Skylar Thompson Leads Kansas State to 24-17 Win Over TCU
As expected, it was a defensive battle in Manhattan between TCU and Kansas State, but it was the Wildcats led by veteran quarterback Skylar Thompson who made the big plays when his team needed it most as K-State beat the Horned Frogs 24-17.
The first points of the game came after K-State made a big special teams play on a blocked punt, which led to Thompson connecting with Nick Lenners for a 21-yard touchdown to put the Wildcats up 7-0.
Two drives later, Max Duggan led the Horned Frogs on a 10-play, 76-yard drive, capped off by Sewo Olonilua’s eight-yard touchdown run to tie the game at seven.
After a pair of punts, Kansas State found itself back on top with Skylar Thompson coordinating a nine-play, 74-yard drive where the QB found Wykeen Gill on a 13-yard strike to put the Wildcats back on top. A TCU field goal before the half sent both teams into the locker room with Kansas State holding onto a 14-10 lead.
By these teams standards, it was a relatively-high scoring first half, but that wouldn’t be the case in the final 30 minutes. K-State got the ball to start the second half and Blake Lynch put through a 21-yard field goal as the Wildcats led 17-10. But then came the play of the game, as Max Duggan ripped off a 46-yard touchdown run on a 2nd and 5, as the Horned Frogs had the game tied for the first time since early in the second quarter.
The game then slowed down with six-straight punts by both teams before Kansas State took over from its own five-yard line with 8:03 to play. On the second play of the drive, Skylar Thompson ripped off a 61-yard run to get the Wildcats down to the TCU 29-yard line. From there, K-State moved methodically and its 11-play drive ended with Thompson running in from three yards out for the score and a 24-17 lead with less than three minutes left.
TCU was unable to mount a comeback in the final couple of minutes and fell to 3-3 on the season and 1-2 in Big 12 play, while K-State picked up its first Big 12 victory, and Chris Klieman’s first conference win, as the Wildcats improved to 4-2 overall.
Thompson finished 11/23 for 172 passing yards and two touchdowns, with a team-high 68 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Both teams are back at it next week with Kansas State hosting Oklahoma and TCU heading home to take on No. 15 Texas.
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