Wildcats prove resilient in 39-33 triple overtime win

Trailing 20-13 midway through the fourth quarter, Kansas State (3-0) got a 58-yard punt return by Dominique Heath to the Louisiana Tech 7-yard line.

Dixon, who has 31 rushes for 284 yards and three touchdowns, is a versatile player who is used both in the run and pass game, and is backed by a LA Tech offense that is just as diverse in its abilities as he is.

It was back and forth the whole way, but K-State persevered.

Louisiana Tech quarterback Jeff Driskel happened to be in a restaurant last Saturday when he caught a glimpse of Kansas State’s game against UTSA on television. The Florida transfer has been solid throughout the early course of the season, throwing for 631 yards and six touchdowns. He finished the season tying three players for the record of most games scoring a touchdown by reaching the endzone in all 14 games.

Kansas State has a first-time starting quarterback in Joe Hubener, a plethora of young running backs and an offensive line that is as experienced a unit in the country.

Driskel scored an 8-yard touchdown run on the ensuing drive, capping a five-play, 79-yard drive and giving the Bulldogs a 20-13 lead. After the Roadrunners gained 28 yards on the ground in their first drive, the Wildcats held them to nine more rushing yards the rest of the way. The Bulldogs forced overtime with a 45-yard field goal as time expired after driving the length of the field in 1:16. K-State linebacker Elijah Lee said it would be huge to keep Dixon from gaining 100 yards.

“It is not about looks or pressure and guys coming from everywhere”, Holtz said. We are ready to go this week…. There were a couple of exception: Dixon’s 36-yard run in the fourth quarter was a result of breaking away from a clutch of multiple tacklers, and the 4th-and-9 conversion when Driskel escaped the backfield in the first overtime. Driskel has been adept at spreading the ball around in the offense, and he’s still learning the system as he goes. They were able to provide Hubener lots of time to throw the ball poorly, and they opened up big holes for the running game. “He can get it from here to there in a heartbeat”. “I struggled with some short passes, and I think that was just me being a little bit nervous”, Hubener said. They stay square and their defensive line is very big, strong and fundamentally sound. “We haven’t talked much about it other than the challenge we have and how good they are”.

The major issue here: how will the offense react once they hear what Snyder said at halftime, assuming he didn’t impart that opinion in the locker room?