram rushed for one yard on second down and Ehlinger completed a slant route to Duvernay, but was short of a first down. A high snap on the punt led to a punt block for the Wildcats. Kansas State took over at its own 35-yard line.
KANSAS STATE (OWN 18)
Skylar Thompson replaced Delton at quarterback to start the second half. After a four-yard Barnes run, Thompson completed a 13-yard pass to Dalton Schoen for a first down. Barnes had another short yardage run and then Thompson aired it out down the right sideline for an incomplete pass, but a Texas pass interference penalty moved the chains. Barnes followed the penalty with a 12-yard carry to the Texas 22-yard line. Thompson took a shot at the end zone, but it was incomplete. However, another Texas penalty moved the ball up five more yards. Thompson then found Schoen over the middle for eight yards to the Texas nine-yard line. Barnes got the Wildcats a tad closer with a two-yard rush. An incomplete pass set up third and goal from the seven-yard line. Thompson took a designed quarterback run to the right for seven yards and a Wildcats touchdown. Kansas State narrowed the Texas lead to 19-7.
HALFTIME: TEXAS LEADS KANSAS STATE 19-0
Sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger was in rhythm in the first half. He completed 17 of 22 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Ehlinger has also completed 114 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, dating back to week one against Maryland. That streak is the sixth longest in program history.
2ND QUARTER
***TEXAS LEADS 19-0***
KANSAS STATE (TEXAS 37)
With a short field to navigate this drive, Delton opened the drive with a short run and a holding penalty by Texas tacked on 10 more yards to bring the Wildcats to the Texas 18-yard line. Delton completed a pass to Isaiah Zuber to the 10-yard line. Delton called his own number on second down for a short gain. On third and two from the Texas 10-yard line, Delton kept the ball again and pushed through to the Texas six-yard line. Back-to-back runs inside the five-yard line were stuffed and Kansas State used a timeout with 34 seconds left in the first half. On third and goal, Delton ran up the middle again and was stopped short again by the Texas defense. Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder let the clock run down to two seconds and used a timeout. Delton had a man wide open in the end zone on fourth and goal, but the receiver dropped the ball. Texas leads 19-0 at halftime.
TEXAS (OWN 20)
Tre Watson started the drive with a three yard run, but a jet sweep pass to D'Shawn Jamison turned into a 14-yard loss for the Longhorns. On third and 21, Ehlinger fumbled the ball, but recovered it for a four-yard loss. Texas punted the ball back to Kansas State and the Wildcats returned it to the Texas 37-yard line.
KANSAS STATE (OWN 23)
Delton scrambled up the middle for a gain of two on first down. Delton kept the ball on a zone read to gain a first down to the Kansas State 33-yard line. Barnes continued the ground attack with a four-yard gain on first down to the 37-yard line. Delton took a deep shot down the right sideline that fell incomplete, but Texas was called for a pass interference penalty. The penalty moved the Wildcats to the across the 50 to the Texas 48-yard line. After an incomplete screen pass on first down, Delton ran a designed quarterback keeper for three yards to set up third and seven. Delton incompleted his third down pass and Kansas State punted the ball into the end zone for a touchback.
TEXAS (OWN 29)
After a penalty to start the drive, Ehlinger completed a short pass to Moore for a gain of eight yards and a one-yard run to set up third and nine for the Longhorns. Ehlinger hit Johnson on a shallow crossing route and an exceptional effort by Johnson gained 14 yards and a first down. Ehlinger continued to keep a rhythm and used his arm to take the Longhorns offense inside the 10-yard line. On third and seven, Kansas State brought pressure and forced Texas to kick a field goal. Cameron Dicker converted the 28-yard attempt and extended the Longhorn lead to 19-0.
KANSAS STATE (OWN 9)
Delton was sacked for a loss of five on the first play. Delton completed a four-yard pass to bring the Wildcats back to the eight-yard line. On third down, Delton was taken down in the end zone for a safety. Texas leads 16-0.
TEXAS (CONT)
UT started the second quarter with a little trickery. Running back Tre Watson got the ball and threw it back to quarterback Sam Ehlinger for a 21-yard gain to the Wildcats five-yard line. Ehlinger capped off the drive with a four-yard back shoulder fade pass to Johnson and the Longhorns took a commanding 14-0 lead.
1ST QUARTER
***TEXAS LEADS 7-0***
TEXAS (OWN 11)
Ehlinger opened the drive with a completed swing pass to Lil'Jordan Humphrey for a gain of seven. Watson was just short of a first down with a two-yard carry, but picked it up on the next play. Ehlinger continued to stay in a rhythm early in this drive with two more completed passes to Devin Duvernay and Joshua Moore. On third and one from the Texas 30-yard line, Ehlinger rolled to his left and found Collin Johnson for a gain of 21 yards. With a fresh set of downs, Watson rushed for 10 yards to bring the Longhorns to the Kansas State 38-yard line. Ehlinger connected with Humphrey again -- his fifth straight completion -- for 12 yards and a first down. This was the last play of the first quarter.
KANSAS STATE (OWN 22)
The Wildcats continued its attack the next drive on the ground -- a two-yard loss by Delton. After nine straight run plays, Kansas State dialed up its first pass play of the game, a bubble screen to the left which gained three yards. A rush for no gain by Delton and an incomplete pass set up third and three. On third down, Delton threw another incompleted pass. Kansas State punted the ball to the Texas 11-yard line.
KANSAS STATE (OWN 7)
The Wildcats began the game pounding the rock early. Quarterback Alex Delton and running back Alex Barnes rushed the ball eight straight times on the opening drive. Texas stopped the Wildcat offense in its tracks though and forced them to punt. On the punt, Texas return man D'Shawn Jamison returned the kick 90 yards for a touchdown. Texas leads 7-0.
TEXAS (OWN 12)
Tre Watson began the drive with a short three-yard run, but sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger completed four of his first five passes en route to Wildcats territory. Watson rushed for another three-yard gain on the Kansas State 41-yard line, but a block in the back penalty wiped the play and backed up the Longhorns. Ehlinger took a couple deep shots on this drive, all of which were incomplete. Texas punted the ball to the Kansas State seven-yard line.
PREGAME
Texas is on a roll.
After a head scratching upset on the road against Maryland to open the 2018 season, the Longhorns rallied in their three-game home stand, defeating two nationally ranked teams in the process.
However, UT does not have a good track record in the Big Apple. The Longhorns are 1-7 against the Wildcats in Manhattan.
But Texas is favored this season. The ESPN Football Power index gives the No. 18 ranked Texas Longhorns an 81.4 percent chance to knock off the Kansas State Wildcats.
Texas and Kansas State enter this matchup heading in two separate directions. Unlike UT, Kansas State lost both its games to ranked opponents -- 31-10 versus then No.18 ranked Mississippi State and 35-6 on the road against then No. 12 ranked West Virginia.
The result of this game will be vital to UT's success this season because there is a huge difference between entering arguably the team's most important matchup of the season -- the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma -- with a four-game win streak as opposed to a upsetting loss to Kansas State.
Texas and Kansas State kick off at 2:30 p.m.
