TCU rallies past injury-plagued Kansas State football, 38-28: Three takeaways

FORT WORTH, Texas — Kansas State was in the driver's seat, and then the car crashed.

With backup quarterback Will Howard leading the charge, the No. 17-ranked Wildcats raced to an 18-point lead against TCU and were up by 11 at halftime before the wheels came off Saturday night in a battle of Big 12 co-leaders.

No. 8 TCU (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) carried the momentum of a touchdown just before halftime and dominated the rest of the way for 38-28 victory at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

The Horned Frogs remained unbeaten on the season at 7-0 and claimed sole possession of first place in the Big 12 at 4-0. K-State fell to 5-2 and 4-1.

K-State played most of the game without starting quarterback Adrian Martinez and the entire second half without preseason all-Big 12 linebacker Daniel Green.

TCU scored the game's last 28 points.

Here are three takeaways from a game that K-State saw slip away.

The return of Will Howard

Will Howard has been listed as K-State's No. 2 quarterback all season, but he did not appear in the first six games. Instead it was Jake Rubley who stepped in on the rare occasion that Adrian Martinez was not in the lineup.

K-State coach Chris Klieman has said all along that he hoped to redshirt Howard, who was forced into action because of injuries to Skylar Thompson each of the two previous years. But when it became clear that Martinez could not continue, it was Howard who got the call.

Howard had an immediate impact, leading the Wildcats to touchdowns on each of his first four drives, passing for two scores and running for another. But K-State was unable to sustain the momentum.

Howard also went down with 5:15 left in the third quarter with a shoulder injury, but returned later after giving way to Rubley for a drive.

Klieman did not have an update on Martinez's status going forward, saying only that he was quickly ruled out by the trainers after K-State's opening drive.

Howard completed 9 of 11 first-half passes for 185 yards, including touchdown strikes of 28 yards to Kade Warner and 9 yards to Sammy Wheeler, and scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak. For the game, Howard was 13 of 20 passing for 225 yards and two touchdowns, plus rushed for a touchdown.

'A tale of two halves'

Chris Klieman called it a "a tale of two halves," and that about summed it up.

Will Howard gave K-State an early lift when he came on for the injured Adrian Martinez in the first quarter, leading the Wildcats to four straight touchdowns and a 28-10 lead.

But TCU seized the momentum right before halftime with a 91-yard drive and Max Duggan-to-Jared Wiley touchdown pass that cut the lead to 28-17 at the break. That drive foreshadowed what was to come.

TCU got the ball to start the second half and made it a one-possession game with a 77-yard drive, capped by a 2-yard Kendre Miller touchdown run. Miller finished with 153 yards and two scores on 29 carries.

The Horned Frogs scored twice in the third quarter, adding a 55-yard Duggan-to-Quentin Johnston touchdown pass to regain the lead, 31-28, with 3:45 left in the period. They then made it 28 straight points, creating a short field with a fourth-down stop at the K-State 30-yard line and pushing the advantage to 38-28 on a 9-yard Miller run.

Duggan completed 17 of 26 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns in the game as TCU racked up 495 total yards.

K-State had 390 yards, including 158 on the ground with Deuce Vaughn rushing for 83 on 12 carries. It was Vaughn's 47-yard touchdown run with 8:09 left in the first half that accounted for the Wildcats' final points.

Injuries finally take down Wildcats

While Adrian Martinez's injury was the most notable, Kansas State played much of the game without two defensive starters as well.

Middle linebacker Daniel Green and cornerback Julius Brents headed to the locker room in the second quarter, and Green did not return. Brents came back briefly in the third quarter.

Tight end Ben Sinnott also was knocked out of the game in the third quarter.

Others who made their way to the locker room at some point but returned, included running back Deuce Vaughn, safety Josh Hayes and Howard.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Takeaways from Kansas State football game Saturday night at TCU