Kansas State Squeaks Pass Iowa State 10-9 In Ames

Ames, Iowa — No. 20 Kansas State survive an upset bid by Iowa State, 10-9, on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 60,561 at Jack Trice Stadium, the largest crowd to attend a matchup between the Cyclones and Wildcats.

For the Wildcats, it was their fewest points scored in a conference road win since 1982.

The loss snapped Iowa State’s six-game home winning streak in night games. It was the second straight league loss for the Cyclones at home, the first time that has happened since 2015.

Adrian Martinez threw for 246 yards and ran for 77, helping the Wildcats improve their record to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12 Conference.

K-State scored when Martinez sidestepped a sack, then threw a high pass to a leaping Brooks, who came down with the ball and raced downfield for an 81-yard touchdown.

The Cyclones went three-and-out after getting the ball at the Kansas State 49 following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Wildcats. Iowa State then forced a three-and-out and took over at their own 48 after a punt. But Hunter Dekkers threw incomplete on fourth down at the KSU 49 and K-State ran out the clock.

“Playing football is crazy,” Kansas State receiver Phillip Brooks said. “You never know when your opportunity is.”

Brooks finished with 119 yards on four receptions, and Malik Knowles made five catches for 108. They are the first Kansas State receiving tandem to each go over 100 yards in a Big 12 game since 2014.

The Cyclone (3-3, 0-3) have scored just one touchdown in their last 20 possessions.

Chris Tennant smashed a 30-yard field goal with 7:14 left in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

K-State came in leading the Big 12 in rushing at 267.2 yards a game. Iowa State held the Wildcats to 131 yards on the ground, including just 48 in the first half. K-State’s Deuce Vaughn, leading the league with a 117-yard average could only muster 23 yards in 10 carries before leaving the game in the beginning start of the fourth quarter.

In the second quarter, Martinez found Malik Knowles for a 68-yard gain. But Knowles fumbled before crossing the goal line. Iowa State’s Anthony Johnson punched the ball out and Colby Reeder recovered in the end zone.

“Their kid made a great play on Malik,” Wildcats coach Chris Klieman said. “He made a phenomenal play. Touchdowns and points were going to be at a premium, with two good defenses.”

Martinez finished 12-of-19 passing and rushed 19 times.

Jace Gilbert made three field goals to give Iowa State a 9-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. Gilbert missed three times a week earlier at Kansas, also connected from 35 and 44 yards. The 44-yarder was the longest of his career.

“Just young players that are playing inconsistently,” Campbell said. “You still see ‘A’ players making ‘A’ plays, but we’re not as consistent as we need to be to win football games right now.”

Dekkers finished the contest 22 of 38 for 198 yards and no picks. Xavier Hutchinson became the fastest Cyclone player to reach 200 career receptions with his fourth catch of the game. He had eight catches in all for 100 yards, the ninth 100-yard receiving game of his career.

Hutchinson has 204 receptions in his career and trails only Allen Lazard on the school’s career list. Lazard, now with the Green Bay Packers, caught 241 passes in his ISU career.

“I thought we had a good plan coming in,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. “Obviously, the inconsistency of that plan continues to show up.”

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