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Author: Dave Riggert

Chiefs intercept six passes in 28-0 win at Oakland

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Kyle Boller dropped back on Oakland’s first series and threw a pass to the left sideline that Kendrick Lewis intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Carson Palmer did the same to the right side to Brandon Flowers in the fourth quarter.

After all the talk this week about who would start at quarterback for the Oakland Raiders, it didn’t much matter. Boller and Palmer were equally bad.

Boller and Palmer each threw three interceptions and the Kansas City Chiefs took advantage of the rusty quarterback play to win their third straight game, beating Oakland 28-0 Sunday in their most lopsided road win ever against the Raiders.

“It was just an awful feeling walking off the field to be beat like that in the fashion that we were beat,” said Palmer, who was a retired player at home less than a week ago. “We need to regroup.”

Boller became the first Raiders quarterback in 13 years to throw three interceptions in the first half, including Lewis’ 59-yard score on the first drive of the game for Oakland (4-3). Palmer relieved in the second half and threw three more interceptions, including one that Flowers returned 58 yards to give the Chiefs a 28-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Cornerback Javier Arenas and Le’Ron McClain each added touchdown runs for the Chiefs (3-3) on a day the Kansas City offense didn’t have to do much at all.

After being outscored 89-10 in lopsided losses to Buffalo and Detroit to open the season, the defending AFC West champion Chiefs have won three straight to get back into contention in the division race. While the wins came against cellar dwellers Minnesota and Indianapolis and a banged-up Raiders team missing its leading passer, scorer and rusher for most of the game, the Chiefs aren’t apologizing.

“We don’t have too many pretty games but as long as we come away with the victory that’s all that matters,” said cornerback Brandon Carr, who had one interception. “We’re definitely making progress and trying to keep this thing going.

The Raiders’ promising season was jolted last week when starting quarterback Jason Campbell was knocked out with a broken collarbone. Coach Hue Jackson moved quickly to get a replacement by trading for Palmer on Tuesday.

Palmer had been working out on his own in Southern California. Because of his rust and unfamiliarity with his teammates and the playbook, Palmer did not start in his debut.

It didn’t end up mattering because neither quarterback was able to do much besides throwing interceptions.

Boller was 7 for 14 for 61 yards and became the first Raiders quarterback to throw three interceptions in the first half since Donald Hollas in 1998 against Miami. Palmer went 8 for 21 for 116 yards with the three interceptions.

Palmer now has the bye week to get up to speed before making his first start Nov. 6 at home against Denver.

“We’re not blinking,” Jackson said. “This football team is not going to blink. We have to play better. We have to play better offensively. I take full responsibility.”

This marked the first time the Raiders had thrown six interceptions in a game since that 1998 game against the Dolphins and the Chiefs had their first six-interception game since 1984 against Seattle.

“We knew that they had a quarterback controversy,” Lewis said. “We studied film and studied their routes and that they were going to give him a limited playbook. When we had the opportunity to make big plays and capitalize, that’s what we did. And we did a good job with it.”

Jackson was coy all week about whether Boller or Palmer would start at quarterback in Oakland’s first game since Campbell’s injury. With star running back Darren McFadden leaving in the first quarter with an injured right foot, it didn’t much matter.

Oakland moved into Kansas City territory on its first drive and tried to run a trick play on third-and-1 that backfired. Third quarterback Terrelle Pryor lined up at receiver and went in motion to behind the center and took a quick snap for a keeper. The Raiders were called for a false start because Pryor was not set for a second.

On the next play, Boller threw an out pass to Jacoby Ford that Lewis stepped in front off and returned 59 yards for the touchdown to give the Chiefs a 7-0 lead.

The boos for Boller started but Palmer remained on the sideline with a baseball hat. Boller threw his second interception on a deep pass to Denarius Moore that Flowers caught. The Chiefs then drove 61 yards for a score Le’Ron McClain’s 1-yard run.

Boller finally got the Raiders moving with some good runs by Michael Bush before Derrick Johnson stuffed him on fourth down at the 1 when Jackson called for a direct snap to the running back.

Boller was intercepted again late in the half.

“I’m just extremely frustrated,” Boller said. “I had an opportunity to go there. It just didn’t go as planned. Definitely not my best outing. I feel bad for my teammates. I feel like I let my teammates down. There’s not much to say. The play speaks for itself.”

— Associated Press —

Cardinals get blanked in Game 4 as Rangers even World Series

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For Edwin Jackson, the mound in Texas really was the wild, wild West.

Jackson walked seven — the most in a World Series game in 14 years — and Mike Napoli followed the last two free passes with a three-run homer on reliever Mitchell Boggs’ first pitch to give the Rangers and Derek Holland a 4-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night.

Instead of sending Chris Carpenter to the mound with a chance to clinch their 11th title, the Cardinals find themselves in the first World Series since 2003 that’s tied at two games apiece. That ensures a return to Busch Stadium for Game 6 on Wednesday night.

Holland allowed two hits in 8 1/3 innings and was pulled after walking Rafael Furcal. Neftali Feliz finished the two-hitter.

“Basically what happened is he just worked us over and shut us down,” St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said.

A night after tying World Series records with three home runs, five hits and six RBIs in the Cardinals’ 16-7 victory, Albert Pujols was 0 for 4 — batting with no one on base his first three times up, then flying out with two on in the ninth.

While Pujols was a non-factor, Lance Berkman went 2 for 3 and improved to 7 for 15 (.467) in this World Series and 12 for 28 (.429) overall in Series play, including his appearance for Houston in 2005.

In a rematch of the opener, won by the Cardinals 3-2, Carpenter starts Game 5 on Monday night and C.J. Wilson goes for Texas.

“If you want to choose somebody from the St. Louis Cardinals to pitch that game, it’s Chris,” La Russa said. “I mean, there isn’t anything about pitching on the road in a hostile environment. I think he actually likes it, pitches better. His problem is going to be good hitters, and he’ll have to pitch effectively. But we love playing behind him because we know he’s going to compete as hard as he can. He’s got a lot to compete with.”

Twenty-two of 40 teams to win Game 4 and tie the Series at 2 have gone on to the championship. The Series had not been 2-all since 2003, when the Marlins overcame a 2-1 deficit to beat the Yankees in six games.

Jackson has had a wild streak throughout his career. He walked eight in his third major league start, at San Francisco in 2003. He then matched that on June 25 last year, when he finished one shy of the record for walks in a no-hitter as he pitched Arizona over Tampa Bay 1-0.

Hits weren’t much of a problem. Jackson allowed three in 5 1/3 innings — including none after the second. He went to three-ball counts on four of his first 10 batters with the help of some long outs — four flyouts at or just in front of the warning track. He threw just 59 of 109 pitches for strikes.

“I thought he pitched really well,” La Russa said. “He missed a few times, walked a couple guys, but he kept making pitches. Overall I give him a huge plus for keeping us in the game.”

The seven walks were three shy of the Series record, set by the New York Yankees’ Bill Bevens in Game 4 in 1947 against the Brooklyn Dodgers. No one had walked seven in the Series since Florida’s Livan Hernandez had eight in Game 5 in 1997 against Cleveland.

Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre made a leaping catch on Furcal’s liner to start the game. It turned out to be that kind of night for the Cardinals.

Texas, which has not lost consecutive games since Aug. 23-25 against Boston, was ahead after 10 pitches from Jackson. That ended the Cardinals’ streak of scoring first in 10 straight postseason games, one short of the record set by Detroit from 1972-84.

Elvis Andrus singled sharply to left with one out and Josh Hamilton, just 1 for 12 (.083) coming in, doubled down the right field line. A pair of walks loaded the bases with two outs, and David Murphy flied out to Matt Holliday a couple of steps in front of the left field warning track, ending a 25-pitch inning.

Mitch Moreland, inserted at first base after Napoli’s struggles on Saturday, wound up helping to save a run in the second. Berkman doubled to the right-center gap with one out and, after David Freese struck out, Yadier Molina hit a grounder off the front of the mound. Second baseman Ian Kinsler ranged to the shortstop side of the mound, gloved the ball and made an off-balance throw to first, where Moreland scooped it.

With his pitch count climbing, Jackson walked Nelson Cruz and Murphy with one out in the sixth. Napoli greeted Boggs by sending a 95 mph fastball just inside the left-field foul pole, about 10 rows deep. In their first-row seats, former President George W. Bush and Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan exchanged a high-five. On the mound, Boggs grimaced.

“Well, it looked like it was a bad decision. Missed with his pitch,” La Russa said. “He just missed and Napoli didn’t.”

— Associated Press —

Western golfers sit in 2nd after day one at Bulldog Classic

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The Missouri Western women’s golf team is in 2nd place at the Truman State Bulldog Classic in Kirksville after firing a day one total of 336.

They are 15 strokes behind leader Nebraska-Omaha (321) and nine strokes ahead of Lincoln (345) who is in third place. Truman State sits in fourth with a 342. Shelby Stone is in a tie for first with UNO’s Rebecca Pollock firing 77s.

Casi Webb is in a tie for 7th with an 83 while Natalie Bird, Darcy Smith and Kristen Cooley fired 86, 90 and 93 respectively.

Western wraps-up their fall and the Truman State University Bulldog on Monday, October 24.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Kansas State moves up to No. 8 in latest BCS standings

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Following its 59-21 win over Kansas on Saturday, Kansas State moved up in both national polls and found itself at No. 8 in the latest BCS Standings released Sunday night on ESPN.

The Wildcats (7-0, 4-0) checked in at No. 10 in this week’s AP poll and No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches poll. K-State has now made appearances in the rankings for four consecutive weeks for the first time since 2003, while it has reached the Top 10 for the first time since 2003.

The No. 8 BCS ranking is also the highest for a Wildcat team since being ranked No. 8 back in December of the 2002 season.

The Wildcats, one of only eight remaining undefeated teams in the country, host No. 9 Oklahoma on Saturday for homecoming.

— KSU Sports Information —

Missouri State’s Wooden earns weekly MVFC honor

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The Missouri Valley Football Conference has named Missouri State quarterback Trevor Wooden (So., High Springs, Fla.) as its Offensive Player of the Week after the Bears’ starting signal caller led MSU to a 31-17 road victory over Western Illinois Saturday.

Wooden averaged 23.8 yards per completion and compiled 272 yards of total offense to orchestrate the Bears’ first win of the season. He scored MSU’s first touchdown of the night on a 14-yard run less than six minutes into the game to set the pace early and had completions of 57, 50 and 36 yards in the game to implement the MSU deep threat. He also posted a game-high and career-high 82 rushing yards on just 11 carries and averaged a team season-high 10.1 yards per play (27 plays for 272 yards).

Wooden ranks 15th among all Division I FCS quarterbacks in pass efficiency (154.42) and is 42nd in total offense (230.14). He ranks third in the MVFC in both categories. In seven starts in 2011, Wooden is 89-for-141 for 1,298 yards and 9 touchdowns in addition to 313 rushing yards and 4 ground touchdowns.

He is MSU’s first Valley Offensive Player of the Week since Jermaine Saffold claimed the honor for his efforts against Youngstown State on Oct. 2, 2010.

Wooden and Saffold lead the Bears into a homecoming clash with visiting South Dakota State this Saturday at 2 p.m. at Plaster Field.

— MSU Sports Information —

Griffon rolls up 632 yards as they blowout Truman

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The Missouri Western football team cruised to a 45-7 victory over the Truman State Bulldogs on homecoming at MWSU. The Griffons racked up 632 yards of total offense with 271 coming of the ground and 361 through the air. Western improves to a perfect 5-0 when rushing for over 200 yards in a game this season and the 632 yards is the first time a Griffon team has went over 600 yards of total offense since September 16, 2000 when they went for 620 against Missouri-Rolla. The Griffons improve to 6-2 on the season and 5-2 in MIAA play.

Two Reggie Jordan touchdowns in the opening half sparked the Griffons to a 24-0 lead after two quarters. Jordan opened up the scoring when he took a snap on a fake punt and scampered 64 yards for a touchdown with 3:24 to play in the first quarter. Jordan capped off a six play 80 yard scoring drive by the Griffons.

Jordan gave the Griffons a 14-0 lead catching a four yard pass from Travis Partridge with 10:46 to play in the second quarter. The touchdown capped off an 11 play 44 yard scoring drive for Western. Western kept up the pressure getting a 28 yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein and an 80 yard pitch and catch from Partridge to Tarrell Downing with under a minute to play giving the Griffons the 24 point lead. Downing had three catches for 131 yards in the half.

The Griffons dominated offensively accumulating 381 yards of total offense with 215 coming through the air. Partridge completed 10-of-17 for 168 yards and two touchdowns. His only blemish was an interception in the end zone on the opening drive of the game for Western.

Michael Hill rushed 17 times for 87 yards while Nic Burrell had six tackles leading the Griffons defensively. Shane Simpson had an interception in the half while Sean Tray Bryson got the Griffons only sack. Western held the Bulldogs to just 47 yards passing and to 0-of-5 on third down conversions.

The Bulldogs finished with 147 yards on 32 plays. They rushed 19 times for 100 yards with Donald Harvey gaining 63 yards on nine carries. J.B. Clark struggled throwing the ball completing 5-of-11 passes for just 24 yards. Richie Schumacher had 10 tackles for the Bulldogs.

The Griffons continued to play well into the third quarter scoring on two of their first three possessions. Western first scoring drive of the quarter was a five play 71 yard which ended with Hill plowing in from six yards out putting Western up 31-0. The Griffons scored again on their next possession when Partridge hit Derek Libby on a 60 yard pitch and catch giving Western the 38-0 lead after three quarters.

The two teams traded scores in the fourth as Western’s Jerrin Walton scored a 29 yard touchdown with 7:31 to play giving Western the 38 point victory. The Griffons have won four straight on the season and four straight over the Bulldogs.

Hill led the way on the ground rushing 22 times for 95 yards and a touchdown while Walton rushed six times for 47 yards and a touchdown. Partridge finished with career best 278 yards connecting on 15-of-24 passes with three touchdowns. Downing had five receptions for 171 yards and a touchdown while Libby had a career best three catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.

The Bulldogs finished with 291 yards with 158 on the ground and just 133 through the air. Harnish Ayora had 82 yards on 15 carries while Harvey had 65 yards on 10. Conrad Schottel completed 6-of-21 passes for 91 yards while rushing for the Bulldogs loan touchdown. Truman falls to 2-6 on the season and 1-5 overall.

Defensively the Griffons were led by Burrell with nine tackles with 1.5 being for a loss. Jeremy Weston and Simpson each had seven stops. Western recorded three sacks with Bryson, Oliver Pryor and Ben Pister all getting one.

Truman State was led by Schumacher with 15 tackles with six being solo. M.J. Kang had two sacks for the Bulldogs.

Western will hit the road for a non-conference match up on Saturday, October 29 when they travel to Bolivar, Mo. to take on the Southwest Baptist Bearcats in MIAA action. Game time is set for 2:00 pm from Plaster Stadium.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats use big second half to run away from No. 3 Washburn

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What had the look of a heavyweight bout quickly turned into a Northwest Missouri State rout as the Bearcats coasted to a 52-28 Homecoming victory in front of 10,073 fans at Bearcat Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Northwest outscored the Ichabods 35-14 in the second half as they improved to 7-1 on the year and 5-1 in MIAA play. The win snapped an 11-game winning streak for Washburn who fell to 7-1 and 5-1 in league play.

Blake Christopher returned after missing the last two games to throw for over 400 yards and became the 11th quarterback to win the Don Black Homecoming MVP Award completing 29-of-37 passes. He also led the Bearcats in rushing with 79-yards on 12 carries.

“Their defensive line is their strong point so we needed our offensive line to really set the tempo and they did that,” said Christopher who became the 18th senior to win the award.

Northwest jumped out to a quick start as Christopher tossed back-to-back touchdown passes to Tyler Shaw and Jake Soy to give the Bearcats an early 14-0 lead.

“We took advantage of their safety coming downhill and when you have playmakers like we do, Tyler made a good play to come get the ball and score. Then Jake, on his out route he took for a score really boosted my confidence the rest of the day,” Christopher said.

Christopher and Soy would hook up again for their second touchdown as Christopher threaded the middle of the Ichabod defense at the goal-line. Soy caught eight passes for 144 yards and the two scores.

Washburn would quickly rally scoring on a 17-yard Justin Cooper scamper and after forcing a Northwest three-and-out tie the game when Dane Simoneau found DeJuan Beard for a 40-yard touchdown.

After a quarterback draw from Christopher, the Ichabods would again tie the game again after a seven play 90-yard drive was capped by Simoneau’s second touchdown pass to Beard. Simoneau and Beard would hook-up and third time late in the third quarter.

However, the Bearcats would steal the momentum marching back down the field like a well-oiled machine setting up a 22-yard Todd Adolf field goal as time expired in the half. Northwest drove 75-yards in nine plays in just over a minute to push their lead to 31-21, a lead they would not relinquish.

“We were going to be aggressive today,” head coach Adam Dorrel said. “They are very good on offense and I was so proud of our defense. We talked about getting knocked down and getting back up and keep playing and doing your job. I felt great all day and this was a big win for us. We got better as a football team today.”

The Bearcat defense would swarm the Ichabod quarterback for three sacks and one interception as Northwest controlled the second half. Northwest was led by seniors, Josh Lorenson and Aaron Terry as the front four limited the Ichabod running game to only 70 yards.

Northwest dominated the time of possession by nearly 15 minutes controlling the clock as James Franklin rushed 17 times for 59 yards and three scores to help put the game out of reach. Franklin scored three times all coming in the second half.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Mizzou falls at home to No. 4 Oklahoma State

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Even without its starting wide receivers, Oklahoma State had plenty left on offense. The Cowboys’ big-play defense stepped up, too.

Joseph Randle scored a career-best four touchdowns, two on runs that capitalized on an interception and fumble recovery by Shaun Lewis, as Oklahoma State (No. 4 BCS, No.6 AP) remained unbeaten and ended Missouri’s 10-game home winning streak with a 45-24 victory on Saturday.

“This place will get kind of rowdy if you let it,” quarterback Brandon Weeden said. “Anytime you get them out of their seats and headed to the exits, that’s huge.”

Missouri quarterback James Franklin committed four turnovers in the second half: three interceptions and a lost fumble at the Oklahoma State 4.

“I know that I didn’t play the best,” Franklin said. “And it’s frustrating. But being sad about it isn’t going to do anything about it.”

Randle had 138 yards on 14 carries and scored on runs of 16, 59 and 12 yards. He also caught a 13-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.

“He’s a big play waiting to happen,” Weeden said. “The guy is explosive. Without looking at the tape, he’s got to be our MVP.”

Weeden had three touchdown passes after the opening snap of the second quarter. Lewis’ interception and fumble recovery helped the Cowboys (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) pull away and win their ninth in a row on the road despite injuries to both starting wide receivers.

They’re 7-0 for just the third time in school history, also doing it in 2008 and 1945. A major reason: They’ve forced 22 turnovers the last five games.

“They gave us what we had been working on all week,” defensive end Jamie Blatnick said. “When we see what we’ve prepared for it works out for us.”

Justin Blackmon caught a touchdown pass in the first quarter but was held out the second half as a precaution after taking a blow to the head. Hubert Anyiam, the Cowboys’ third-leading receiver, is out for the season with a broken bone in his left foot.

Isaiah Anderson had a career-best five receptions and Tracy Moore matched his career best with seven receptions.

“It’s interesting how young men will play when they know they have to play,” coach Mike Gundy said.

Henry Josey had 138 yards on 25 carries and T.J. Moe had six catches for 103 yards and a score for Missouri (3-4, 1-3), which has yet to win consecutive games and has dropped three straight in the series. All four of the Tigers’ losses have come against teams ranked at the time, and they play at No. 18 Texas A&M next week.

“We adjusted at halftime and played a little better,” defensive end Jacquies Smith said. “But we didn’t make enough plays.”

The Tigers had a strong second quarter, scoring on an 18-yard run by Kendial Lawrence and Moe’s 34-yard catch from James Franklin to cut the deficit to seven, before being undone by mistakes.

Lewis intercepted a tipped pass at the Missouri 27 and three plays later Randle scored on a 16-yard run for a two-touchdown cushion midway through the third quarter.

Missouri appeared to regain momentum when E.J. Gaines intercepted Weeden in the end zone and returned it 54 yards, also ending Weeden’s string of 194 consecutive passes without a pick. Franklin’s lost fumble gave the Cowboys possession at the 12, and again they needed just three plays to respond with Randle’s 59-yard jaunt making it 38-17. Brodrick Brown’s interception and 21-yard return set up Randle’s fourth TD in the final minute.

“We had opportunities,” Pinkel said. “Against a team like this, a really, really good team, we have to take advantage of every single opportunity.”

Weeden was 33 for 49 for 338 yards after a sizzling start and extended his streak of 30-yard completions to 15 games. The 28-year-old senior was 19 for 25 for 214 yards in the first quarter, with all six incompletions on drops.

“We may score 40 in the first half if we just catch the dang ball,” Gundy said. “We have to clean that up this week.”

Michael Harrison was wide open on a 27-yard catch and Blackmon caught an 8-yarder for his 28th receiving touchdown in 19 games. On the first play of the second quarter, Oklahoma State went up 21-3 on Weeden’s 13-yard TD pass to Randle.

Trickery produced Missouri’s best play of the quarter, with Franklin throwing a lateral pass to Moe and then getting it back for a 31-yard gain to the 13. But the Tigers stalled, settling for a short field goal by Grant Ressel.

— Associated Press —

Western volleyball defeats SBU to stay perfect at home

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The Missouri Western volleyball remained perfect at home improving to 4-0 in the fieldhouse with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 31-29, 25-8) victory over the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. Amanda Boender had a career best 11 kills on 39 attacks hitting .205. Western improves to 12-11 overall and 5-5 in MIAA action.

The Griffons struggled down the stretch in set one as the Bearcats closed the set on a 10-7 run winning by three at 25-22. Western hit .211 in the set with Shelby Corkill collecting six kills. In set two the Griffons got down 13-7 but a timeout by head coach Cory Frederick sparked the Griffons as they were able to outscore the Bearcats 18-10 run winning set to 25-23 and tying the match at one.

After two sets the Griffons were hitting .145 with 28 kills while Corkill led the way with 11 kills in 24 attempts for a .333 hitting percentage. Stephanie Hattey had 19 set assists and seven digs while Sarah Faubel had eight digs. The Bearcats hit .143 with Carrie Johnson collecting six kills on nine attacks. Whitney Gibson had 11 set assists while Kristi Hager had 10 digs.

Set three was  back and forth battle between the two squads as the Griffons were able to come away with the slim 31-29 victory taking a 2-1 lead in the set. The Griffons had 16 kills hitting just .093 in the set. The fourth set belonged to the Griffons winning 25-8 taking the match 3-1.

The Griffons finished with 55 kills with Corkill and Johnston pitching in 16 and 14 respectively. Hattey had 38 set assists while Corkill led the way with 17 digs. Hattey, Faubel and Torey Lyman added 16, 15 and 12 respectively.

The Bearcats fall to 9-15 overall and 4-7 in MIAA play. They had 45 kills with Johnson leading the charge with 11. Whitney Miller had 21 set assists while Kelsey Faunkhauser had 14. Hager had 21 digs while Britni Reed pitched in 17.

Western returns to action on next Friday, October 28 when they host the Emporia State Hornets. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm from the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

K-State hammers Kansas to stay unbeaten

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Kansas State’s Bill Snyder preaches to his players to treat every game the same, no matter the opponent, the place or the circumstance.

He’s going to have a tough time making the message stick this week.

Collin Klein threw for a career-high 195 yards and accounted for five touchdowns, freshman Tyler Lockett returned a kickoff for a score and caught a touchdown pass, and Kansas State (No. 11 BCS, No. 12 AP) tuned up for a big showdown against Oklahoma with a 59-21 pasting of Kansas on Saturday.

Kansas State Regularly Trounces Kansas

The Wildcats (7-0, 4-0) are riding their best start since 1999, when they won their first nine games. They’ll host the third-ranked Sooners next Saturday in a matchup that should go a long way toward deciding the Big 12 champion now that there’s no conference title game.

“For us, it’s all about us,” Snyder said. “It’s all about playing as well as we possibly can.”

Snyder doesn’t believe that’s happened yet. Maybe it never will.

But the Wildcats were plenty good enough to help their 72-year-old coach improve to 16-4 against the Jayhawks on Saturday. That includes a 59-7 blowout last year and a stretch of 11 straight wins in the 1990s and early 2000s, when Snyder annually fielded one of the best teams in college football.

The Wildcats are headed that direction again.

Behind the solid decision-making of Klein, a vastly improved defense and Snyder’s Yoda-like guidance, Kansas State has already matched its win total from all of last season.

Klein finished with 92 yards and four TDs rushing on Saturday, and Lockett — the son of former K-State great Kevin Lockett and the nephew of Aaron Lockett — had five catches for 110 yards. Running back John Hubert added 92 yards and another score.

“It was another step,” Klein said, taking a cue from his coach by downplaying one of the best starts in school history. “We have a lot of work on Monday.”

That’s certainly true with Oklahoma looming.

The Jayhawks, meanwhile, caused more trouble for themselves than they did their rival.

Kansas was penalized nine times for 105 yards, and two fumbles early in the second half resulted in touchdowns that effectively put away the game.

“It’s tough. All of our losses are tough to take,” said coach Turner Gill, who’s on the hot seat in only his second season. “We’re competitive. We plan on going out and playing well. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out, particularly in the second half.”

Jordan Webb threw for 169 yards and a touchdown for Kansas (2-5, 0-4), which has dropped five straight, including a 47-17 defeat to the Sooners last week.

“This game would have been a big confidence-booster for our team,” said Kansas safety Bradley McDougald. “I saw a lot of guys work hard this week and it didn’t show up, and it hurts.”

Kansas State jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, at which point the Jayhawks had more penalty yards (41) than net offense (23). They finally mounted a scoring drive that James Sims capped with a short touchdown run, but Klein answered with his third TD run for a 28-7 lead.

The Jayhawks looked as though they’d have some momentum at halftime when they drove 76 yards in less than 2 minutes, and Webb hit D.J. Beshears from 13 yards out for a score. But the Wildcats snatched the momentum back when Klein hit Lockett for 48 yards down the middle of the field to set up a field goal with no time left and a 31-14 lead at the break.

That was the start of a disastrous stretch for Kansas.

Lockett took the opening kickoff of the second half 97 yards for a score, his second kick return TD in as many weeks. The Jayhawks were whistled for three separate penalties on the ensuing kickoff, backing them up to their 8, and Tony Pierson promptly fumbled on the first play from scrimmage.

Klein scored two players later for a 45-14 lead.

On the Jayhawks’ next drive, Webb fumbled near midfield, and it took the Wildcats only six more plays before Klein hit Lockett for a 19-yard touchdown pass and a 52-14 lead.

The Wildcats began resting starters after that, guarding against injury before next weekend’s showdown against Oklahoma, and the backups swapped fourth-quarter scores inside a stadium that was nearly empty save for several thousand fans wearing purple.

“It was a good feeling come in here,” said Kansas State defensive end Jordan Voelker. “It’s also a big game setting us up for next week.”

— Associated Press —

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