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SAN ANTONIO (CNN/SI) -- On
paper, Kansas State should have blown out Purdue in the Alamo Bowl. The
Wildcats had a polished quarterback who just happened to be the Heisman
Trophy runner-up. They also had one of the best offenses and defenses in
the country. Purdue was an up-and-coming team with a potent offense and
a solid defense but was just a middle-of-the-road team in the Big Ten.
But then again, games aren't played on paper, they're played on the
football field. And there's definitely no discounting of emotion when it
comes to these games.
Kansas State never wanted to be in the Alamo Bowl and it showed by the
way they played most of the game. Even their late rally couldn't
overcome the unranked Purdue Boilermakers, who drove 80 yards for a
touchdown in the final minute to shock No. 4 Kansas State 37-34.
After losing a 14-point lead in the final quarter and letting the
Wildcats jump ahead 34-30, Purdue used just 54 seconds for the
game-winning drive, capped by Drew Brees' 19-yard pass to Isaac Jones
with 30 seconds left (video).
It was a bitter ending for Kansas State (11-2), which felt snubbed at
not getting an invitation to a top-tier bowl after being knocked out of
the national title picture with a 36-33 double-overtime loss to Texas
A&M in the Big 12 championship. The Wildcats seemed to play the first
three quarters as if they resented even being in this game. Their 21
points in the fourth quarter was the only thing that kept them from
being blown out.
Quarterback Michael Bishop lost a fumble and threw four interceptions,
but also threw an Alamo Bowl-record 88-yard touchdown pass to Darnell
McDonald with 6:23 remaining. With 1:24 left, Bishop tossed a 2-yard
touchdown pass to Justin Swift as Kansas State went ahead 34-30,
completing a comeback that brought 30,000 purple-clad fans to their feet
(video).
Purdue scored 17 points off Wildcats fumbles, and Kansas State stayed in
touch only because it scored its first two touchdowns after recovering
bad snaps on Purdue punt attempts. The Wildcats got the ball on the 1
after the first and recovered the second in the end zone.
The offense didn't produce a touchdown until three minutes into the
fourth quarter on David Allen's 3-yard run that got Kansas State back
into the game at 27-20.
A 37-yard field goal by Purdue's Travis Dorsch put the Boilermakers
ahead 30-20 with 6:44 left. Kansas State answered on the next play with
Bishop's pass to McDonald, who overcame pass interference to grab the
ball and score untouched to move the Wildcats to within 30-27 with 6:23
to play.
Purdue dominated Kansas State in the first half like no team had this
season. The Boilermakers made the most of Kansas State's two fumbles in
the second quarter and led 17-7 at halftime. Kansas State, failing to
score in the first quarter for the first time this season, got on the
board with 9:49 remaining in the second after a bad snap that eluded
Purdue punter Andy Standifer gave Kansas State possession at the
Boilermakers 1. K-State scored on a 1-yard pass from Bishop to McDonald.
Brees was 25-of-53 for 230 yards and three touchdowns with three
interceptions, while Bishop was only 9-of-24 for 182 yards with three
touchdowns and four interceptions, matching his interception total for
the entire season. "I'm thinking right now, how did we win that game?"
Brees said. "All I can say is that offense wins games and defense truly
wins championships."
Bishop said the first half was his worst since he came to Kansas State
two years ago from Blinn (Texas) Junior College. He led Blinn to
consecutive undefeated national championships in 1995 and 1996. At
Kansas State last season, he threw for four touchdowns and ran for one
in the Wildcats' 35-18 victory over Syracuse in the Fiesta Bowl. |
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Attendance- 60,780
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
PU- Daniels 5 pass from Brees (Dorsch kick)
PU- FG Dorsch 25
KSU- Mcdonald 1 pass from Bishop (Gramatica kick)
PU- Jones 30 pass from Brees (Dorsch kick)
Third Quarter
KSU- Havick recovered fumble in end zone (kick failed)
PU- Nugent recovered fumble in end zone (Dorsch kick)
PU- FG Dorsch 26
Fourth Quarter
KSU- Allen 3 run (Gramatica kick)
PU- FG Dorsch 37
KSU- Mcdonald 88 pass from Bishop (Gramatica kick)
KSU- Swift 2 pass from Bishop (Gramatica kick)
PU- Jones 24 pass from Brees (Dorsch kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
KSU- Allen 13-83, Hickson 7-35, Bishop 20-7
PU- Crabtree 12-46, Brees 10-25
Passing
KSU- Bishop 9-24--182
PU- Brees 25-53--230
Receiving
KSU- Mcdonald 5-124, Peries 1-52
PU- Jones 11-98, Daniels 6-47, Sutherland 3-53, Lane 3-25
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