MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State women’s basketball team overcame a sluggish offensive performance on Monday night to complete its exhibition schedule unbeaten with a 58-50 win over Pittsburg State.

K-State’s Kindred Wesemann led all scorers with 23 points and four steals, while Breanna Lewis chipped in with 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks.

In the first half, K-State went without a field goal for the final 7:33 of the opening quarter, as Pitt State held a 15-9 lead after the first.

The Wildcats recorded an 11-0 run to open the second quarter to take a 20-15 lead with 5:23 to play. Bri Craig scored seven of the 11 points during the run.

The Gorillas ended the half on a 7-2 run to close to within 25-24 at the break.

Pitt State continued its run into the second half, opening with an 8-0 run to jump into its largest lead of the night, 32-25, with 6:37 to play in the third quarter. The Wildcats started the second stanza by shooting 0-of-7 from the field.

Wesemann helped bring K-State back into the game, scoring seven straight points to narrow the deficit to 38-34 with 5:33 to play in the third quarter.

Wesemann would score 11 of K-State’s 15 points in the third quarter, as the Wildcats would take a 40-38 lead at the end of the third. K-State’s defense stiffened, holding the Gorillas to six points for the remainder of the third quarter and scoreless for the final 4:45 of the frame.

K-State was able to keep Pitt State at a margin of six in the early stages of the fourth quarter. The Gorillas narrowed the game to three points twice, 49-46 and 53-50.

With under a minute to play, Wesemann drained a three-point field goal and Lewis converted a fast break layup for the final margin of victory.

The Wildcats open the 2015-16 non-conference portion of its schedule on Friday, Nov. 13, at Tulsa at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com.

— K-State Athletics —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State’s long-standing partnership with Fort Riley has been recognized by the Football Writers Association of America as the Wildcat football team was named one of three finalists for the 2015 Armed Forces Merit Award, the association has announced.

Coordinated by the staff at the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, the Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the FWAA was created in June 2012 “to honor an individual and/or a group with a military background and/or involvement that has an impact within the realm of college football.”

The award’s selection committee is made up of five FWAA members and two representatives from the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.  The group reviewed 18 “candidates” for the 2015 honor. This year’s recipient will be announced at 11 a.m., Wednesday on Veteran’s Day by Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Executive Director Brant Ringler and FWAA President Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World-Herald.

The partnership started in 2006 when Lt. Col. Patrick Frank of the Black Lions approached the Wildcat football program, and the relationship has since blossomed. In fact, all Wildcat athletic teams have formed partnerships with units from Fort Riley.

That relationship has also permeated the K-State campus as, in 2010, Kansas State president Kirk Schulz and three faculty members visited troops in Iraq while living in troop housing for five days.

Proximity and a mutual respect formed this unique relationship, and Wildcat student-athletes and members of the K-State community and Fort Riley soldiers are able to experience life in each other’s shoes while forming lasting friendships.

Other finalists for the award are Steven Rhodes of Middle Tennessee State and Bret Robertson of Westminster College (Fulton, Mo.).

— K-State Athletics —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Jarrett Stidham threw for 419 yards and three scores in his first start, Corey Coleman caught a pair of touchdown passes and No. 2 Baylor held on for a 31-24 victory over pesky Kansas State on Thursday night to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive.

Stidham, taking over for the injured Seth Russell, also ran for a touchdown to help the Bears (5-0 Big 12, No. 6 CFP) improve to 8-0 for only the second time in school history.

The freshman quarterback’s favorite target was Coleman, who caught 11 passes for 216 yards while pushing his nation-leading total to 20 touchdown receptions.

Kansas State got to 31-24 on Joe Hubener’s touchdown pass to Deante Burton with 4:07 left, and Chris Callahan’s missed field goal with 51 seconds remaining gave the Wildcats a chance.

But on their first play, Hubener threw a lateral to wide receiver Cody Cook, who then threw down the sideline. The sometimes-quarterback’s pass was picked off by Terrell Burt, who managed to get his right foot down inbounds, and the interception stood after an official’s review.

Baylor ran out the clock to drop Kansas State (3-5) to 0-5 in conference play for the first time since 1989, the first season for coach Bill Snyder on the sideline.

Hubener ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns, but he also was just 12 of 21 for 151 yards with an interception. Charles Jones added 76 yards rushing for Kansas State.

The big question coming into the night was whether Baylor’s prolific offense, which led the nation in yards and points, would keep humming along without Russell. The star quarterback broke a bone in his neck two weeks ago against Iowa State and had surgery last Friday.

Stidham was up to the task in his first start since last year’s Texas prep playoffs.

The 19-year-old from Stephenville completed his first three passes in leading Baylor on an 81-yard scoring drive to open the game. And after the Wildcats answered with a grinding, 88-yard march that took nearly 10 minutes, Stidham hit KD Cannon with a 55-yard touchdown strike.

Meanwhile, the beat-up Wildcats kept making too many mistakes.

Hubener fumbled the ball away deep in Baylor territory early in the second quarter, then threw an interception into double coverage on the next possession. Penalties, blown blocking assignments and dropped passes kept scuttling otherwise promising drives.

The Bears seemed to put the game out of reach when Stidham threw a short TD pass to Coleman in the third quarter, and Callahan hit a 39-yard field goal in the fourth. But Kansas State kept right on grinding, getting a 34-yard TD run from Hubener before his touchdown toss to Burton.

It wasn’t until one last mistake on a trick play that the Wildcats’ fate was sealed.

While the victory lacked the pizazz of the Bears’ nearly 60-point shellacking of Kansas, or similar blowouts of Texas Tech and West Virginia, it was a solid start to Stidham’s tenure.

Baylor was ranked sixth in this week’s initial playoff ranking, due partly to a soft early scheduled but also the uncertainty at quarterback. And while Stidham was far from perfect — he did have a delay of game penalty — he proved to be capably in control most of the game.

That bodes well for a season-defining stretch beginning Nov. 14 against 14th-ranked Oklahoma, and continuing with back-to-back games at No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 5 TCU.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State sophomore punter Nick Walsh has been named one of 79 candidates nationally for the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top collegiate punter, the Augusta Sports Council has announced.

Walsh’s candidacy is the fifth in K-State history and the first since Mark Krause in 2013. Tim Reyer was a candidate in 2006 and a semifinalist in 2007, while Ryan Doerr was a candidate in 2011.

A product of Lyndon, Kansas, Walsh holds a 41.6-yard average on 37 punts this season, including eight punts that have landed inside the 20-yard line and six 50-plus yard kicks. He recorded a season-high 47.5-yard average at Oklahoma State a week before booting a career-long 63-yard punt against TCU.

Kansas State hosts second-ranked Baylor on Thursday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game, which will be televised by FS1, kicks off at 6:30 p.m.

— KSU Sports Information —

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Backup quarterback Tyrone Swoopes scored three touchdowns and the Texas Longhorns defeated Kansas State 23-9 Saturday in game played in a heavy rain storm.

Swoopes, a 244-pound junior who started last season, is now used primarily in short yardage situations. His first two touchdowns were on short runs, but his last one, which secured victory, covered 10 yards with 1:47 remaining. Swoopes ran for 13 and 29 yards on the previous two plays.

Texas (3-4, 2-2 Big 12) rushed for 274 yards, maintaining a strength the Longhorns created with 313 yards on the ground — its most since 2013 — during a victory against Oklahoma on Oct. 10.

Charles Jones, Kansas State’s junior running back, rushed for a career-best 122 yards. Jones gained 87 in the second half.

Kansas State has lost four consecutive games for the first time since 2005.

The Longhorns made their intentions known right away, running the ball on nearly every play while building a 16-6 halftime lead.

Texas gained 188 yards on the ground in the half, including 89 by Gray and 73 from quarterback Jerrod Heard. Gray set up one touchdown with a 46-yard burst along the right side in the second quarter.

Swoopes scored both touchdowns in the half, from 1 yard and 2.

Heard attempted just four passes in the half, three of them short, underhand flips to wide receiver Daje Johnson on sweeps that were more like handoffs.

The only conventional pass that Heard threw in the half was incomplete.

Texas dominated the half until Kansas State responded with a 78-yard touchdown drive that the Wildcats finished with 32 seconds remaining. Dominique Heath scored on a 7-yard pass from Joe Hubener.

The touchdown snapped a streak in which Kansas State was outscored 78-0 by TCU, Oklahoma and Texas.

Texas then let Kansas State off the hook midway through the third period. Hubener’s errant pass was dropped by safety Dylan Haines, who had open space ahead for a long return. Instead, Kansas State kicked a field goal.

Haines later made an interception that set up Swoopes’ final touchdown.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — The 19th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners proved Saturday that they have more to offer than they showed last week in their loss to struggling Texas.

Baker Mayfield threw for five touchdowns and Oklahoma bounced back from its Red River upset to beat Kansas State 55-0 on Saturday, the first time the Wildcats have been shut out since 1996.

Kansas State had delivered serious scares to Top 25 opponents each of the last two weeks but the Wildcats (3-3, 0-3 Big 12) were helpless against the Sooners (5-1, 2-1). Oklahoma set the tone early, taking only 1:04 to score on its opening drive on a 22-yard pass from Mayfield to Sterling Shepard.

“We had a great intensity coming into the game, and guys were fired up in the locker room,” Shepard said. “Everybody wanted to show what type of team we were because of last week’s loss, so we did a great job with intensity and executing our jobs.”

The Sooners took a 35-0 lead into halftime as Mayfield threw for all five of his TDs in the first half, including two to Shepard. He finished 20 of 27 for 282 yards. The quarterback credited the success to the quickness with which the offense moved.

“It’s the tempo,” Mayfield said. “Defenses can’t line up and do all their crazy stuff, and when we do that, I think I play better faster. I’m able to react and go on the run.”

Oklahoma kept rolling to open the second half. The Wildcats had benched Joe Hubener in favor of Kody Cook, who played most of the first half at wide receiver, and Cook promptly threw an interception that Zack Sanchez returned 38 yards for a touchdown that made the score 42-0.

“It’s disappointing, that’s a big word for it,” Cook said. “You’re angry. You’re disappointed. It’s really frustrating. We obviously didn’t expect to get shut out. We thought we had a pretty good game plan.”

The Sooners tacked on two more field goals in the third quarter, and five minutes into the fourth quarter Joe Mixon scored the first rushing touchdown of the day for Oklahoma, stretching the lead to 55-0.

Mixon finished with 73 yards on 15 carries to lead a Sooners rushing attack that rolled up 232 yards. Mixon also caught three passes for 29 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.

The dominating win came after Oklahoma’s arduous trek to get to Manhattan. Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops said the Sooners left their facility at 2 p.m. Friday to drive to Oklahoma City and take a 40-minute flight to Manhattan but because of problems with various planes did not walk into their hotel rooms until 12:15 a.m.

Waiting at the airport until late in the evening, Stoops said the support members of the program had to team up to deliver what amounted to a fast-food potluck so that players and coaches could have dinner.

“Try and get 10 burgers, 10 tacos, 10 — if everyone, if we had 10 people go out and get 10 whatever, we’d feed our players, and that’s exactly what we did,” Stoops said.

“Now the players want it every week,” Stoops joked.

Mayfield said players were so focused that nothing could have distracted them from redeeming themselves from the 24-17 loss to the Longhorns.

“Our week of practice, I knew we were ready to come out and play, no matter what happened,” Mayfield said. “We could’ve stayed up all night and come out and been ready to play.”

Going into Saturday’s game, Kansas State had scored in 234 straight games. The loss to Oklahoma marked the first time the Wildcats have been shut out at home since 1991.

“I think all of us are embarrassed,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. “I can’t remember being involved in a game like this since 1989, the first year we were here, and I don’t even know if we had one that bad in that first go-around.”

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State will open the 2016 football season with a marquee nationally-televised matchup against Stanford the evening of Friday, September 2 in Palo Alto, Athletics Director John Currie has announced. The home-and-home agreement with the Pac -12 power finalizes the non-conference portion of K-State’s 2016 schedule.

Following the opener at Stanford, the Wildcats will host Florida Atlantic on September 17 and Missouri State on September 24 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium to close out the non-conference slate. Stanford will make a return trip to Manhattan on September 4, 2021. Time and television network designation for the Stanford game will be announced at a later date.

“We are excited to announce a home-and-home series with Stanford of the Pac-12 Conference,” Currie said. “With more than 7,500 friends and alumni in the state of California, and our game there next season taking place over Labor Day weekend, this series gives the K-State Nation a great opportunity to again showcase its national reputation as one of America’s top traveling fan bases.”

The Stanford agreement continues a solid trend of marquee matchups for the Wildcats as K-State has already played recent series with Auburn (2007, 2014), UCLA (2009, 2010) and Miami (Fla.) (2011, 2012), while future series with Mississippi State (2018, 2019) and Vanderbilt (2017, 2020) have previously been announced. The Wildcats and Cardinal have never met on the football field heading into next season’s opener.

The conference portion of the schedule will be released in the coming weeks. The 2016 season will be one in which K-State will host four league games at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, which coupled with the two home non-conference games will provide a rare occurrence of less than seven home games for the Wildcats. K-State is the only Big 12 Conference program to play seven or more games in its home stadium in each of the last five years, and following six home games in 2016, the Wildcats will expect to have at least seven home games annually from 2017-2021.

“We kept working every possible angle to find a seventh home game, but with just 11 months remaining before the 2016 season, the Stanford series became an attractive option that gives us an opportunity to further our program and University on a national level,” Currie added. “This accomplishes our goal of having at least 11 FBS opponents on the schedule each season and ensures that we will have a high-visibility peer conference opponent on our schedule for the next six years, including two SEC games and one Pac-12 game right here in Bill Snyder Family Stadium over that span. With the incredible annual gauntlet of the Big 12’s true round robin format, our schedule needs to make sense for K-State and having marquee non-conference opponents in Manhattan is one way we honor our fans as well as accomplish our goal of providing Value to the University, Community and State.”

From 2011-2015, the Cats averaged 7.2 home games, compared to an average of 6.28 among the other nine Big 12 schools.  West Virginia has the next highest average number at 6.6 and three Big 12 teams averaged 6.0 home stadium games per season. With the 2017 non-conference slate also finalized and multiple non-conference home games already under contract or pending contract for each of the years 2018-2021, K-State is on track to host seven home games annually each of those five years as well.

2016 NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Sept. 2                  at Stanford
Sept. 10                BYE
Sept. 17                Florida Atlantic
Sept. 24                Missouri State

— KSU Athletics —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Trevone Boykin threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns, the second a 55-yard strike to Josh Doctson with 1:10 left in the game, and second-ranked TCU rallied from a big halftime deficit to beat Kansas State 52-45 on Saturday night.

Boykin also ran for 124 yards and two scores for the Horned Frogs (6-0, 3-0 Big 12), who trailed 35-17 at the break. Aaron Green added 124 yards and two touchdowns rushing, while Doctson caught eight passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns.

None was bigger than his catch-and-run just 30 seconds after Jack Cantele had connected on a 37-yard field goal for Kansas State (3-2, 0-2) to knot the game 45-all.

The Wildcats had won 49 straight games when leading at halftime before last week’s loss at Oklahoma State. Now, coach Bill Snyder’s crew has lost two in a row.

— Associated Press —