WACO, Texas — Collin Klein and second-ranked Kansas State can still get to a BCS game. Getting to the BCS championship game is all but lost.
“Anger, frustration, obviously disappointment," Wildcats tight end Travis Tannahill said as he described his feelings after a 52-24 loss at Baylor on Saturday night. “Confused. We just don’t know what went wrong. We had a good week of practice. We felt prepared, everything we’ve done the last 10 games."
Except win.
“It’s a hard one," Klein said.
Glasco Martin ran for three touchdowns, Lache Seastrunk had 185 yards rushing with an 80-yard score and the Bears again upset the BCS picture with a late-season victory.
A week after the Wildcats (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) took over the No. 1 spot in the BCS standings following defending national champion Alabama’s loss, it now looks like it’s going to somebody else’s turn at the top.
Maybe Notre Dame, which could get its championship shot after Kansas State and No. 1 Oregon both lost. And the Crimson Tide suddenly is back in the title picture, along with a couple of other SEC teams.
Also, K-State quarterback Klein may be a Heisman Trophy front-runner no more after throwing three interceptions and getting sacked twice while being pressured and harassed all night. He threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns, but had only 39 yards on 17 carries with a score.
On first-and-goal from the 6 in the fourth quarter, Klein had four straight carries and couldn’t score — twice trying from the 1.
“I don’t know if I would call it getting smacked in the mouth, but they took it to us," coach Bill Snyder said. “I really thought we prepared well, but as we found out, we didn’t. I don’t think we handled the situation as well as we should have been able to."
Nick Florence, Baylor’s successor to Heisman winner Robert Griffin III, completed 20 of 32 passes for 238 yards, and ran nine times for 47 yards. Both of his passing touchdowns came in the first half when the Bears (5-5, 2-5) jumped out to a 28-7 lead.
“All week we believed we were going to beat them and if we did we weren’t going to be surprised when it happened," Florence said.
It was on the same weekend last November, on another Saturday night in Waco, when Griffin and Baylor upset then fifth-ranked Oklahoma after two teams ahead of the Sooners had already lost that day.
Kansas State has plenty of time for this loss to simmer. The Wildcats have Thanksgiving week off before playing their regular season finale Dec. 1 at home against No. 18 Texas.
If the Wildcats beat Texas, they will be guaranteed at least a share of the Big 12 title and get the league’s automatic BCS spot.
That may be the only solace after such a crushing loss against Baylor, which still needs to win another game to be bowl eligible.
The Bears hadn’t beaten an opponent ranked so high since a 13-7 win over No. 2 Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day 1957. They tied No. 1 Texas during the 1941 season.
Also on Saturday:
No. 3 Notre Dame 38
Wake Forest 0
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Everett Golson threw touchdown passes of 50, 34 and 2 yards, Cierre Wood scored on a 68-yard run and Notre Dame (11-0) finished the season undefeated at home for the first time since 1998.
No. 4 Alabama 49
Western Carolina 0
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Eddie Lacy rushed for three first-half touchdowns and AJ McCarron set Alabama’s single-season record for passing TDs. The Crimson Tide (10-1) rebounded from a loss to No. 9 Texas A&M by building a 42-0 halftime lead.
No. 5 Georgia 45
Georgia Southern 14
ATHENS, Ga. — Aaron Murray threw four touchdown passes for the Bulldogs (10-1) and Todd Gurley became only the second true freshman in Georgia history to rush for 1,000 yards.
No. 6 Ohio State 21
Wisconsin 14
MADISON, Wis. — Carlos Hyde scored on a 2-yard run in overtime and the Buckeyes stayed perfect. The Buckeyes (11-0, 7-0) clinched the Leaders Division title outright with the win. But they are ineligible for the postseason as part of their punishment for NCAA violations under former coach Jim Tressel.
No. 7 Florida 23
Jacksonville State 0
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida used a strong defensive effort to overcome a sluggish offensive performance. The Gators (10-1) scored a touchdown on their first possession when Mike Gillislee plowed into the end zone from 7 yards out. But that was the only offensive touchdown all day from Florida.
No. 8 LSU 41
Mississippi 35
BATON ROUGE, La. — Jeremy Hill scored his third touchdown with 15 seconds left to lift LSU (9-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) to a victory.
No. 9 Texas A&M 47
Sam Houston State 28
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Johnny Manziel threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for 100 yards and two more scores in a bit more than a half for Texas A&M (9-2).
No. 10 Florida State 41
Maryland 14
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Devonta Freeman ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns as Florida State earned a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. Florida State (10-1, 7-1) led 27-0 at halftime and cruised to its fifth straight victory.
No. 11 Clemson 62
North Carolina State 48
CLEMSON, S.C. — Tajh Boyd threw for five touchdowns and ran for three more scores to lead Clemson to a record-shattering win. The Tigers (10-1, 7-1 Atlantic Coast) gained 754 yards, two off the school record.
No. 12 South Carolina 24
Wofford 7
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kenny Miles rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown and South Carolina pulled out a closer-than-expected win over an FCS opponent.
No. 13 Oklahoma 50
West Virginia 49
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Landry Jones threw six touchdown passes, including a 5-yarder to Kenny Stills with 24 seconds left, to lift Oklahoma (8-2, 6-1 Big 12) to a wild win. Jones finished with 554 passing yards to break his own school record.
No. 16 Nebraska 38
Minnesota 14
LINCOLN, Neb. — Taylor Martinez threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns to Kenny Bell while becoming Nebraska’s career passing leader. The Cornhuskers (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten) scored on four of their first six possessions.
Utah State 48
No. 19 Louisiana Tech 41
RUSTON, La. — Kerwynn Williams scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to give Utah State a lead in overtime and the Aggies (9-2, 5-0) stopped Louisiana Tech on four plays to win and clinch at least a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship.
No. 22 Rutgers 10
Cincinnati 3
CINCINNATI — Savon Huggins ran for a career-high 179 yards, and Rutgers’ defense had another shut-down showing as the Scarlet Knights (9-1, 5-0 Big East) stayed in control of the conference race.
No. 23 Michigan 42
Iowa 17
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Devin Gardner accounted for six touchdowns to help Michigan (8-3, 6-1 Big Ten) rout Iowa.
Oklahoma State 59
No. 23 Texas Tech 21
STILLWATER, Okla. — Isaiah Anderson had a career-best 174 yards receiving and caught three long touchdown passes from Clint Chelf in his final home game for Oklahoma State (7-3, 5-2 Big 12).
No. 25 Kent State 31
Bowling Green 24
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Dri Archer had two long touchdown runs and finished with 241 yards rushing, leading Kent State (10-1, 7-0 MAC) to its first Mid-American Conference title game.
