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Auburn beats K-State with air attack

Sep 19, 2014 - 5:07 AM Manhattan, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - Nick Marshall threw two touchdown passes to help fifth-ranked Auburn post a 20-14 road victory over No. 20 Kansas State on Thursday night.

Marshall finished with 231 yards on 17-of-31 passing for the Tigers (3-0), whose pounding ground attack was held to 128 yards and no touchdowns. Auburn had run for at least 200 yards and scored a rushing touchdown in 13 consecutive games.

K-State's Jake Waters was 24-of-40 for 245 yards, but was intercepted twice and lost a fumble.

Jack Cantele missed field goals from distances of 22, 41 and 42 yards for the Wildcats (2-1).

"There was a ton of mistakes that we made that impacted the outcome of the ball game," said Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder. "Auburn is a tremendous football team. We just made too many mistakes."

Auburn went up 17-7 on D'haquille Williams' 9-yard touchdown grab inside the opening minute of the fourth quarter. The Tigers were a perfect 4-on-4 on third down during the 15-play drive. They had a poor start executing on third down, going 0-for-5 to begin the game.

Trovon Reed then picked off Waters, leading to a 25-yard Daniel Carlson field goal.

Charles Jones scored on a 1-yard touchdown run for the Wildcats with 3:49 remaining, but Marshall connected with Williams on third down for the game- sealing 39-yard reception as Auburn ran out the clock.

"Our guys found a way to win. I told them after the game that this was a game that will help us in the future," said Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn. "We faced some major adversity tonight and our guys responded well."

An inauspicious start gave way to a host of blown opportunities for the Wildcats, who trailed 10-7 at halftime.

K-State sent the game's opening kickoff out of bounds and committed turnovers on each of its first two possessions.

Auburn capitalized on a Waters fumble with a 34-yard Carlson field goal, then defensive back Jonathan Jones atoned for a pass interference penalty with an interception in the end zone. Jones caught a ball that Tyler Lockett bobbled on a slant route.

Nothing came of the turnover as the Tigers were forced to punt. Looking to make up for his critical drop, Lockett had a 30-yard return into Auburn territory. Cantele failed to tie the game.

In the second quarter, K-State again squandered excellent field position, going three-and-out after Dakorey Johnson picked off a deflected Marshall pass.

The Wildcats began their next drive near midfield after a 26-yard punt return by Lockett. Waters threw passes of 22 and 23 yards, setting up DeMarcus Robinson's 3-yard touchdown run with 4:56 remaining.

Auburn regained the lead as Marshall led a nine-play scoring drive. A K-State player slipped when Marshall completed a pass to Ricardo Louis, who ran 40 yards for the touchdown.

Game Notes

The No. 5 Tigers were the highest ranked non-conference opponent to visit Manhattan since then-No. 2 Penn State in 1969 ... Auburn won on the home field of a ranked non-conference opponent for the first time since a 42-41 victory at then-No. 9 Florida State in 1984 ... The Tigers had scored at least 30 points in a school-record 12 straight games ... Williams had 110 yards on eight catches ... K-State's Curry Sexton made 11 grabs for 121 yards.