Missouri upsets No. 15 Kansas State in walk-off fashion
It will be one to forget for Wildcat fans as the Missouri Tigers defeated Kansas State at the buzzer off a 61-yard field goal by kicker Harrison Mevis. The Wildcats suffer their first loss of the season and are now 2-1 on the season.
“We had opportunities on offense, defense and on special teams, and this is what you’re going to get in Big 12 play,” K-State head coach Chris Klieman said in the postgame press conference. “You’re going to have one-score games and have to make plays down the stretch. They made another play than we did down the stretch and their kid makes a 61-yard field goal as time expires. That’s part of the game of football."
It was a battle back and forth all game as the Wildcats struck first from a 10-yard pass to Phillip Brooks. The Tigers responded with a 47-yard touchdown from Brady Cook to Luther Burden. That was the connection the Wildcats couldn't stop this afternoon, as Burden finished with seven catches for 114 yards and two scores.
His second touchdown put the Tigers on top in the 4th quarter.
Will Howard and company had a chance to respond with just under nine minutes remaining.
Treshaun Ward made some great plays to get the Wildcats in the red zone, but a bad delay of game penalty on third-and-goal set the Wildcats back and forced them to settle for a field goal to tie the game at 27.
Missouri was able to drive down the field on the final drive but also took a bad delay of game penalty. The Tigers were forced to kick a 61-yard field goal. The rest was history.
There were just too many mistakes the Wildcats made that kept the Tigers in it.
Howard threw his third interception of the season in the first quarter. Some uncharacteristic throws by Howard and drops by the Wildcats receivers ended drives and kept Missouri in the game. Kansas State knew they would get Missouri’s best shot, and they just couldn’t make enough plays to defeat them.
It's worth noting that Howard played the majority of the second half of the game with a noticeable limp. He completed 25-of-39 passes for 270 yards, three touchdowns and one pick.
“(Howard) was a warrior,” Klieman said. “He was banged up. Will played well, made one poor decision in the first half, but he threw the ball really well and under a lot of duress. They were going to lay their ears back and blitz. We made them pay a number of times, and we have to continue to do that because I think people are going to continue to pressure us.”
It was a hard loss for the Wildcats fans and players, as this game has been talked about all summer, but the goal of the Big 12 Championship remains. They'll open up their title defense against newcomers UCF next week.