MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Phillip Brooks returned a pair of punts for touchdowns, Kansas State took advantage of an embarrassing day of special teams by its biggest rival, and the No. 20 Wildcats rolled to a 55-14 victory over Kansas on Saturday.
Will Howard threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns while Justin Gardner returned an interception 25 yards for another score, helping the Wildcats (4-1) improve to 4-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since 2014.
Deuce Vaughn added 71 yards rushing and another touchdown as Kansas State beat the Jayhawks (0-5, 0-4) for a series-record 12th straight time. Kansas has not beaten its Interstate 70 rival since Nov. 1, 2008, in Lawrence.
Freshman Jalon Daniels was just 22 of 39 for 207 yards for the Jayhawks, who were playing their first game since coach Les Miles returned from a positive COVID-19 test. It also was their first game since running back Pooka Williams, an All-Big 12 selection a year ago, decided to opt out for the remainder of the season.
Along with giving up two punt return TDs, the Jayhawks also had two punts nearly returned for scores and were lousy in their own return game. They also watched Jacob Borcila bang a field-goal attempt off the upright.
The lopsided score allowed Kansas State coach Chris Klieman to empty his bench early in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats’ offense actually struggled early behind their own freshman quarterback, making his second start in place of the injured Skylar Thompson. But their defense and special teams scored 27 points in staking them to a 34-7 halftime lead.
The first points came when the Jayhawks were forced to punt, and a penalty for running into the kicker gave them a do-over. Brooks made them pay for taking it, scooting 55 yards for the touchdown.
Blake Lynch added a couple field goals before Gardner stepped in front of Daniels’ throw-back screen pass and pranced into the end zone to make it 20-0. And when the Jayhawks finally got a TD of their own, Howard answered with a touchdown to Sammy Wheeler and Brooks brought back his second punt for a touchdown on the final play of the first half.
The Wildcats put the game away with three consecutive scoring drives to start the second half.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
In the first half alone, referee Kevin Hassell had to overturn an interception that hit the ground, a fumble when the ball-carrier already was down and a touchdown catch in which the Jayhawks’ Andrew Parchment landed out of bounds. Hassell also overturned a targeting penalty and announced holding on the wrong team.