MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Skyler Howard was waiting for something good to happen to West Virginia’s offense.

That occurred in the fourth quarter, when the Mountaineers came from 13 points down to beat Kansas State 17-16 on Saturday in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

“You know the snowball effect where you get one thing going wrong and the snowball just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger?” Howard said. “You’re looking around like, man, we need a spark. We need something to happen.”

“Our guys came together and kept fighting. Nobody was down or pointing fingers.”

Despite being held scoreless in the first half for the first time in three seasons, West Virginia improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2012. The Mountaineers broke a four-game losing streak to the Wildcats since joining the league that year.

“I just couldn’t be more proud of our team for having the courage to go out there and do that in the second half,” said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen.

Kansas State (2-2) had a chance to win it. But Matthew McCrane, who earlier made three field goals, missed a 43-yarder wide left with 2:03 left. West Virginia got the ball at its 26 and ran out the clock.

Kansas State was limited to 108 yards of offense in the second half.

“Our execution was not as good as it needs to be,” said Kansas State coach Bill Snyder. “We just probably didn’t move the ball like we should. We struggled offensively in the second half when we had to have some movement. Couldn’t get first downs.”

West Virginia’s turnaround began when Shelton Gibson caught a 52-yard pass near the end of the third quarter and Ka’Raun White caught a 7-yarder on fourth-and-6 four plays later. Justin Crawford ran nine yards on first-and-goal and he finished the drive with a 1-yard TD run with 13:41 left to cut the deficit to 16-10.

A 31-yard punt later gave West Virginia the ball back at its 43, and Howard converted a third-down pass to Ka’Raun White at the Kansas State 9 before scrambling to find Jovon Durante in the right corner of the end zone from 7 yards out with 6:11 left for the final margin.

“I saw a little window and we took it,” said Howard, who finished 24 of 41 passes for 298 yards with one interception. “In the grand scheme of things, we make that play a lot in practice. But to finally do it in a game, it paid off.”

West Virginia squeaked by for the second straight game. A week ago the Mountaineers were ahead of BYU by 16 points in the fourth quarter and needed Maurice Fleming’s interception to seal the 35-32 win .

“Finding a way to win is the most important thing,” Holgorsen said.

THE TAKEAWAY

KANSAS STATE: The Wildcats entered the game with the nation’s top defense but gave up 422 yards to the Mountaineers. Kansas State was held to 286 total yards of offense and Jesse Ertz completed 10 of 30 passes for 166 yards.

Snyder said Ertz was “not like he has been in the last couple of weeks. But once again, West Virginia had an awful lot to do with that.”

WEST VIRGINIA: The Mountaineers left plenty of points off the board. Rushel Shell fumbled the ball away at the Kansas State 3 late in the third quarter, and Josh Lambert earlier missed a 30-yard field goal.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

West Virginia could get enough votes to sneak into the AP Top 25 poll but needed a more convincing win to ensure that happens. The Mountaineers entered Saturday’s game four spots out of the poll.

UP NEXT

KANSAS STATE: Hosts Texas Tech next Saturday.

WEST VIRGINIA: Heads into a bye week before playing its first true road game of the season at Texas Tech on Oct. 15.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – For a second-consecutive week, a Kansas State returner earned Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week accolades as sophomore Byron Pringle was honored for his performance against Missouri State, the conference office announced Monday morning.

Pringle, a community-college transfer, earned K-State’s 22nd special teams player-of-the-week honor since 2011. Additionally, it was the Wildcats’ 39th Big 12 Player of the Week accolade in the last six seasons, which ranks second in the league.

A week after Dominique Heath returned a punt 75 yards for a score against FAU en route to his player of the week honor, Pringle recorded 108 all-purpose yards in just one half of K-State’s 35-0 weather-shortened victory over Missouri State on Saturday.

Pringle began his evening by returning the opening kickoff 35 yards as the Wildcats scored on their opening drive, and he later took a second-quarter punt 43 yards to the Bear 21-yard line. The return set up another K-State score three plays later to take a 21-0 lead. The sophomore also hauled in his first-career touchdown reception, a 19-yard pass in the first quarter on a tipped ball in the end zone.

Kansas State opens Big 12 play on the road as the Wildcats face West Virginia on Saturday in Milan Puskar Stadium. The game, which kicks off at 2:30 p.m.

— K-State Athletics —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Thanks to a 75-yard punt-return touchdown in the third quarter last week against Florida Atlantic, Kansas State wide receiver/returner Dominque Heath has been named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday morning.

The honor was the first in Heath’s career and K-State’s 21st special teams player-of-the-week honor since 2011. Additionally, the accolade marked the Wildcats’ 38th Big 12 player of the week citation since 2011, which ranks second in the league.

Heath fielded a third-quarter Florida Atlantic punt and weaved his way down the far sideline for his first-career punt return touchdown. It was K-State’s nation-leading 41st combined kick- and punt-return touchdown since 2005 and nation-leading 102nd non-offensive score since 1999. Heath also hauled in a 20-yard touchdown pass as he became the first Wildcat since 2012 with a receiving and punt-return touchdown.

Kansas State hosts Missouri State on Saturday in a 6:10 p.m., contest at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

— KSU Athletics —

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Christian McCaffrey had two long touchdown runs and Ryan Burns threw a scoring pass in his first career start to lead No. 8 Stanford to a 26-13 victory over Kansas State on Friday night.

With the Wildcats focused on stopping McCaffrey after he set the major college football record for all-purpose yards and finished second last year in Heisman Trophy voting, Stanford turned to its new quarterback to lead the offense early and the defense late in the opener for both teams.

“The defense bailed us out a lot in the second half,” McCaffrey said. “We just have to be better in a lot of different areas. We have a lot of new guys on this team playing their first college football game. Sometimes that comes back and haunts you, especially Week 1.”

Burns completed his first 10 passes, including a 40-yard touchdown strike to Michael Rector on the opening play of the second quarter.

McCaffrey then got into the act with an electrifying 35-yard touchdown run. He froze safety Kendall Adams with a juke and raced to the end zone for the score.

“When he touches the ball enough, good things happen,” coach David Shaw said.

McCaffrey shattered Barry Sanders’ 27-year-old record by gaining 3,496 all-purpose yards last season when he finished second to Alabama’s Derrick Henry in the Heisman.

But Stanford’s offense stalled in the second half before McCaffrey iced the game with a late 41-yard TD run. He finished 126 yards on 22 carries and 210 all-purpose yards.

“They run the heck out of it,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. “McCaffrey is a tremendously talented player and a nice kid. You take away the two runs, one was a blitz and he ran right by guys. The first one he had a lot to do with, bouncing off guys. I counted at least three broken tackles on that first run. We were inconsistent consistently, let’s put it that way.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas State: The Wildcats’ inexperienced offensive line featuring two freshmen struggled. Stanford had eight sacks, including one in the end zone by Jordan Watkins for a safety. Jesse Ertz was briefly knocked out of the game in the second half after one hit. He recovered to throw a late TD pass to Isaiah Zuber.

Stanford: After converting his first five third-down passes into first downs, Burns struggled. The Cardinal gained just 30 yards in the second half before McCaffrey’s second TD run. The defense was up to the task to make the lead hold but could have more trouble doing that once the Pac-12 schedule starts.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: The Wildcats play Florida Atlanta in their home opener Sept. 17.

Stanford: The Cardinal are off before beginning conference play at home against No. 20 USC.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior defensive end Jordan Willis was one of 28 players in the nation to be named to the watch list for the 2016 Ted Hendricks Award, presented annually to the nation’s best defensive end, the Ted Hendricks Foundation has announced.

Willis’ inclusion on the list marks the fourth time since 2012 that a Wildcat has been up for the award and the seventh since the award’s inception in 2002. Most recently, Ryan Mueller was a two-time candidate (2013-14), while Ian Campbell was up for the award three times (2006-08), including being a semifinalist in 2006. Meshak Williams was also a candidate for the award during K-State’s Big 12 Championship season of 2012.

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, and one of just two Big 12 players on this year’s watch list (Josh Carraway, TCU), Willis played at an All-Big 12 level in 2015 as he made 36 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, three pass breakups, four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. A 2016 Preseason All-Big 12 pick, Willis finished his junior season ranked 13th nationally and tied for first in the Big 12 in forced fumbles, while he was 24th in the NCAA and second in the league in sacks.

K-State fans can get their first look at Willis and the 2016 Wildcats this Saturday as K-State hosts the annual Fan Appreciation Day at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Gates open at 5 p.m., and fans can watch the final hour of practice prior to a one-hour autograph session on the field.

— KSU Athletics —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Led by four upperclassmen on the defensive side of the ball, Kansas State had five football players named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team as chosen by media representatives who cover the league, the conference office announced Wednesday.

Seniors Dante Barnett (defensive back) and Jordan Willis (defensive end), along with juniors Will Geary (defensive tackle) and Elijah Lee (linebacker) were joined by sophomore fullback Winston Dimel to give K-State the second-most players on the preseason team behind defending conference champion Oklahoma (9). Additionally, the five Wildcats on the team are the most since they placed a league-high five on the preseason squad in 2013.

Four of the five players have earned postseason All-Big 12 status in their career, including first-team honorees Dimel (Coaches) and Geary (Associated Press) during the 2015 season.

Barnett returns for a second senior year after sustaining a season-ending injury in the 2015 opener. A 2014 All-Big 12 performer who is on the watch lists for the 2016 Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native leads the Wildcats with 181 career tackles and seven interceptions.

A product of Kansas City, Missouri, Willis played at an All-Big 12 level last season, ranking second in the league in sacks (9.5) and fourth in tackles for loss (15.5) as part of his 36 tackles on the year. He ranked 24th nationally in sacks, while his four forced fumbles were 13th in the nation a year ago.

Geary, a native of Topeka, totaled 45 tackles last season, the most by a K-State interior defensive lineman since 2005. His best game of the year came against Oklahoma when he recorded eight tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.

Lee, who is on the watch list for this year’s Bednarik and Butkus Awards in addition to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, had a team-leading 80 tackles and three interceptions in 2015. He became K-State’s first underclassman linebacker to earn First or Second Team All-Big 12 honors since 1998 (Mark Simoneau) and was the first Wildcat underclassman to pace the squad in tackles since 2008.

A 13-game starter at fullback, Dimel became the first Wildcat freshman to ever earn First Team All-Big 12 honors, while he was the lone freshman on the 2015 All-Big 12 First Team. The Manhattan product recorded six rushing touchdown to rank third in school history. He also ranked fifth among freshmen at K-State in receiving yards (261) and total points (48).

K-State’s annual Fan Appreciation Day is set for Saturday, August 13, at Bill Snyder Family Stadium with details for the event announced at a later date. Head coach Bill Snyder, along with the 2016 team captains – Barnett, Willis, Jesse Ertz and Dalton Risner – will head to Dallas next Tuesday to participate in Big 12 Media Day.

Heading into Snyder’s 25th season at the helm of the Wildcats, excitement is building for the 2016 season as a limited number of single-game tickets remain available for K-State’s six home games. Available tickets for the homecoming game against Texas on Saturday, October 22, are expected to be down to scattered singles soon, and the other five home games are also selling quickly as K-State looks to extend its sellout streak to 33-straight games.

— KSU Athletics —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Highlighted by a primetime televised Friday night season opener at Stanford and an afternoon home opener, game times and television designations for Kansas State’s first three football games were announced by the Big 12 Conference and its television partners Wednesday afternoon.

The Wildcats and Cardinal kick off the 2016 college football season at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California, on Friday, September 2, at 8 p.m. (CT), in a game televised by FS1. It marks the first time since 2007 that K-State opens the season on the road and the second time in the last four years the Wildcats will open their season on a Friday night.

Following an off weekend on September 10, in which Bill Snyder Family Stadium will host the Wildcat Kickoff music festival featuring Zac Brown Band and Train, Kansas State begins its home slate on September 17, with a matchup against Florida Atlantic at 1:30 p.m., on FSN. The afternoon tilt is the first for a home opener since the Wildcats topped UCLA, 31-22, in 2010.

K-State wraps up its non-conference slate on September 24, with a 6:10 p.m., contest against Missouri State, which will be shown world-wide on K-StateHD.TV. Programming on K-StateHD.TV will begin at 5:10 p.m., with its K-State Gameday show featuring Brian Smoller. For ordering information, log on to www.k-statehd.tv and click on the “Subscribe Now” button.

All remaining Big 12 television selections will be announced on a 12-day or six-day basis throughout the season.

— K-State Athletics —