Jake Waters leads Kansas State to comeback road win over Iowa State

Jake Waters was not going to let his team lose.

Waters, a senior quarterback, combined for 377 total yards (239 through the air, 138 on the ground) from scrimmage and two touchdowns in No. 20 Kansas State’s come-from-behind 32-28 road win over Iowa State. Facing a third down inside the Cyclones’ 10-yard line, Waters scored the game-winning touchdown on an 8-yard run with 1:31 to go.

The run capped off a 7-play, 80-yard drive that featured 51 rushing yards from Waters and gave the Wildcats their first lead since early in the second quarter. A loss to the Cyclones would have been a huge blow to the Wildcats’ Big 12 championship aspirations, but Waters kept his team’s dreams alive and now it has two weeks to prepare for a September 18 home matchup with Auburn.

Though it took a comeback effort to eventually come away with a win, the Wildcats jumped out to an early 13-0 lead in the first quarter on a Charles Jones (13 rushes, 75 yards, 2 TDs) touchdown run and two Jack Cantele field goals.

Iowa State, coming off a loss to FCS North Dakota State, fought back. Junior quarterback Sam Richardson (21-of-32, 186 yards) hit Jarvis West for a 17-yard score late in the first. Following a K-State three-and-out, the Cyclones took a 14-13 lead when West returned a Mitch Lochbihler punt 82 yards for a touchdown.

After another Kansas State three-and-out and a 2-yard plunge by ISU’s DeVondrick Nealy, West accounted for his third touchdown of the half – but this time it was with his arm. Offensive coordinator Mark Mangino dialed up the reverse pass as West took a pitch from Richardson and fired a strike to Allen Lazard in the end zone for another score.

It would be the last time the Cyclones scored on the afternoon.

Kansas State closed the half with a perfectly-executed two-minute drill, scoring on a 10-play, 84-yard drive that took just 1:04 to go into the half down 28-20.

The defenses were the show for most of the second half. Neither side scored in the third quarter, and the Cyclones stuffed Waters on a 4th-and-1 from the ISU 31. The Wildcats finally broke through after Richardson was picked off by Randall Evans with 9:15 to go. Four plays later, Jones broke through from four yards out, but Waters was stuffed on the 2-point conversion attempt.

Iowa State’s lead was down to two, 28-26 – but it would not last long. Waters’ game-winning touchdown came six minutes later and Iowa State’s last-ditch effort failed when Richardson was sacked on a 4th-and-5 from the KSU 39.

The loss was a crushing turn of events for the 0-2 Cyclones. Paul Rhoads fell to 0-6 against Bill Snyder's Wildcats and finds himself firmly on the hot seat early in his sixth season with the program. Things won’t get easier for the Cyclones, either. A road contest against Iowa is next on the schedule.

For more Kansas State news, visit GoPowerCat.com.

For more Iowa State news, visit CycloneReport.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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