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Auburn vs. Kansas State final score: No. 5 Tigers survive upset bid from Wildcats, 20-14

By Jack Crosby

Sep 18, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; Auburn Tigers running back Corey Grant (20) is chased by Kansas State Wildcats defensive back Travis Green (2) during first-half action at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; Auburn Tigers running back Corey Grant (20) is chased by Kansas State Wildcats defensive back Travis Green (2) during first-half action at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Going into the Thursday night match up between the no. 5 ranked Auburn Tigers and the no. 20 ranked Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan, there were not a lot of people giving the Wildcats a chance to pull off the upset. Well, boy, we a lot of people almost proven wrong. But, “almost” is the key word here, as the Tigers narrowly escaped with a 20-14 victory on the road.

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Auburn got off to a 3-0 start in this one, but early in the second quarter, the Wildcats grab a 7-3 lead on a three-yard Demarcus Robinson touchdown run, signaling that something could be in the works on this Thursday night.

But with the first half winding down, the Tigers would grab the lead back at 10-7 when Nick Marshall, who finished the night 17-of-31 for 231 yards with two scores and one interception, would hit Ricardo Louis on a 40-yard catch and run that turned into six points.

In the fourth quarter, the Tigers would be up as much as 20-7, but as we’ve learned throughout the years, you never count out a Bill Snyder team in big moments. With 3:49 left in the game, the Wildcats would drive 65 yards down the field to pull to within 20-14 following a one-yard touchdown run from Charles Jones.


The Kansas State offense put the game in the hands of the defense, that played extremely well throughout the night, but they weren’t able to pull off one more big stop at the end and Auburn walked out of Manhattan with their record still unscathed.

What We Learned

1) Auburn’s offense can indeed be held in check.

Probably dating back to their lost last season to LSU, no defense held the Tigers better than Kansas State did on Thursday night. They were consistently in the backfield foiling the attempts of the difficult Auburn running attack. But more importantly, they were able to stop the Tigers multiple times from catching the edge and making a big play down the sideline. In all, Auburn was held to 128 yards on the ground for the night, which is a victory for any defense in and of itself.

2) Kansas State is a contender in the Big 12

Forget the close game against Iowa State a few weeks ago, Kansas State proved tonight that they can absolutely be a contender in the Big 12 Conference. If that defensive unit was able to do what they did against Auburn tonight, then they could absolutely stop any offense that the Big 12 has to offer. If they fix some mistakes up, watch for the Wildcats to walk away with the trophy at the end of the year. But, speaking of mistakes…

3) MAKE YOUR FIELD GOALS

Now, here is the part that was left out of the above recap. Kansas State did play well. As a matter of fact they played so well that they should have won the game. But, you see, what happened was three times Wildcats kicker Jack Cantele walked up for a field goal, and three times the attempt was shanked. Good special teams play is not only crucial to pulling off the upset of a top five team, like we found out tonight, but it’s also crucial to title hopes. So if Kansas State wants to capture the Big 12, they need to fix that up immediately.

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