Another Saturday has come and gone as has another Wildcat victory. In front of 48,672 fans the Kansas State Wildcats avoided an upset by the Missouri State Bears. In a year where FCS upsets have not been uncommon, Kansas State hung out and defeated the dangerous offense of the Bears by a final score of 48-24. Though the score doesn’t show it, Missouri State showed a lot of heart and pride in their performance.

Missouri State made a statement that they were here to play in the first quarter. They held Kansas State to a three-and-out on the very first series of the game. Throughout the game there seemed to be much more pushing and shoving going on than there was last week against UCLA. The game felt like it pitted two bitter-rivals against one another (minus the anger of fans on both sides). Missouri State came to play and make hits and didn’t stop until the final whistle blew.

However, the Bears were not able to keep the Wildcats’ star running back from leading them to their first score. In the second drive of the game, Daniel Thomas raced 45 yards downfield and into the end zone to give the Cats a 7-0 lead. It seemed like Kansas State would run away with the game at that point, but Missouri State was unwilling to go quietly into the night.

Kansas State’s defense locked down and got the ball back in the hands of the offense. K-State drove down the field, only to miss a field goal. Once again, Kansas State’s defense stepped up on the ensuing Missouri State drive and the Cats took over on offense again. This time K-State drove deep into the redzone but were held to a 4th and goal on the three-yard line. Wildcat kicker Anthony Cantele came out for the kick, only to run a trick option to the right giving Kansas State a 13-0 lead. He then missed the extra point, leading to former starter Josh Cherry to enter the game.

Missouri State made a huge play on the ensuing drive when senior quarterback Cody Kirby hit Jermaine Saffold for a 66-yard touchdown. After scoring, Saffold taunted the crowd, resulting in a 15-yard penalty. In classic Bill Snyder form, Kansas State attacked the Bears instead of being conservative and running out the clock.  Carson Coffman made a terrific 23-yard pass to Aubrey Quarles to give the Cats a 27-7 lead going into the half. The touchdown was Quarles’ first touchdown reception since the 2008 season.

The second half began very well for the Cats as Coffman made another great touchdown pass to wide receiver Brodrick Smith, giving the Wildcats a 34-7 lead. Missouri State would answer back, however. Moving into a no-huddle offense the Bears drove down the field, only to be stopped inside the five-yard line. The bears settled for a field goal to cut the score to 34-10.

On the next possession Daniel Thomas made his presence felt once more as he ran in a 21-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 41-10.

The 4th quarter was easily the sloppiest of the game. It was clear that some of the Wildcat players figured the game was over and were already mentally preparing for the next opponent, but Missouri State never let up. They drove down the field and scored on a one yard touchdown run by Chris Douglas. Ten minutes later they scored on a beautiful pass by Kirby to cut the lead to 17, 41-24. K-State responded by putting away the Bears with a 39-yard touchdown run by William Powell.

The game was against a FCS school, but the Bears showed their experience and proved to be a well-coached team. They didn’t allow themselves to be pushed around as there were many near-fights on the field. This team came to Bill Snyder Family Stadium expecting a win, and that says a lot. With the win, the Cats move to 2-0 and will face off against the Iowa State Cyclones (1-1) at 11 A.M. next Saturday in Kansas City, MO.