MANHATTAN, Kan. – John Hubert ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns, and Kansas State nearly pitched its first Big 12 shutout in a decade in a 41-7 rout of Iowa State on Saturday.
The quarterback combo of Jake Waters and Daniel Sams combined to throw for 221 yards and run for 89 yards as the Wildcats (4-4, 2-3) beat the Cyclones for the sixth straight time.
Iowa State (1-7, 0-5) didn’t score until the Wildcats’ Robert Rose coughed up the ball at his own 10-yard line in the closing minutes, and DeVondrick Nealy took a toss-sweep for a touchdown.
That was the only time the Cyclones ran a play in the Wildcats’ red zone.
Grant Rohach threw for 88 yards for the Cyclones in place of Sam Richardson, who left midway through the second quarter. Richardson had been dealing with a lingering ankle injury.
Nealy’s TD run prevented the Wildcats from finishing off their first shutout since September 2011, and their first of a Big 12 foe since a 45-0 win over the Cyclones on Nov. 3, 2003.
Still, Cyclones coach Paul Rhoads remained winless against Kansas State. Iowa State hasn’t beaten its fellow land-grant university in Manhattan since Nov. 20, 2004.
It didn’t help the Cyclones’ chances that they were missing several key players due to injuries. Top running back Aaron Wimberly, who has an ailing hamstring, did not play.
After holding the Cyclones on fourth down to start the game, Waters led the Wildcats on a 79-yard march. He hit Tyler Lockett for a pair of completions, ran 23 yards for a first down and then handed off to Hubert, whose 10-yard touchdown run gave Kansas State a 7-0 lead.
Jack Cantele kicked a 44-yard field goal a few minutes later to extend the lead to 10-0.
Meanwhile, the Cyclones couldn’t get anything going on offense. They punted on three straight possessions, and then Richardson tossed an interception on the next series.
Rohach took over for Richardson at quarterback in the second quarter and fared a bit better, driving the Cyclones to the Kansas State 29. But forced to settle for a field goal, Cole Netten yanked his kick wide left to keep the score 10-0.
That’s when Kansas State also went to the quarterback bullpen.
Sams came into the game and ran 34 yards on six carries, while also completing 2 of 3 passes for 22 yards — one of them a wobbler intended for Lockett that Tramaine Thompson actually caught.
Sams finished the drive with a 1-yard run for a 17-0 lead just before halftime.
Cantele added another field goal early in the second half, and Hubert finished off an 83-yard drive with a 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 27-0.
The two biggest highlights of the game came when it had already been decided.
After the Cyclones were again held on fourth down, Sams threw a 28-yard rainbow that Thompson hauled in over a defender — despite pass interference — while landing on his back in the end zone.
Rohach was picked off by the Wildcats’ Dorrian Roberts on the ensuing possession, and Rose scampered nine yards into the end zone for a touchdown and a 41-0 lead.
The only drama left was whether the Wildcats would finish off the shutout. Rose’s fumble and Nealy’s touchdown run finally gave the Cyclones something to feel good about.
Leave a Reply