By John Harris

Published: Monday, November 19, 2012, 5:24 p.m.
Updated: Thursday, January 31, 2013

Kansas State's designs on the school's first BCS national championship received a major blow with a shocking 52-24 loss to Baylor.

Asked if his team succumbed to the pressure of playing with the No. 1 ranking, Kansas State coach Bill Snyder offered a diplomatic response.

“The outward appearance was that wasn't a major issue,” Snyder said. “That doesn't mean that it wasn't, but it didn't give that appearance.”

Baylor took a 7-0 lead and never trailed while racking up 580 total yards in the four-touchdown victory.

Kansas State senior quarterback Collin Klein, a leading Heisman Trophy candidate, was intercepted three times after throwing only three interceptions in his first 10 games.

The Wildcats were held to 360 total yards and were uncharacteristically sloppy with seven penalties for 60 yards.

“I thought going in that they were a reasonably well-focused football team taking their preparation seriously,” Snyder said. “I think they do that on a regular basis. If there was an amount of pressure that they felt, I wasn't overly aware of it.”

Weis' strategy mixed bag

Kansas coach Charlie Weis reached out to his student body prior to Saturday's Senior Day game against Iowa State.

Weis went on his Twitter account and offered to buy tickets for any student who wanted to attend the game.

Results were mixed.

School officials estimate that a small amount of students took up Weis on his offer. Unfortunately, the Jayhawks were humiliated, 51-23, for their 20th consecutive Big 12 loss.

“It was a good experience for the people who went because there were a lot more more people at the game who (wouldn't) have been at the game if I didn't (buy tickets),” Weis said. “You're a student going to college. You don't have a ticket for the game. It's a beautiful night. You want to go to the game but you really don't have the money for it. Well, there were a lot of seats left. Somebody stepped up to the plate and took care of it.”

Kansas led, 14-10, early in the second quarter before the bottom fell out. The Jayhawks, who conclude the regular season at West Virginia on Dec. 1, have not won a Big 12 game since facing Colorado as a conference opponent in 2010.

“It was nice and loud early. The game was competitive into the second quarter,” Weis said. “The game started to get away from us, but it didn't get away from us because of the fan base.”

Big win boosts Baylor

Last year, Baylor reaped the benefits from Robert Griffin III being the first Heisman Trophy winner in school history. This year, Baylor also figures to benefit nationally following its big win over Kansas State.

“It helps, especially in recruiting,” Baylor coach Art Briles said. “It helps our players feel good about the work and effort they put in. We got a little bit of buzz last year with Robert winning the Heisman. It's good for the university, good for our program.”

John Harris is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at jharris@tribweb.com.

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