A frantic finish in Boulder sent Kansas State to another gut-punch loss, as Colorado escaped 27-24 in overtime after the Wildcats erased a late deficit, forced extra time, and still couldn’t finish the job.
Kansas State was down to Dylan Duff at quarterback to start because Avery Johnson and Jacob Knuth were both out with injuries, and the offense never really settled in. Duff’s day was brief and mostly quiet, so Blake Barnett took over and gave the Wildcats a spark, but it still wasn’t enough to pull out the win at Folsom Field.
The game opened in a slog. Five straight punts and just one first down set the tone early, before Colorado finally broke through on its third possession. A 22-yard run and a 24-yard completion set up Richard Young’s two-yard touchdown run, giving the Buffaloes a 7-0 lead with 1:42 left in the first quarter.
Kansas State answered with a little life on special teams and on the ground. Brandon White ripped off a 48-yard kickoff return to midfield, and on the final play of the quarter K-State picked up its first first down when Barnett, on his first drive, kept it for nine yards. But the drive fizzled, and Luis Rodriguez missed a 49-yard field goal.
Colorado nearly added more points on the next possession, but JoJo Scott broke up a pass at the goal line and Kaleb Patterson forced a fumble after DeKalon Taylor’s 30-yard run, with the ball popping loose before the goal line and rolling out of the end zone for a touchback.
Barnett finally found a rhythm. On the next drive, he threw for 50 yards, then benefited from a roughing-the-passer penalty that added 15 more.
The possession ended with Josh Manning turning a catch into a 28-yard gain-and-score to tie it at 7. Kansas State had one more chance before halftime after Jayden Bryant sacked Isaac Wilson with a minute left, but nothing came of it.
The third quarter stayed messy for a while, with punts piling up again, until JaQuail Smith broke free for a 47-yard touchdown run to put Colorado back in front 14-7. Kansas State responded quickly. Barnett hit Linkon Cure for 25 yards, then found him again for 33 yards and a tying touchdown.
Colorado kept answering. Backed up at its own four after the kickoff, the Buffaloes pieced together a drive with 12 rushing yards, 10 more on a pass interference call, a 38-yard completion to Joseph Willians, and Young’s 22-yard touchdown run to go back ahead 21-14.
Kansas State had another response in it, at least for a while. Jaron Tibbs, Garrett Oakley, and Rodney Fields helped move the ball into the red zone, but a false start on a 4th-and-4 attempt changed the sequence. Rodriguez then tried a 43-yard field goal and missed wide left again.
The Wildcats still weren’t done. After Colorado went three-and-out, K-State got one first down before punting.
Colorado then managed only one first down before punting back with 55 seconds left. Barnett went to work, hitting Manning for 23 yards and then five more to get out of bounds.
He then connected with Tibbs for 32 yards to reach the Colorado three with 30 seconds left.
That’s where the chaos took over. A delay of game pushed Kansas State back to the eight with six seconds remaining, but Barnett still found Oakley for an eight-yard touchdown.
Colorado was flagged for both offsides and pass interference on the play. Chris Klieman chose to go for two rather than head to overtime.
Then Colorado called timeout, and he changed his mind. Rodriguez made the kick, and the game went to overtime.
Kansas State had the ball first in the extra period and converted a 3rd-and-4 with another catch by Oakley, but two incompletions left Rodriguez with a 25-yard field goal. Colorado answered with an 11-yard pass from Isaac Wilson to Charlie Williams, and that was that.
Barnett finished 18 of 28 for 224 yards and three touchdowns, plus 40 rushing yards. Duff went 1-for-1 for 2 yards and lost three yards on the ground.
Fields led the Kansas State rushing effort with 65 yards on 12 carries, and nobody else made much of an impact on the ground. Manning caught seven passes for 73 yards and a touchdown, Cure had three catches for 65 yards and a score, Tibbs finished with five receptions for 54 yards, and Oakley caught three passes for 25 yards and a touchdown.
Colorado outgained Kansas State 407-347 and controlled the run game 222-121. It was the Buffaloes’ highest rushing total since Deion Sanders arrived in Boulder.
Kansas State did finish with more passing yards, 226-185, and the Wildcats also won time of possession 32-28. White’s 48-yard kickoff return was one of the few clear special-teams advantages in the game.
The offensive line was a major issue for Kansas State, giving up five sacks, more than it had allowed all season before today. Barnett’s numbers looked respectable, but a lot of his throws came under pressure. As the source noted, the Wildcats were also left with the reality that a loss like this makes bowl eligibility a steep climb from here.
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