Turnovers, Porous Defense Undo Red Raiders In 37-28 Loss To Kansas State
The Texas Tech Red Raiders couldn't overcome turnovers and allowed too many big plays in a 37-28 loss to the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan, Kansas on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Raiders entered their Week 4 matchup against the Kansas State Wildcats hoping to maintain momentum from their 37-34 overtime win over the Texas Longhorns a week ago.
That wasn't to be the case as it was all Wildcats early. On the Wildcats' first offensive possession, they needed only two plays to go 75 yards for their first touchdown, with quarterback Adrian Martinez rushing for 57 yards on the first play from scrimmage, followed by an 18-yard touchdown scamper for the early 7-0 lead.
The rest of the first quarter was all Wildcats too, as the Red Raider offense went punt, turnover on downs and an interception on their first three possessions. When the first quarter came to an end the Red Raiders trailed 10-0 and were being outgained 177 yards to 22.
But the second quarter told a different story, as the Tech defense stepped up and began to stifle the Kansas State offense, while the offense cut it to 13-7 just before halftime on a Donovan Smith six-yard touchdown pass to receiver Nehemiah Martinez.
Trey Wolff drilled a 51-yard field goal as time expired to cut the Wildcats' lead to 13-10 at halftime.
Trey Wolff hit a 39-yard field goal to open the second half before both teams traded touchdown drives for a 20-20 tie.
Tech had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but Wolff couldn't hit from 51. That swung momentum to the side of the Wildcats, who now had a short field to work with.
Just three plays later, Martinez ran for a 69-yard touchdown to give K-State a 27-20 lead. Tech was successful last week against the Longhorns converting fourth downs, but that wasn't the case on Saturday.
Tech was just 1-for-3 on fourth-down conversion attempts, each time giving the Wildcats a short field to work with offensively. But the Red Raiders also struggled on third-down conversions, going just 2-for-11.
The Wildcats added another field goal, then recovered a Red Raiders fumble at the Tech 30 and added another touchdown for a 37-20 lead.
But the Tech offense wasn't done. On the next possession, the Red Raiders went 75 yards in 13 plays for a touchdown and added a two-point conversion for a 37-28 score with 2:23 left in the game.
Tech then recovered an onside kick, giving the Red Raiders a bit of hope before Donovan Smith threw an interception just before the two-minute warning.
But it came down to too many mistakes and too many big plays allowed by the K-State offense. Martinez finished the day with 12 carries for 171 yards and three touchdowns while running back Deuce Vaughn carried the ball 23 times for 171 yards.
Next up, the Red Raiders travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday.
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