MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State (No. 12 CFP, No. 11 AP) gave itself a few minutes in the locker room Saturday to celebrate.

The players celebrated a victory over rival Kansas, and a senior class that helped to restore the program to national prominence. They celebrated a magnificent performance by quarterback Jake Waters and a record-setting career by wide receiver Tyler Lockett.

Then, they all turned their thoughts to what lays ahead.

The Wildcats’ 51-13 romp over the Jayhawks set up a showdown at fifth-ranked Baylor next weekend. The winner will earn no worse than a tie for the Big 12 title, and could take the championship outright depending on what happens between TCU and Iowa State.

“We have a chance to win a championship now,” said Waters, who threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns in just three quarters against the Jayhawks. “That gives me chills.”

Kansas State (9-2), locked in a three-way tie with the Horned Frogs and Bears at 7-1 in the conference, also has a bit of payback on its mind. The Wildcats were unbeaten when they went to Baylor two years ago and lost in lopsided fashion. If they would’ve won, then beaten Texas the following week, they likely would have played for the national title.

“That’s always on our mind,” Lockett said. “Baylor ruined our plans.”

Lockett turned in a masterful game on Senior Night, catching nine passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns Saturday. Along the way, he passed his father Kevin Lockett for the school record in career catches (222) and matched his mark with 26 touchdown grabs.

Curry Sexton added nine catches for 141 yards and a score, and Waters and Charles Jones each had touchdown runs as the Wildcats beat the Jayhawks (3-9, 1-8) for the sixth straight time.

“I don’t think any of this has set in,” Sexton said. “It’s special.”

Michael Cummings threw for 139 yards and two scores for the Jayhawks, but he was also picked off twice — once on a tipped pass, once on a ball kicked into the air by his intended target.

Kansas now heads into an uncertain offseason.

After Charlie Weis was fired four games into the season, defensive coordinator Clint Bowen did an admirable job steadying the program. The Jayhawks knocked off Iowa State and nearly upset the Horned Frogs, making him a popular candidate in the locker room.

Still, Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger has given no timetable for hiring a full-time coach, and he is expected to cast a wide net now that the season is over.

“We wanted to set an identity and to create a foundation to lead Kansas football forward,” Bowen said. “I believe we had a good start on that.”

Bowen could have certainly helped his cause with a competitive performance against Kansas State. Instead, the Wildcats had raced to a 14-0 lead before the Jayhawks could even blink.

After forcing a three-and-out on the game’s opening possession, Waters led his team 71 yards in a little over 2 minutes for a touchdown. Then, after Kansas tight end Jimmay Mundine deflected a pass that was picked off by Dante Barnett, Waters hit Lockett with a 44-yard TD strike.

Kansas State had pushed the lead to 24-6 and taken over again late in the first half when Lockett made it a Senior Night to remember. He caught a 17-yard pass on third-and-10 to break his father’s school record for receptions, and four plays later caught a short touchdown pass to tie that mark, which Kevin Lockett set while starring for the Wildcats from 1993-96.

Watching from the sidelines, pop smiled broadly as his son crossed the goal line.

“To set the record, it just says a lot,” Lockett said. “I have a great quarterback. My dad and uncle taught me a lot. And I’m able to celebrate it with a win.”

Jones and Sexton added touchdown catches early in the second half for Kansas State, and freshman Matt McCrane connected on a career-best 52-yard field goal to extend the lead.

Meanwhile, the Jayhawks stumbled.

Along with that early batted pass that was picked off, wide receiver Rod Coleman bicycle kicked another pass at the goal line into the air and got it intercepted. The Jayhawks also had an extra point blocked in a sour ending to another tumultuous season.

“If you’re not feeling like crap after this game,” said senior linebacker Ben Heeney, one of several Kansas natives on the Jayhawks’ roster, “there’s something wrong.”

— Associated Press —

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Pittsburgh opened the Maui Invitational by winning a game it was supposed to and lost in embarrassing fashion in the semifinals.

The Panthers closed out their trip to paradise by playing their best game of the season.

James Robinson had 14 points and six assists, and Pittsburgh was sharp at both ends to beat Kansas State 70-47 Wednesday in the third-place game of the Maui Invitational.

“That’s a very good team, Kansas State, that we beat and we beat it the way we wanted to do it as far as defense, execution on the offensive end and smart play throughout,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

Inconsistent to start the season, Pittsburgh (4-2) pulled it all together against the Wildcats, working the ball around for good shots inside and out, while limiting Kansas State’s chances at the other end.

The Panthers shot 55 percent and made 8 of 15 3-pointers after a lackluster shooting performance against No. 15 San Diego State in the semifinals.

Ryan Luther and Michael Young had 13 points apiece for Pitt.

Pittsburgh was solid at the defensive end, too, holding Kansas State (3-3) to 32 percent shooting, including 2 of 13 on 3-pointers.

The Panthers were particularly good against Marcus Foster, preventing K-State’s dynamic guard from getting loose for open shots. He had seven points on 3-of-9 shooting.

Thomas Gipson led Kansas State with 13 points and six rebounds.

“We had to share the ball better,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “When we move the ball and get it to open people, we’re a better team.”

The Wildcats held their composure down the stretch in the Maui opener against Purdue and were right with No. 3 Arizona in the semifinals, losing a hard-fought game 72-68.

Pittsburgh rolled over Chaminade in its opener behind a dominating performance on the glass, but couldn’t keep up when the intensity rose in the semifinals, losing 74-57 to No. 15 San Diego State.

The Panthers were manhandled in that game by the big, strong Aztecs, unable to do much at either end of the floor.

Pittsburgh held its ground better against another physical team in the third-place game, refusing to get pushed around by K-State’s beefy big men, Gipson and Stephen Hurt.

The Panthers led 30-27 at halftime and locked the Wildcats down to open the second half, holding them without a field goal — 0-for-5 shooting, two turnovers — over the first five minutes.

“First five minutes of the second half, we just couldn’t seem to get over the hump,” Weber said. “We just didn’t make the right read, the right play.”

Pitt pushed the lead to 41-30 on Luther’s straightaway 3-pointer and kept hounding the Wildcats into missed shots to maintain its cushion.

The Panthers held Kansas State to 23 percent shooting in the second half while making 15 of 23 shots at the other end.

Not a bad way to end a road trip, especially after being humiliated the day before.

“We came out and played really, really hard on defense,” Young said. “We paid attention to detail and got the job done.”

—

TIP-INS

Pittsburgh: The Panthers were outrebounded for the first time in the tournament. Kansas State had a 32-22 edge, including 14 offensive boards. … Pitt had a 28-10 advantage off the bench.

Kansas State: The Wildcats went 1 for 6 from 3-point range in the second half. … Nino Williams had the only blocked shot of the game by either team.

UP NEXT

Pittsburgh plays at Indiana on Tuesday.

Kansas State faces Nebraska-Omaha on Tuesday in Knoxville, Tennessee.

FOSTER’S NIGHT

Foster averaged 22 points and hit 16 of 28 shots in K-State’s first two games in Maui. He went 1 of 4 from 3-point range after a 6-for-9 performance against Arizona.

— Associated Press —

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Arizona came to Maui to face adversity. There was some back in the desert through the first four games, though most of that was self-inflicted.

Faced with their first big challenge of the season, the third-ranked Wildcats went toe-to-toe with Kansas State and put themselves on the brink of a tournament title.

Kaleb Tarczewski scored 18 points, Gabe York added 15 and No. 3 Arizona hung on to win its first close game of the season, beating Kansas State 72-68 Tuesday in the Maui Invitational semifinals.

“We’re very, very proud of tonight’s win,” coach Sean Miller said. “We feel like we beat a great team, and that’s why you come to Maui: to challenge (yourself).”

Arizona (5-0) rolled through its first four games despite some slow starts and shot 53 percent against Kansas State, yet couldn’t shake the scrappy Wildcats.

Trailing by nine in the second half, Kansas State (3-2) whittled the lead down to a single possession in the final minute behind Marcus Foster.

Arizona rose to the challenge.

Freshman forward Stanley Johnson spent most of the second half in foul trouble, but came up with some of the biggest plays down the stretch. He had a key steal and hit three free throws in the closing seconds, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Tarczewski held his own against Kansas State’s hulking duo of Stephen Hurt and Thomas Gipson, making seven of nine shots while playing steady post defense

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had two monster dunks midway through the second half and hit two free throws with 4 seconds left to seal Arizona’s victory.

Next up is a chance to win the program’s second Maui Invitational on Wednesday night at Lahaina Civic Center.

“It kind of shows how resilient this team is,” said Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell, who had seven points and six assists. “The score was going back and forth, and you weren’t really sure which way the score was going to go. I mean, we just played hard.”

So did Kansas State, which held on down the stretch to beat Purdue in its Maui opener and didn’t wilt under Arizona’s pressure.

K-State answered nearly every time Arizona tried to pull away, mainly behind Foster.

He held the Wildcats together against Purdue and had 23 points against Arizona, going 6 for 9 from 3-point range.

Kansas State is headed to the third-place game, but had no reason to be down after keeping up with the No. 3 team in the country.

“I told them if we play like yesterday and today, we’re going to beat a lot of good teams,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said.

Arizona has been plagued by slow starts this season, and the Maui opener against Missouri was no different. The Wildcats, as they did in previous games, pulled away in the second half for a 19-point win — but they probably couldn’t have afforded another uninspired start against Kansas State.

In their tournament opener, the Wildcats jumped on Purdue early and kept the Boilermakers at arm’s length in the second half to pull out a physical victory.

A fast start was no problem for either team in the semifinals.

Playing quickly in both directions, Arizona and Kansas State traded athletic plays — Johnson’s tomahawk dunk down the lane was a highlight — and baskets in an entertaining opening 10 minutes.

Neither team was able to get much separation, and the half ended with Hurt jamming in a putback at the buzzer to pull Kansas State to 31-30.

The second half continued the same way until McConnell and York hit consecutive 3-pointers to put Arizona up 52-43 midway through.

Kansas State clawed its way back, pulling to 66-64 on a 3-pointer by Foster with 2:30 left.

K-State kept fighting back each time, but couldn’t complete the comeback as Arizona hit six of eight free throws in the final 22 seconds.

“Just some little plays here and there that we could have easily found a way to win it,” Weber said. “Just a little more discipline and some little execution.”

TIP-INS

Kansas State: Foster is a combined 16 for 28 the past two games after going 1 for 13 in a loss to Long Beach State.

Arizona: Johnson was called for two fouls 90 seconds into the second half and had to sit down with four. He returned 6 minutes later for a short stint and came back with 7:15 left. … Hollis-Jefferson had six points and eight rebounds.

UP NEXT

Kansas State faces Pittsburgh in Wednesday’s third-place game.

Arizona will play No. 15 San Diego State in Wednesday night’s title game.

ARIZONA’S FREE THROWS

Arizona has struggled shooting free throws most of the season, but had a good night against K-State. The Wildcats made 20 of 28 and hit the big ones they needed down the stretch.

— Associated Press —

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Kansas State’s Marcus Foster felt he let his team down with a poor shooting performance against Long Beach State.

He shot the Wildcats into the second round of the Maui Invitational against Purdue.

Foster bounced back from a 1-for-13 night by scoring 24 points, helping Kansas State hold on to beat Purdue 88-79 after blowing most of a big early lead Monday in the opening game of the Maui Invitational.

“It was just about bouncing back, honestly,” said Foster, who finished 9 of 14 from the floor, including 5 of 8 from the 3-point arc. “I felt I let my team down how I played and I had to bounce back.”

All the Wildcats had a disappointing night in the loss to Long Beach State. Kansas State (3-1) bounced back by attacking Purdue early, hounding the Boilermakers into one mistake after another while building a 15-point halftime lead.

Purdue (3-1) fought its way back into it behind Kendall Stephens, who scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half. The Boilermakers pulled within 75-70 on a 3-pointer by Stephens with just over 3 minutes left, but got no closer.

Isaac Haas added 19 points and six rebounds for Purdue.

“We were getting it to two possessions and we needed to get a stop, and we weren’t able to do that,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “That’s part of digging too big of a hole. When you have to fight like that and scrap like that, everything has to go your way down the stretch.”

The trip to Maui offers both teams a step up in competition.

After solid opening wins over Southern Utah and Missouri-Kansas City, the Wildcats took a step back in a 69-60 loss to Long Beach State, leading to a lot of screaming by coach Bruce Weber in the locker room.

The big Boilermakers — no starter under 6-foot-4 — rolled through their first three games, beating Samford, IUPUI and Grambling by an average of 37 points per game.

Those games were in West Lafayette, though.

Once the Boilermakers got to Maui, they had a hard time against K-State’s relentless pressure.

Purdue struggled just getting into its offense against the Wildcats’ hounding throughout the first half, turning it over nine times in the opening nine minutes. Kansas State scored 15 of its first 19 points off turnovers, including four on consecutive backcourt steals.

Keyed by eight first-half steals, the Wildcats raced away from the Boilermakers with an 18-3 run to take a 39-24 halftime lead.

Purdue failed to hit a shot over the final 6:37 and had 11 turnovers, leading to 17 points for K-State.

“I thought the game was dictated right from the beginning,” Weber said. “We had a great sense of urgency.”

The Wildcats tried to run away with it early in the second half, hitting eight of their first 11 shots to push the lead to 20.

The Boilermakers clawed their way back behind Stephens, who hit four of his five 3-pointers in the second half, but Kansas State hit just enough free throws down the stretch to hold on for the victory.

“We came out in the second half and we changed our intensity,” Stephens said. “I think we put more focus on what we needed to do.”

—

TIP-INS

Purdue: Haas, the Boilermakers’ 7-foot-2 center, had numerous physical confrontations with the Wildcats inside and was called for hitting Kansas State’s Malek Harris with an elbow in the second half.

Kansas State: Weber was an assistant at Purdue for 18 years and has strong ties to Boilermakers coach Matt Painter, recruiting him to West Lafayette and hiring him as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois.

UP NEXT

Purdue will face Missouri in the loser’s bracket on Tuesday.

Kansas State moves on to face Arizona in Tuesday’s semifinals.

PURDUE TURNOVERS

The Boilermakers were much better taking care of the ball in the second half, which allowed them to make a run. Purdue had four turnovers that led to five points for Kansas State in the second half. The Wildcats had nine turnovers total.

GOOD SHOOTING

Both teams shot well. Despite its early turnovers, Purdue shot 55 percent and made nine 3-pointers. Kansas State shot 53 percent and made seven 3s. Both teams were over 60 percent in the second half while combining for 109 points.

— Associated Press —

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Branford Jones scored 14 points, Mike Caffey had 13 and Long Beach State beat Kansas State 69-60 on Friday night.

The 49ers (2-2) never trailed and held the Wildcats (2-1) to 33 percent shooting. David Samuels had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Eric McKnight had eight points.

Thomas Gipson led Kansas State with 13 points and Nino Williams had 12. The Wildcats shot 3-for-21 from 3-point range.

Gipson twice closed Kansas State’s deficit to four points in the final 1:09, including a basket inside with 48.5 seconds left. Jevon Thomas missed on a drive after Long Beach State missed a free throw and Kansas State was forced to foul.

Jones made four free throws in the final minute to seal the win for the 49ers in front of a packed home arena. Kansas State’s leading scorer, Marcus Foster, had five points on 1-for-13 shooting.

Long Beach State took a 33-26 lead into halftime, led by McKnight’s eight points and Samuels’ six points and six rebounds. The 49ers never trailed despite 11 turnovers and an 11-4 disadvantage on the offensive boards.

Kansas State, which averaged 40 first-half points in its first two games, shot 29 percent, including 3-for-11 from 3-point range. Foster and Gipson combined to go 1-for-7.

The 49ers took their biggest lead of the first half at 31-17 on an alley-oop dunk from Jack Williams to McKnight that energized the home crowd. Caffey got a layup off Tyler Lamb’s steal that made it 33-20 before the Wildcats closed the first half on a 6-0 run, capped by Nino Williams’ jumper at the buzzer.

Kansas State missed its first eight field goal attempts and 10 of its first 11 before Tre Harris and Wesley Iwundu made 3-pointers.

TIP-INS

Kansas State: The Wildcats shot better than 65 percent from the field and averaged 50 points in the second half in their first two games but were held to 37 percent and 36 points. It was Kansas State’s first visit to Long Beach State since 1998.

Long Beach State: Coach Dan Monson needs two wins to pass Jerry Tarkanian for most in school history (123). Caffey needs 10 points to tie DeAnthony Langston for 13th on the school’s career scoring list.

UP NEXT

Kansas State plays Purdue on Monday at Maui, Hawaii.

Long Beach State visits UCLA on Sunday.

— Associated Press —

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Jake Waters threw for a career-high 400 yards and a touchdown, Tyler Lockett returned a punt for a score and No. 12 Kansas State held on to beat sloppy West Virginia 26-20 on Thursday night.

Kansas State (8-2, 6-1 Big 12) rebounded from a blowout loss at TCU to move into a first-place tie with the idle Horned Frogs with two weeks left in the regular season. Baylor can make it a three-way tie Saturday when it hosts Oklahoma State.

Waters was 22-of-34 passing. Lockett caught 10 passes for 196 yards, and Matthew McCrane kicked four field goals.

The Mountaineers (6-5, 4-4) have lost three straight after winning four in a row. West Virginia committed four turnovers, with two of them occurring inside the Kansas State 30, and Josh Lambert missed a 40-yard field goal try.

West Virginia’s Skyler Howard threw two touchdown passes after Clint Trickett left with what coach Dana Holgorsen said was a concussion. Trickett didn’t return after throwing his second interception in the third quarter. Trickett has now gone 10 consecutive quarters without a TD pass.

Lockett returned a punt 43 yards just before halftime to put the Wildcats ahead 17-3. West Virginia punter Nick O’Toole was supposed to kick the ball to the right, but Lockett fielded the ball on the other side of the field and scored untouched.

Lockett had fumbled away a kickoff earlier in the game.

Howard rallied the Mountaineers on his first series, running 16 yards to set up his 7-yard TD toss to Kevin White that trimmed the Wildcats’ lead to 23-10 midway through the third quarter.

Howard engineered a 17-play drive on the next series, but West Virginia turned it over on downs at the Kansas State 26.

After McCrane missed a 22-yard field goal, Howard hit Mario Alford with a short pass, and he went 53 yards untouched to make it 23-17 with 7:23 left in the fourth quarter.

But Michael Molinari’s ensuing kickoff went out of bounds. Waters hit Lockett across the middle for 28 yards to the West Virginia 25 and McCrane’s fourth field goal made it a two-possession game.

Lambert made a 25-yard field goal with 53 seconds left. West Virginia then tried an onside kick that Kansas State’s Glenn Gronkowski recovered.

Waters was Kansas State’s only hope on offense. The Wildcats ran 29 times for 1 yard. Kansas State used a big pass play to set up its first two scores.

Kody Cook’s 32-yard grab on Kansas State’s first drive set up Waters’ 7-yard scoring toss to DeMarcus Robinson, and tight end Zach Trujillo’s 49-yard catch led to a 36-yard field goal early in the second quarter. It was Trujillo’s longest reception of the season.

Before Lambert’s miss, White appeared to score on a 22-yard reception that deflected off two other players, but the play was ruled an incompletion because the ball touched the ground as Kansas State’s Dante Barnett tried to come up with it.

The Wildcats also came up empty after Randall Evans’ interception when West Virginia’s Kyle Rose blocked McCrary’s 34-yard field goal try as the first half expired.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State head football coach Bill Snyder is one of 20 semifinalists for the Maxwell Football Club Collegiate Coach of the Year, Maxwell Football Club President Ron Jaworski announced Wednesday.

It is the second time in the last three years Snyder has been up for the award after being named a finalist in 2012. Snyder is joined on the list by fellow Big 12 coaches Art Briles (Baylor) and Gary Patterson (TCU).

A ballot member for the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2015, Snyder has guided Kansas State to a 7-2 record, including a 5-1 mark in Big 12 play, in 2014 as the Wildcats checked in at No. 12 in this week’s College Football Playoff Top 25. K-State started Big 12 play 5-0 for the second time in the last three years and the fourth overall under the legendary head coach. He guided the Wildcats to bowl eligibility for the 16th time in 2014 and extended K-State’s bowl streak to five-straight years.

Tied for 33rd all-time among FBS coaches with 185 career victories, Snyder ranks second in the FBS in wins among active coaches at their current schools and fifth in total victories among active head coaches. He has also guided K-State to a 25-8 Big 12 record since 2011, which are the most victories and best winning percentage in the conference during that time.

Finalist voting for of the Maxwell Football Club Collegiate Coach of the Year award will begin on Thursday, Nov. 20, and close on Monday, Dec. 8. The finalist round will include the top three coaches, while voting for the 2014 winner will open Dec. 10, and run until Dec. 21.

No. 12/11 K-State faces a Thursday-night road test at West Virginia at Milan Puskar Stadium. The game, which will be shown to a national audience on FOX Sports 1, will kick off at 6 p.m. (CT).

2014 Maxwell Coach of the Year Semifinalists

Troy Calhoun (Air Force)
Nick Saban (Alabama)
Rich Rodriguez (Arizona)
Todd Graham (Arizona State)
Art Briles (Baylor)
Jim McElwain (Colorado State)
David Cutcliffe (Duke)
Jimbo Fisher (Florida State)
Mark Richt (Georgia)
Paul Johnson (Georgia Tech)
Bill Snyder (Kansas State)
Doc Holliday (Marshall)
Hugh Freeze (Mississippi)
Dan Mullen (Mississippi State)
Urban Meyer (Ohio State)
Mark Helfrich (Oregon)
Gary Patterson (TCU)
Kyle Whittingham (Utah)
P.J. Fleck (Western Michigan)
Gary Andersen (Wisconsin)

— KSU Sports Information —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — With memories of last year’s season-opening 60-58 loss to Northern Colorado running through his mind, Bruce Weber wasn’t prepared to see a halftime lead disappear again.

In its second-consecutive attempt to beat a Big Sky conference opponent in their home opener, Kansas State answered in record-breaking fashion. The Wildcats shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the second half and scored the most points in the Weber era.

Nigel Johnson scored a career-high 18 points and Thomas Gipson had 17 points and six rebounds Friday to lead Kansas State over Southern Utah 98-68 in the season opener for both teams.

“We led them last year at halftime and they came back and beat us,” Weber said. “We were letting a team like that hang with us and you never know what could happen. It was a good start to the second half and we really got it going (offensively).”

The scoring performance was Kansas State’s highest since an 87-point effort against Central Arkansas on Dec. 1, 2013. It was also is the highest score for Kansas State since a 100-76 win over North Florida on Dec. 31, 2010.

A.J. Hess had 16 points, including 12 in the first half, to pace the Thunderbirds, who are coming off a 2-27 campaign in 2013-14.

Four other players scored in double figures for the Wildcats, including Marcus Foster and Tre Harris with 13 points apiece. Johnson had a career-high tying five assists.

The Wildcats opened the second half with 33-9 run, pushing their lead to 77-55 after 10 minutes and never looked back.

“We obviously shot the ball extremely well at 58 percent,” Weber said. “Our guys were patient and got it inside (and) outside. We did a better job in the second half against their zone.”

Johnson shot 3 of 4 from deep to aid the Wildcats’ offense, which gave him all nine of his second-half points.

“I’m just trying to play and let it come to me,” Johnson said. “My role is going to be different than last year. I didn’t have to score that much, but I can shoot the ball well and I can score the ball.”

Hess’ fourth foul with 15:51 in the second half limited the Thunderbirds offensively as they shot 1 of 10 during the Wildcats’ run. Southern Utah finished 20-for-49 from the field after shooting 45.8 percent in the first half (11-24).

Kansas State’s physical play took an early toll on Southern Utah, forcing the Thunderbirds into 16 first-half fouls.

Gipson chipped in 14 points in the first half while the Wildcats went 18 of 24 from the free-throw line in the first half.

Hess kept the Thunderbirds within reach with an eight-point deficit at the break and chipped in a 4-for-7 performance from 3-point range

TIP-INS

Southern Utah has now lost 28 of its last 30 games and head coach Nick Robinson falls to 13-48 overall in his three seasons with the Thunderbirds.

UP NEXT

Kansas State hosts UMKC, which won at Missouri in its season opener, on Monday and will play at Long Beach State next Friday before heading to the Maui Invitational on Nov. 24-26.

Southern Utah heads to Miami (OH) on Sunday

STAT LINES

Along with the highest-scoring total, Kansas State’s 3-point percentage (55.6) and made and attempted free throws (34-48) were the most under Weber. preseason first-team All-Big 12 selection Marcus Foster has now scored in double figures in 28 of his 34 career games.

— Associated Press —

FORT WORTH, Texas — Trevone Boykin did an acrobatic flip on the second of his three touchdown runs and threw for 219 yards and another score for No. 6 TCU in a 41-20 victory over No. 9 Kansas State on Saturday night that had huge Big 12 and playoff implications.

Aaron Green, filling in for the injured B.J. Catalon, ran 18 times for 171 yards for the Horned Frogs (8-1, 5-1) in their first-ever home game matching top-10 teams. Green had a 65-yard TD run in the third quarter.

A week after Boykin apologized in the locker room after a one-point win at West Virginia for what he considered a subpar performance, the dual-threat quarterback set a career high with 123 yards rushing on 17 carries and completed 23 of 34 passes. Boykin had a 2-yard TD run and a 10-yard scoring pass to David Porter in the first quarter that put TCU up 14-0 against coach Gary Patterson’s alma mater.

The end of Kansas State’s five-game winning streak created a three-way tie atop the Big 12 standings with the Wildcats (7-2, 5-1), TCU and No. 10 Baylor (8-1, 5-1) with three games left in the regular season.

In the College Football Playoff rankings, TCU is sixth, a spot ahead of Kansas State with Baylor 12th. The new rankings come out Tuesday, and the final poll in four weeks will take into account conference championships.

Boykin and Green gave TCU two 100-yard rushers for the second time in three games, with this performance coming against the Big 12’s best rushing defense at an average of 101 yards per game. K-State also led the league by allowing averages of 321 yards and 18.6 points, but the Frogs rolled up 553 total yards and the most points allowed by the Wildcats this season.

Tyler Lockett had 11 catches for 196 yards with a 70-yard TD, giving him 3,073 career yards receiving and surpassing his father’s K-State record of 3,032 set from 1993-96. The younger Lockett also has 203 receptions with 24 TDs, closing in on the school record of 218 catches and 26 TDs by his father Kevin.

Tyler Lockett had a 91-yard kickoff return late in the first half wiped out by a holding call.

On TCU’s opening drive of the second half, Boykin took off on a first-down run from the K-State 19 and was in a sprint when he got inside the 5 and did a somersault, hurling himself into the air. Though he was unable to keep his balance when his heels hit the ground first, he quickly bounced up after landing in the end zone to give TCU a 24-7 lead.

Kansas State responded with Jake Waters’ 15-yard TD pass to Curry Sexton, a drive extended by a pass interference call on Kevin White on a deep third-down incompletion intended for Lockett.

Three plays after Sexton’s catch, Green took a handoff to the right and was along the sideline before cutting back and past several defenders. Green went all the way across the field, and picked up a line of blockers before finishing off a 65-yard run.

The Frogs played their fifth ranked opponent in six games. Their only loss in that span came four weeks ago at Baylor when they led by 21 points in the fourth quarter before the Bears kicked a field goal on the last play of the game for the win.

TCU has games left at Kansas and Texas before the regular-season finale Dec. 6 at home against Iowa State. None of those teams have a winning record.

Kansas State, whose only previous loss had been at home to Auburn, has an open date next week before going to West Virginia, playing its home finale against Kansas and then going to Baylor.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State senior quarterback Jake Waters is one of 20 semifinalists for the 2014 Maxwell Award, given annually to the College Player of the Year, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday.

Waters is the second Wildcat in the last three years to be named a semifinalist for the award and the third overall as Michael Bishop and Collin Klein were finalists in 1998 and 2012, respectively. A product of Council Bluffs, Iowa, Waters is joined on the list by fellow Big 12 quarterbacks Trevone Boykin (TCU) and Bryce Petty (Baylor) as well as wide receiver Kevin White (West Virginia).

Waters has been effective as both a passer and runner during his senior campaign, accounting for 285.3 yards of total offense through eight games, including 234.8 yards through the air. He has accumulated 300 yards of total offense on two occasions as he totaled 395 yards (290 pass, 105 rush) in a 45-13 win over Texas Tech and 377 yards (239 pass, 138 rush) in a 32-28 victory at Iowa State. His total against the Red Raiders was tied for ninth in school history, while his performance against the Cyclones earned him Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.

A former community-college transfer, Waters has thrown for at least 200 yards in nine-consecutive games dating back to the 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl victory, the longest streak by a Bill Snyder-coached quarterback. He is on pace for 3,052 passing yards this season, which would be the second-most in school history and the most under Snyder. Additionally, he has gone 183 touches (combined passes and rushes) without a turnover dating back to the Auburn game on September 18.

Three finalists for the 2014 Maxwell Award will be announced on November 24, while the winner will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show which will be broadcast on ESPN on December 11.

No. 9 Kansas State (7-1, 5-0 Big 12) travels to No. 7 TCU (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) for a top-10 primetime matchup on Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. The game, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m., will be shown to a national audience on FOX.

— KSU Sports Information —