Bert Auburn kicked four field goals, including the game-winning 42-yarder in overtime, as No. 7 Texas survived a calamitous early-fourth quarter stretch to beat No. 23 Kansas State 33-30 on Saturday afternoon in a wild Big 12 game in Austin, Texas.
Texas’ defense dominated the game through the first 41 minutes. But a late third-quarter score by Kansas State (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) was followed by two touchdowns by the Wildcats over a 2:23 span of the fourth quarter after a Maalik Murphy interception and a Jonathon Brooks fumble allowed the visitors to pull even at 27.
Auburn’s 34-yard field goal put Texas back in front with 6:03 to play in regulation. Chris Tennant, who was wide left on a 27-yard FG attempt with 1:45 remaining, sent the game to overtime with a 45-yarder with one second left.
The Longhorns had the ball first in overtime and were forced to settle for Auburn’s field goal. Kansas State’s Will Howard passed 19 yards to Ben Sinnott on first down but three subsequent plays netted the Wildcats just two yards.
Instead of attempting a field goal that would have sent the game to a second extra period, Kansas State went for the win and was denied when Howard was pressured by Barryn Sorrell and passed wildly and incomplete.
The Longhorns (8-1, 5-1) won their third consecutive game and remained tied atop the conference standings but the win did not come without a heaping helping of drama.
Maalik Murphy passed for a career-high 248 yards and a touchdown to Adonai Mitchell (eight catches, 149 yards) in his second start but also was intercepted twice. Brooks ran for 112 yards and a score for the Longhorns, eclipsing 1,000 yards for the season. CJ Baxter added 90 yards, including a 54-yard TD run for Texas.
Auburn’s other field goals were from 32 yards in the first quarter and a career-high-tying 49 in the second.
Howard threw for 327 yards and four TDs in the loss for Kansas State. He tossed scoring passes of 6 and 26 yards to Phillip Brooks, the latter one coming on the final play of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, he tossed a 12-yarder to Keagan Johnson and one of 32 yards to Jayce Brown.
The Wildcats, who had a three-game winning streak snapped, were held to just 33 yards rushing.
–Field Level Media