Kansas State Wildcats suffer first loss of the season 30-27 at Missouri
The Kansas State Wildcats fell victim to history on Saturday, losing to the Missouri Tigers on a record-setting 61-yard field goal as time expired.
K-State finishes the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 2-1 record.
The waning moments of the Wildcats’ Week 3 tilt were both chaotic and confusing. The Tigers worked their way to the K-State 39-yard line, setting up what would have been a 56-yard field goal. However, an apparent communication error led to a delay of game penalty, pushing Missouri back five yards. K-State then nearly gave those five yards back when it had 12 players on the field defensively before burning a timeout to save the field position.
Those potentially significant minor changes were all rendered moot, however, when Missouri senior kicker Harrison Mevis blasted a 61-yard field goal as time expired, setting a new SEC record for longest field goal and sending Kansas State home to Manhattan with a loss.
“You’re never really shocked about anything,” K-State coach Chris Klieman said. “It’s a game of football. Give their kid credit, he banged one in from 61 yards. What could we do differently? We rushed it, we put a guy back similar to what they did. The kid made a big-time play.”
The final yardage numbers were nearly identical for both teams, with the Tigers edging the Wildcats 430-408 in that statistic. K-State was far better on third downs, converting on 8-of-17 tries compared to just 3-of-13 for Missouri, but the Tigers thrived on early downs, using numerous explosive plays to take advantage of the Wildcats’ defense.
“When you do pressure, you’ve got to be able to tackle and be able to play man coverage,” Klieman said.
Senior quarterback Will Howard threw for 270 yards in the loss, completing 25-of-39 passes for three touchdowns and one interception. Senior tight end Ben Sinnott was his favorite target, catching five passes for 78 yards and two scores.
Missouri sophomore wide receiver Luther Burden III was the most dynamic offensive player of the game, setting game highs in both receptions and yards, with seven and 114, respectively. Tigers junior quarterback Brady Cook passed for a career-high 356 yards in Missouri’s victory.
“We all know the Burden kid is a really special player, a really good player, and I thought they did a really nice job moving him around and putting him in different spots, creating matchups for him, and I thought all along this week that Cook’s a really good player,” Klieman said.
The Wildcats will return home next weekend to open Big 12 play against the UCF Knights, who are 3-0 this year after crushing Villanova 48-14 on Saturday. That game is set for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff next Saturday night.
For more on the Kansas State Wildcats’ 30-27 loss to the Missouri Tigers, check out 580 Sports Talk Monday from 2-6 on 580 WIBW.
