MANHATTAN, Kan. – Skylar Thompson fired a 35-yard completion down the seam to tight end Sammy on fourth down that led to a crucial score, and the Wildcats took the air out of a West Virginia comeback by holding on for a 34-17 victory Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, snapping a five-game skid to the Mountaineers.
“Monkey off the back for sure,” said Thompson, who completed 14 of 19 passes for 138 yards and 1 touchdown. “It was something fresh on my mind and the senior class’s mind. We had a bad taste in our mouth about West Virginia. We’d never been able to get over the hump. This is bigtime for us.”
K-State’s first win over West Virginia since 2015 came after the Mountaineers topped the Wildcats 37-10 last season in Morgantown, West Virginia, which was the second-most lopsided win by the Mountaineers in the series.
That defeat stayed with K-State sixth-year senior center Noah Johnson, who called the victory a part of the team’s “revenge tour.”
“We definitely wanted this one bad,” Johnson said. “They’re a great challenge for us. The revenge tour, man, it’s always great to put on shows in front of your home crowd, and the crowd was awesome today. It’s a blast to play in front of them. The tour keeps going. We’ll enjoy it today and get back on the road tomorrow.”
K-State, 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the Big 12, next meets No. 13 Baylor, 8-2 and 6-2, which beat No. 8 Oklahoma 27-14 on Saturday. It will be Senior Day in Manhattan.