K-State Trails Baylor Football 21-10 At Halftime

Richard Rowe-USA TODAY Sports

With the first play of the second quarter and K-State facing 2nd-and-goal on the one, this was an easy call. Stack the line, Glenn Gronkowski bulldozed any potential tacklers, and Daniel Sams punched it in to pull K-State even at 7-7. Statistics at that point:

• Despite receiving the ball, Baylor was being outgained in yardage, 122-83.
• K-State had almost 100 yards rushing (97 total) while Baylor had 42.

On Baylor’s subsequent drive K-State’s defense appeared to come up huge again, stopping another 3rd-and-one punch by Glasco Martin by about a foot. He was hit in the backfield and drove just back to the line of scrimmage and the crowd was loud on fourth down. Bryce Petty attempted the sneak again (just like when Baylor scored its touchdown).

Kip Daily was injured on the play, getting laid out on a block that took him a long time to get up from. Looked like he was knocked out briefly, and his return is questionable. A botched snap pushed Baylor back to 2nd and 22, and on third down Baylor was once again forced to take a time out (it’s second of the half with 12 minutes still to play) as Bryce Petty was still having difficulty hearing. Baylor picked up the first, but a clipping penalty called it back and the intended receiver straight up dropped the ball. Baylor was forced to punt, and it rolled into the end zone for a touchdown.

Daniel Sams was the quarterback trotted out for the possession, and an interesting strategy began to emerge. Both he and Waters were running plays wherein they’d run a little to bring in defenders, then toss upfield. Completely sandlot, but working effectively so far as Zach Trujillo had a big pick up on first down. However, K-State was forced to punt back (the first for K-State on the day, 20 minutes into the game. Ball downed at the four. Nice.

Baylor’s subsequent drive demonstrated how dangerous the Bears are. Petty was stopped for a short gain on first down, but on second he found Tevin Reese, who completely burned Randall Evans downfield, for the 93-yard gain to put Baylor up 14-7.

Jake Waters came on for the next K-State drive (try to make sense, I dare you). Then on third-and-one Sams was brought in to get a yard. Instead, he picked up 32. And didn’t stop there. Sams just kept powering the Wildcats downfield, but on 3rd-and-one at the Baylor 25 Andre McDonald was nailed with a false start penalty, forcing K-State to pick up six. He shouldn’t have. He was met in the backfield on a broken option play. Then he reserved field, shook a defender like Barry Sanders used to, and picked up the yardage but took a big hit in the process. He then took a 14 yarder to the eight, but had to call a time out to catch his breath (Sams had taken a lot of hits already).

On third-and-goal Sams was unable to find an open receiver (Kyle Klein was forced to deal with a defender who wouldn’t let go of his jersey, though the official never called it), and Jack Cantele kicked the field goal to make it 14-10.

K-State failed to get a decent kick-off the third straight time, giving the returner the ball at the 20, but the coverage unit turned into a wall that stopped him at the 26. Reminiscent of the last drive, Lache Seastrunk was stopped for a yard on the first play, but another downfield shot on second down give Baylor another touchdown on a 72-yard bomb. It was the second Bears drive that lasted less than a minute.

Waters was brought in for the final drive of the half. He was unable to find an open receiver on three straight drop backs, and Krause made another sensational punt to put Baylor at the 30 with 90 seconds to play. While this is normally reason for concern with the Bears’ offense, K-State forced a three-and-out as well, giving K-State the ball at the eight with just under a minute. The Wildcats ran the clock out, and K-State enters the locker room down 21-10.