Sep 18, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; Auburn Tigers wide receiver D'haquille Williams (1) makes a catch against Kansas State Wildcats defensive back Danzel McDaniel (7) during a 20-14 Tigers win at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
MANHATTAN, Kan. — No. 5 Auburn scored 10 unanswered points in the second half, then held off No. 20 Kansas State 20-14 Thursday night at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Two methodical, second-half drives turned the game for Auburn.
The Tigers had a 15-play, 80-yard drive wrapped around the quarter break to open up a two-score lead on quarterback Nick Marshall’s 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver D’haquille Williams. Following an interception, the Tigers went 39 yards on 12 plays, and Daniel Carlson kicked a 25-yard field goal to give Auburn a 20-7 lead.
Kansas State answered with an 11-play, 65-yard drive to cut the lead to 20-14. Running back Charles Jones’ 1-yard run from the wildcat formation capped the drive.
Auburn took the ensuing kickoff and ran out the final 3:49. The key play was a 39-yard pass to Williams on third-and-9 from the Tigers’ 37-yard line.
The win was anything but comfortable for Auburn. The Tigers finished with 359 total yards, 185 below their season average.
It was a case of missed opportunities for Kansas State. Kicker Jack Cantele missed three field-goal attempts: 31 yards in the first quarter, 43 yards on the final play of the first half, and 22 yards in the third quarter after a drive stalled on the Auburn 5-yard line.
Including an interception that quarterback Jake Waters threw into the end zone, Kansas State left 16 points on the field. Waters completed 24 of 40 passes for 245 yards, but he was picked off twice.
Auburn blew chances, too. Marshall finished 17-for-31 for 231 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception, but the Tigers dropped numerous passes.
In what was expected to be a high-scoring affair, both offenses coughed and sputtered most of the first half. Auburn, which came into the game averaging 544 yards of total offense per game, gained just 49 yards in the first quarter.
After punting five times in their first two games, the Tigers punted three times in their first four drives against the Wildcats.
Kansas State had a little more success moving the ball, but the Wildcats kept making mistakes. They had one turnover in their first two games but two in the first quarter against Auburn.
Auburn had just one first down on its opening drive before punting. Kansas State got one first down before Waters fumbled the ball away at his own 20.
The Tigers went three-and-out and settled for a 34-yard Carlson field goal.
Kansas State answered with a 74-yard drive, but on second-and-goal at the Auburn 1-yard line, Waters fired a pass that went through the hands of wide receiver Tyler Lockett and was intercepted by Tigers defensive back Jonathan Jones in the end zone.
Both teams traded punts before Kansas State finally got on the board. Lockett returned Auburn’s fourth punt of the half to the Wildcats’ 43-yard line. Fifth-year senior running back DeMarcus Robinson scored his first career touchdown with 4:56 left in the half to give Kansas State a 7-3 lead. It was the first time that Auburn trailed.
Auburn scored its first touchdown with 1:34 left in the half on a nine-play, 73-yard drive, capped by a 40-yard catch-and-run by wide receiver Ricardo Louis to make the score 10-7 at halftime.
Louis beat the Kansas State secondary on broken coverage and two broken tackles.
NOTES: The attendance was 53,046, the fifth-largest home crowd in Kansas State history and the school’s 15th consecutive sellout. … Auburn improved to 4-0 in the all-time series. The Tigers earned a 45-32 victory in Manhattan in 1978, and two victories at home. … Auburn was the highest-ranked nonconference opponent to visit Manhattan since then-No. 2 Penn State defeated Kansas State 17-14 in 1969. … The last time Kansas State defeated a team from the Southeastern Conference in the regular season was a 23-9 victory over Kentucky on Sept. 11, 1982.
