The Wildcats welcome the Red Raiders to Manhattan on Saturday and will try to extend their winning streak against Texas Tech to seven games. That is the longest win streak by either team in the all-time series, with Tech’s longest streak at five games.
During the stretch of six consecutive wins against the Red Raiders, K-State has played pretty tight with the Red Raiders and key plays have led to the streak by the Wildcats remaining alive. Here are the top five plays for K-State dating back to the streak starting in 2016.
5. Josh Youngblood takes the kick 100 yards for six (2019)
In a field goal shootout after the first half, the Wildcats and Red Raiders were struggling to find the end zone consistently in the 2019 battle in Lubbock. Dynamic kick returner Josh Youngblood helped light a scoring frenzy with a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown. From Youngblood’s kick return, 34 points were scored over the final 22 minutes of the game. K-State secured a 30-27 win.
4. Deuce Vaughn puts the game on ice (2020)
The 2020 Texas Tech game will have a place in K-State lore for a long time to come.
Skylar Thompson lost what was supposed to be his senior season in the game after a late hit from Riko Jeffers. In stepped true freshman quarterback Will Howard to help the Wildcats try and secure the victory. The Wildcats lost the lead and Howard had to come from behind, which he succeeded at thanks to a big catch from Briley Moore and the official Deuce Vaughn coming-out party. Vaughn raced for over 100 yards and had 81 yards in receiving, to go with a 70-yard pitch and catch to put the Wildcats up 31-21 late in the game.
3. Skylar Thompson saves the day in OT thriller (2017)
2017 saw three different quarterbacks see the field, and by late in the season
Alex Delton and Skylar Thompson were going back and forth. Thompson took over for Delton in the second half, and as the fourth quarter wound down, the Wildcats trailed by eight. Thompson squeezed in on a quarterback sneak with 42 seconds to play. The Cats still needed a two-point conversion, which Thompson served up to
Dalton Schoen just past the goal line to force overtime. Thompson would find
Byron Pringle for the go-ahead touchdown in overtime before the Wildcat defense held strong and kept Texas Tech off the scoreboard.
2. DJ Reed takes Patrick Mahomes’ pass the other way (2016)
This play may have aged better due to the success Patrick Mahomes has achieved in the NFL and also DJ Reed locking down a roster spot in the league too. But the 2016 game in Manhattan was a fun back and forth. It was my first Big 12 game as a student to experience and I remember saying to a friend just before the play that a pick-six was coming. The Wildcats went on to win 44-38 and Byron Pringle had a kick return touchdown as well.
1. Felix Anudike-Uzomah’s forces a safety to save the season (2021)
Recency bias isn’t any concern of mine, this is an awesome play. Felix Anudike-Uzomah rips through the Texas Tech offensive line and stops SaRodrick Thompson in his tracks. The Wildcats looked dead in the water for the first half of this game and then immediately gave the ball back to the Red Raiders to start the second. Very rarely do run plays from the four-yard line turn into safeties, but that is what Anudike-Uzomah was able to do. K-State outscored Texas Tech 15-0 in the second half and ultimately won by one point, 25-24.
