MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State took advantage of its special teams play Saturday in the first half to build an early lead and top Kansas 55-14 in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Despite the loss, true freshman Jalon Daniels, making his third-career start, posted career highs in passing (207 yards) and rushing (27) yards, while scoring on two running touchdowns in his first Dillons Sunflower Showdown.
But Kansas State’s special teams were too much to overcome for the Jayhawks.
Phillip Brooks had a pair of punt returns for touchdowns in the first half and Blake Lynch had two field goals to give the Wildcats a 34-7 lead over the Jayhawks at halftime.
The Kansas defense had a strong start to the game, despite the early hole. The Jayhawks forced two punts and two field goals in the game’s first 30 minutes and contained the Kansas State offense for much of the half. The Wildcats had just 150 yards of total offense in the first half, while Kansas gained 147 yards.
The Jayhawks got on the board in the second quarter when Daniels scampered in from eight yards out for the first rushing touchdown of his career.
In the third quarter, Kansas State used three offensive touchdowns to build its lead and hold a 55-7 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Daniels scored his second rushing touchdown with 4:38 remaining to make the score 55-14.
Redshirt-freshman linebacker Steven Parker established a new career high in tackles with five in the loss. He also had a tackle-for-loss. Marcus Harris posted 2 ½ tackles-for-loss after posting three TFLs last weekend at West Virginia.
Linebacker Kyron Johnson also had a productive game for the Jayhawks, collecting six total tackles and a career-high two tackles-for-loss. Corione Harris registered a forced fumble in the fourth quarter that Duece Mayberry recovered. It marked the second-straight week Mayberry recovered a fumble.
Offensively, Kwamie Lassiter II led the team with seven receptions for 58 yards. Senior Ezra Naylor II collected the first four catches of his career, finishing with 40 yards. Sophomore tight end Mason Fairchild also had a career-high two catches for 38 yards.
After two weeks on the road, the Jayhawks will now return home for their next game when they host Iowa State on Halloween at 11 a.m. That contest will be televised on FS1.