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Baylor stuns No. 2 K-State

Nov 18, 2012 - 7:02 AM Waco, TX (Sports Network) - Baylor came into this weekend against No. 2 Kansas State ranked last in the country in defense. The Bears exited Saturday's game with one of the biggest upsets of the season, and stopped Heisman Trophy candidate Collin Klein in a 52-24 victory, and sent a devastating blow to the Wildcats' national championship hopes.

Baylor (5-5, 2-5 Big 12) headed into this week ranked second in total offense in the nation, but last in yardage given up at 520 per game. The Bears picked off Klein three times, including two from Joe Williams.

At the end of the game, Floyd Casey Stadium was a sea of green and gold.

"It was a lot of fun for a lot of people," Baylor coach Art Briles said. "We can now check that one off the list. I am very humble and very grateful for our players, first of all, for maintaining their work ethic, belief and hope. That's the great thing about young people, they are very resilient and tough minded and a lot of times they lead the elders."

The first loss for the Wildcats (10-1, 7-1) will drop them from No. 1 in the Bowl Championship Series standings with the likely outcome Sunday moving Notre Dame into one of the top two positions. Notre Dame dismantled Wake Forest, 38-0 Saturday.

Oregon, which held the No. 2 BCS ranking, lost in overtime against Stanford, 17-14, Saturday night. Alabama, which was No. 4 in the BCS, pounded Western Carolina, 49-0.

The duo of Lache Seastrunk and Glasco Martin shredded K-State's defense. Seastruk had 185 yards and a touchdown and Martin 113 yards and three TDs. Nick Florence completed 20-of-32 passes for 238 yards with two scores and a pair of interceptions.

"We have a hungry football team and we matched up really well," Florence said. "And I mean if you don't believe, then get out of the locker room, so you got to believe every game. We have a team full of players that believe that we can win every game we go into. We believe we are going to get one more win and another win after that because that's our goal."

Klein ended 27-of-50 for 286 yards with a pair of touchdowns, but the Wildcats came up short in their bid to clinch a share of the Big 12 title.

The Wildcats, who were outgained 580-362, have one game remaining, Dec. 1 at home against Texas.

"I thought we prepared well, but it turns out we didn't," K-State coach Bill Snyder said. "I don't think we handled the situation as well as we should have been able to. It had nothing to do with guys not wanting to be successful. They wanted to play well, they wanted to play hard, we just didn't handle the environment well. We had six penalties in the first half, all on defense, four offsides penalties. That is disappointing. Without discipline, you can play hard, and want to, but you make those kind of mistakes."

Sam Holl picked off Klein's pass over the middle less than a minute into the second half. Baylor took advantage of the turnover when Martin scored on a 4- yard run, expanding the lead to 35-17.

The Wildcats pinned the Bears at their 1 following a punt, and a crucial mistake by Florence allowed K-State to draw closer. On second down, Florence threw an out pattern to Terrance Williams, but the ball went in the hands of defensive back Randall Evans at the 1. Klein scored on the ensuing play with 12:25 left in the quarter.

Baylor gambled on its ensuing drive, but on 4th-and-3 Martin powered up the middle for a first down. The Bears turned the march into a 50-yard field goal from Aaron Jones.

Florence, the successor to last year's Heisman winner Robert Griffin III, found Terrance Williams on the ensuing Baylor drive for 43 yards, and Martin capped the march with a 15-yard touchdown run for a dominating 45-24 lead with 4:32 to go in the third quarter.

Joe Williams picked off Klein in the end zone to thwart a 14-play drive, and on the next play, Seastrunk broke free up the middle for an 80-yard jaunt to the end zone, to essentially put the game out of reach.

"It was the big guys up front. They were amazing all game. Minus the cramps in both legs at times, my big guys up front and wide receivers did their job," Seastrunk said. "I'm so proud of them. They were the only reason I was able to do well."

Baylor's defense stood tall in the fourth quarter by stuffing Klein on a 4th- and-goal from the 1, ending a series in which the Wildcats held the ball for more than eight minutes.

Florence threw 38 yards to Tevin Reese for a touchdown less than two minutes into the game, but the Wildcats tied the score on Klein's 8-yard TD strike to Torell Miller.

The Bears went ahead 14-7 on Florence's 12-yard run later in the first, and Klein was picked off by Joe Williams deep in Baylor territory early in the second.

Florence hit Terrance Williams for a 22-yard score in the second, the play after a K-State interception was negated by an offsides penalty.

Martin scored on a 2-yard run up the middle for a 28-7 margin, but the Wildcats netted the final 10 points of the half - on a Klein 7-yard pass to Chris Harper, and a 23-yard field goal from Anthony Cantele.

Martin's 4-yard run to the end zone widened the gap to 35-17.

"It is a position that we haven't been in, but it is partly our fault on the offensive side for not putting points on the board," Klein said. "Hats off to them. We knew that they were a better football team than what people think."

Game Notes

Baylor hosts Texas Tech next Saturday before ending the regular season at home vs. Oklahoma State on Dec. 1 ... The Bears entered the game 0-11-1 all-time against No. 1 ranked teams in the country ... K-State hasn't won at Baylor since the 2002 season ... Harper had 11 receptions for 123 yards.