Box Score Kansas State got just enough offense, defense and special teams to defeat West Virginia 34-17 Saturday afternoon at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas.
 
Quarterback Thompson was an economical 14-of-19 passing for 138 yards, running back Deuce Vaughn ran 25 times for 138 yards and the Wildcat special teams came up with a blocked punt for a touchdown and a long kickoff return to set up another touchdown.
 
Kansas State's win today snapped West Virginia's five-game winning streak in the series and extended its current winning streak to four.
 
"We played against a team today that didn't do anything to beat themselves," West Virginia coach Neal Brown said afterward. "Our guys played hard, but playing hard is not good enough. You've got to play smart, and we just don't play smart, and we turned the football over."
 
The game began ominously for the Mountaineers, now 4-6 and 2-5. After a 9-yard Leddie Brown run, Jarret Doege's slant pass to Winston Wright Jr. ricocheted off of his shoulder pads right into Russ Yeast's arms at the Wildcat 45.
 
Had Wright been able to hold onto the football there was a possibility he could have scored with open field ahead of him.
 
K-State (7-3, 4-3) turned the great field position into seven points when backup running back Joe Ervin ran it in from the 2. Runs of 15, 5 and 7 yards by Vaughn, followed by a 22-yard Ervin jaunt moved the ball to the Mountaineer 2.
 
Following a Tyler Sumpter punt, it looked like West Virginia's defense was going to give the offense great field position at the Wildcat 16 when linebacker Exree Loe stepped in front of a Thompson pass, but VanDarius Cowan was called for roughing the passer with targeting, which gave the Wildcats 15 yards and a fresh set of downs.
 
The defense did force a K-State punt, giving the ball back to West Virginia at its 22. A chop-block penalty on Zach Frazier and Wyatt Milum wiped out Brown's 9-yard run, moving the Mountaineers back to their own 11. Two more plays went backwards two yards, and Doege's third-down pass to Sam James was well short of the sticks to bring up a fourth and 16 at the WVU 16.
 
The Wildcats came with pressure on Sumpter's punt and Ty Bowman was at Sumpter's foot as he was about to kick it. The bounding ball was scooped up at the 7 and returned for a touchdown, giving K-State a 14-0 lead with 3:46 left in the first quarter.
 
West Virginia's offense, unsuccessful getting into the end zone a week prior against Oklahoma State, encountered more difficulties in the second quarter. A drive that began at its own 25 stalled at the K-State 30 when Doege's third-down pass to Reese Smith was broken up by Jahron McPherson.
 
Brown, opting to get some points, called on Casey Legg to try a 47-yard field goal. However, his low kick sailed wide right of the goal posts, giving K-State the ball at its 30. The Wildcats made two first downs, but the drive stalled at the 31 when Scottie Young tackled Vaughn for a 7-yard loss on third and 10.
 
K-State coach Chris Klieman chose to punt the ball from the WVU 38 and the ball was downed at the Mountaineer 4. A sack and two incomplete passes forced West Virginia to punt from its own end zone, and Kansas State wound up with the football at the WVU 32.
 
Vaughn ran 12 yards to the WVU 20 where the Mountaineer defense stiffened, forcing Chris Tennant to kick a 32-yard field goal with 2:57 left to extend the Wildcats' lead to 17-0.
 
The Mountaineers put together a nine-play, 53-yard drive that took the ball to the K-State 22-yard line with 48 seconds left. Following a timeout, Doege's third-and-5 pass to Wright Jr. fell incomplete.
 
This time, Legg came on to boot a 39-yard field goal with 18 seconds left.
 
A Malik Knowles 64-yard return on the opening kickoff of the third quarter set up Kansas State's second offensive touchdown. A Thompson 10-yard pass to Phillip Brooks moved the ball to the WVU 21, and an 8-yard Vaughn run on third and 2 gave the Wildcats a first and goal at the 5. On third and goal, Thompson flipped a 4-yard pass to tight end Sammy Wheeler in the end zone. 
 
Tennant's conversion kick gave the Wildcats a 24-3 advantage.
 
West Virginia finally crossed the goal line on the game's next possession. A Brown third-down run for 20 yards was assisted by freshman wide receiver Kaden Prather, who jumped on Brown's fumble at the K-State 42. Prather also aided the drive with a pair of catches, one for 16 yards to the 24, and the other for 8 on third and 6 to take the ball to the 12.
 
Two plays later, a scrambling Doege fired a 13-yard touchdown pass to Reese Smith – the first TD of his collegiate career. Legg's conversion kick reduced Kansas State's lead to 24-10.
 
Kansas State missed a great opportunity to tack on more points when Vaughn gains of 38 and 13 yards got the ball to the WVU 9. But two unsuccessful runs forced a Tennant field goal try from the 16 where he missed.
 
West Virginia made the game interesting on its next possession, and again Prather was a factor. He made a first-down catch on third and 4 at the WVU 27, and his 32-yard reception took the ball to the K-State 6.
 
On fourth and goal from the 3, a scrambling Doege fit in a pass to Wright Jr., who outfought a couple of defenders to score the touchdown. Legg's conversion kick made it a touchdown game with 11:50 to go.
 
Then, two times West Virginia's defense had chances to get off the field and both times it came up empty. On third and 7 at the K-State 40, Thompson hooked up with Brooks for 19 yards to the WVU 41. Three plays later, the Wildcats were faced with a fourth and 8 at the WVU 39, and Thompson hit Wheeler for 35 yards down the seam to the Mountaineer 4, where Vaughn finished things off with a touchdown run.
 
A Brown fumble recovered by Reggie Stubblefield at the WVU 35 enabled the Wildcats to burn off a good portion of the remaining 6:24 before Tennant punched through a 25-yard field goal to double up the Mountaineers.
 
Doege's second interception allowed Kansas State to run out the remaining 57 seconds.
 
Doege, under constant pressure once again this afternoon, was sacked three times and hit on a good number of his 45 pass attempts. He completed 27 of those for 268 yards, six going to Wright Jr. for 33 yards. Ford-Wheaton caught five for 67 yards, Brown caught five coming out of the backfield for 33 yards and Prather finished the day with four catches for 60 yards.
 
The three sacks allowed today makes 28 in 10 games for the youthful Mountaineers.
 
Brown led the WVU rushing attack with 85 yards on 20 attempts.
 
Defensively, Alonzo Addae and Exree Loe shared top honors for the Mountaineers with eight tackles each. Ten different players were responsible for West Virginia's 11 TFLs, including Taijh Alston, who recorded his fifth sack of the season.
 
"I'm not taking anything away from Kansas State; they are a quality football team, and they played well today, but they didn't do anything to get themselves beat and we did," Brown said. "It's disappointing, and we've got to get it fixed, period, but it's disappointing."
 
West Virginia must now win its two remaining games of the regular season against Texas next Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium and at Kansas on Saturday, Nov. 27 to become bowl eligible.
 
The Longhorns and Jayhawks play later today.