#13 K-State’s comeback falls just short as they lose to Texas at home 34-27.

Starting quarterback Adrian Martinez was healthy enough to go, so he got the start in this one.

On the first drive of the game for Texas, K-State cornerback Julius Brents was ejected for a targeting call. Texas got the first score of the game not much later with a 36-yard touchdown by Big 12 leading rusher Bijan Robinson.

The Wildcats were able to right back with some good runs by running back Deuce Vaughn and he finished it off with a 28-yard touchdown reception from Martinez to tie the game 7-7 with 8:41 left in the first quarter.

The Longhorns made it 2-for-2 on touchdown drives with a nine-yard rushing touchdown from running back Roschon Johnson to give Texas the lead back at 14-7 with 5:20 left.

Kick returner and wide receiver Malik Knowles made a bad decision of returning the ensuing kickoff and was barely able to get to the ten-yard line. That didn’t matter, though, as the Wildcats marched all the way down into the redzone. Unfortunately, they would have to settle for a 21-yard field goal from Ty Zentner to stay behind in the game 14-10 with 13:46 left in the second quarter.

The Texas offense continued to cut through K-State’s defense like a hot knife through butter. Quarterback Quinn Ewers connected with wide receiver Xavier Worthy for the first time of the game for a 13-yard touchdown to go up 21-10.

On the next drive for Texas, the Longhorns went for it on 4th & short and converted. However, at the end of the run, Johnson lost the football on an incredibly athletic play by cornerback Ekow Boye-Doe, who came from behind and punched the ball free. Cornerback Jacob Parrish recovered the ball to give K-State the ball at their own ten-yard line.

On a 3rd & 6, Knowles was wide open for a 62-yard reception after making some shifty maneuvers to evade Longhorn defenders. Later in the drive on a 4th & 2 in the redzone, K-State went for it, and were unable to convert with 3:37 left in the first half.

Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman’s defense for the first time on the day was able to get a stop on third down, but it wasn’t before Robinson had a 68-yard run to set them up in the redzone. The Longhorns made a field goal from kicker Bert Auburn from 27-yards out to extend Texas’ lead to 24-10 with 1:35 to go.

The Cats tried to quickly answer, but Martinez threw his first interception of the season with 1:07 left setting the Longhorns up at the K-State 27-yard line. They converted with Worthy getting his second touchdown of the game making it 31-10 with 0:13 left.

The Wildcats needed a spark out of the break to stay competitive, but all they got was a three-and-out.

Texas was held to no points on their next drive as safety Joshua Hayes forced a fumble with nose guard Eli Huggins recovering it to set up K-State in great field position.

On the first play of the following drive, K-State was called for a holding penalty and an unsportsmanlike penalty making it 1st & 35. Vaughn got a 21-yard catch-and-run on the next play with Texas getting flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to get K-State inside the Texas five-yard line. Martinez punched it in two plays later to get back within two scores at 31-17 with 8:37 remaining in the third quarter.

After both teams got stops, K-State got back-to-back chunk passes from Martinez to tight end Ben Sinnott and Knowles to set the Cats up in short territory. The Cats converted on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 25-yard touchdown to wide receiver Kade Warner to cut the lead to seven at 31-24 with 14:54 to go.

Texas was assisted by some bone-headed penalties on the next drive as their offense returned to first-half form. The Longhorns got into the redzone, but K-State’s defense made a stop. Texas made a 28-yard field goal from Auburn to go up 34-24 with 10:29 left.

K-State got some impressive throws and runs by Martinez trying to get back within one possession, and they did just that with a Ty Zentner 27-yard field goal to make it 34-27.

On the next drive for Texas, K-State’s defense stepped up again with a huge 3rd down tackle for loss by safety Kobe Savage to force UT to punt with 2:43 left.

This allowed K-State one final chance to complete the comeback. Martinez would get three first downs, but, sadly, he fumbled the ball away with 0:24 left to clinch the game.

Martinez had a nice day statistically going 24-for-36 with 329 yards and two touchdowns with an interception and a fumble lost. He also ran the ball 14 times for 52 yards and a touchdown. Vaughn had 159 total scrimmage yards (86 receiving, 73 rushing) with a rushing touchdown. Warner had five receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Ewers went 18-for-31 with 197 yards and two touchdowns. Robinson finished with a robust workload of 30 carries for 209 yards and a touchdown. Worthy was held to just four catches for 42 yards but had two touchdowns.

This was a tough loss for the Cats and they no longer control their own destiny to get to the Big 12 title game. K-State falls to 6-3 in the regular season and will need to have a short memory. They will play a Baylor team in Waco next Saturday, who is now tied with the Cats at 4-2 for third place in the conference.