Kansas State Wildcats vs West Virginia Mountaineers Match Player Stats On Nov 20, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 20, 2014

No. 11 Kansas State 26, West Virginia 20: Tyler Lockett returned a punt for a touchdown and recorded 196 receiving yards for the second straight game as the visiting Wildcats kept their slim Big 12 title hopes alive.

Jake Waters was 22-of-34 for a career-high 400 yards and a touchdown pass to DeMarcus Robinson while Matthew McCrane kicked four field goals for Kansas State (8-2, 6-1 Big 12), which moved into a first-place tie with TCU despite rushing for one yard on 29 carries. Lockett finished with 10 receptions, and Randall Evans and Dante Barnett made interceptions as the Wildcats took advantage of four turnovers.

Skyler Howard replaced an ineffective Clint Trickett (12-of-25, 112 yards, two interceptions) in the second half and was 15-of-23 for 198 yards and two touchdowns for the Mountaineers (6-4, 4-4), who lost their third in a row. Mario Alford and Kevin White caught the touchdown passes while White made seven catches for 63 yards after entering the game second in the country in receptions (91) and yards (1,207).

Waters capped Kansas State's first possession with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Robinson before West Virginia missed a big opportunity to answer when Wendell Smallwood fumbled at the Wildcats' 4-yard line on the ensuing possession. Three plays after a 37-yard pass from Trickett to White was wiped out by a questionable offensive pass interference penalty, Lockett fielded a short punt at the Mountaineers' 43 and had little trouble negotiating his way into the end zone.

After McCrane's second field goal - a 44-yarder - gave Kansas State a 20-3 lead in the third quarter, Howard entered and finished a 79-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to White. West Virginia closed to within 23-17 on Howard's 53-yard TD toss to Alford, who raced across the field and past several defenders with 7:23 left, and after the teams traded field goals, the Wildcats sealed the victory by recovering an onside kick with just under a minute to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: West Virginia appeared to tie the game at 10 midway through the second quarter on a bizarre play. Trickett's pass sailed through the hands of Jordan Thompson and to Barnett, who tried to secure the ball while rolling. Instead, he catapulted it into the air directly to White, who caught it and dove into the end zone, but replays showed the ball touched the ground before Barnett went into his spin. ... Howard, a 6-0, 206-pound sophomore, was 0-for-2 against Kansas on Oct. 4 in his only previous action. ... Kansas State finishes with Kansas and at Baylor, which is one-half game behind the Wildcats.