No. 15 Baylor Escapes with 35-25 Win Over K-State

(AP) No. 15 Baylor escapes with 35-25 win over K-State
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
MANHATTAN, Kan.
Bryce Petty threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns, Ahmad Dixon made a critical interception late in the fourth quarter and No. 15 Baylor held on to beat Kansas State 35-25 on Saturday.

Tevin Reese had five catches for 184 yards and two scores, and Antwan Goodley had five catches for 139 yards and another touchdown for the Bears (5-0, 2-0 Big 12), who ran their winning streak to nine games dating to their win over Kansas State last season.

The Wildcats (2-4, 0-3), behind 199 yards and three rushing TDs by quarterback Daniel Sams, took a 25-21 lead in the third quarter. But they missed a tying field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter and then Sams threw an interception on their ensuing possession that allowed the Bears to escape.

Baylor, playing on the road for the first time this season, had been averaging a nation-leading 779.5 yards and 70-plus points per game. The Bears managed just 451 yards against the Wildcats, while running back Lache Seastrunk was held to just 54 yards on 12 carries.

Still, it was enough to give Baylor its first win in Manhattan in five tries, and extend the nation’s fourth-longest active winning streak.

The Bears had scored at least 28 points in the first quarter of each of their games this season, so it was a mild victory for the Wildcats that they only managed a lone touchdown on Saturday.

Petty finished off a grinding 12-play, 59-yard drive by sneaking across the goal line on fourth down to give Baylor the lead. But the Wildcats quickly answered early in the second quarter, when Sams carried eight consecutive times on a 78-yard drive that he finished off with a 1-yard plunge.

Baylor’s score-a-minute offense finally got on track midway through the second quarter, and it was a breakdown by the Kansas State defense that provided the window.

Reese ran past defensive back Randall Evans and Petty hit him in stride for a 93-yard touchdown reception, the second-longest scoring pass in the Bears’ 115-year history.

The Wildcats answered with a 68-yard drive that they capped with Jack Cantele’s 24-yard field goal, but the Bears needed all of two plays and 38 seconds to score again. This time, it was Goodley who hauled in a 72-yard pass from Petty to give Baylor a 21-10 lead heading into halftime.

So accustomed to games being over by then, perhaps the Bears forgot they needed to keep playing.

The Wildcats marched 13 plays on the opening drive of the third quarter and Cantele’s 32-yard field goal made it 21-13. Kansas State quickly forced a Baylor punt, and Weston Hiebert broke through the line and got his hand on it to give the Wildcats prime field position.

Sams, who had briefly gone to the locker room with a shoulder injury, returned to score on a 2-yard plunge. His 2-point conversion pass was batted away, though, leaving Baylor with a 21-19 lead.

The Bears gave the ball right back when Petty was stripped by Ryan Mueller while scrambling toward the sideline. Kansas State took over at Baylor 44 and needed just 12 plays to finally pull ahead.

Hubert scored from 2 yards out for Kansas State’s first lead of the game.

Undaunted by giving up 15 straight points, Baylor came right back early in the fourth quarter. Petty hit Reese on a 54-yard scoring strike to give the Bears a 28-25 lead with 14:33 to go.

The Wildcats had chances down the stretch, only to fritter them away.

Cantele pulled a 41-yard field goal wide left that would have tied the game with 6:49 left. After the Kansas State defense held, Sams was picked off by Dixon with 3:48 remaining when it appeared that the sophomore quarterback was trying to throw the ball away.

Glasco Martin added a 21-yard touchdown drive with 1:16 remaining to put the game away.