Texas edges Kansas St.

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Posted 8:19AM on Sunday, October 20, 2002

MANHATTAN, KANSAS - Dusty Mangum kicked a 27-yard field goal with 1:32 to go, then Marcus Tubbs blocked Kansas State's 36-yard attempt with 7 seconds left as No. 8 Texas beat No. 17 Kansas State 17-14 Saturday night. B.J. Johnson caught four passes for 132 yards and a TD for the Longhorns (6-1, 2-1 Big 12), who came back strong after last week's 35-24 loss to Oklahoma. Kansas State (5-2, 1-2) dropped to 2-23 in games against top-10 teams under coach Bill Snyder. Ell Roberson hit James Terry on consecutive passes for 27 and 15 yards to move the Wildcats into position for Jared Brite's game-tying attempt. With the scored tied at 14-all, the Longhorns took over at their own 36 with 4:26 left following a punt by Kansas State. They got 15 yards on the first play, thanks to a facemask penalty against the Wildcats. Then on third-and-11 from the 19, Chris Simms found Johnson for 32 yards on a play that looked very similar to one that went 53 yards to set up Texas's second touchdown. Roberson, who's never been known for his passing, floated a 15-yard TD pass to tight end Thomas Hill on fourth-and-9 with 10:40 left. That made it 14-12 because the Wildcats, following their first touchdown in the second quarter, missed the extra point for the fourth time in two games. But Darren Sproles took the handoff and easily got into the end zone for the 2-point conversion, forcing the 14-14 tie. Sproles had his third straight 100-yard rushing game with 136 yards on 20 carries. The Longhorns seemed to catch the break they needed when Lee Jackson recovered Roberson's fumble on the Wildcat 30 with less than seven minutes to go. But Simms gave the ball right back when his pass was intercepted by Terence Newman on the next play, giving the Wildcats the ball on their own 3. Johnson beat James Dunnigan over the middle for a 53-yard pass play midway through the third period that set up the Longhorns at the 3. On third down, David Thomas got free in the end zone and hauled in Simms' 2-yard TD pass for a 14-6 Texas lead. Sproles had been held to just 10 yards in his first five carries when he burst through a big hole and sprinted down the middle of the field for 61 yards in the second quarter. After Nathan Vasher caught up with the 5-foot-7, 170-pound player at the 19 to save a touchdown, Roberson scrambled 11 yards. An offsides penalty against Texas made it first-and-goal from the 8. Nick Hoheisel scored from the 2 on third-and-goal. But Jared Brite's kick was blocked by Kalen Thornton, leaving the Longhorns with a 7-6 lead. Simms, who had three passes intercepted the week before against Oklahoma, tried to throw the ball downfield only once in the scoreless first quarter. Then he hit Johnson with a 39-yard touchdown toss less than a minute into the second. The Longhorns got the ball at the Kansas State 39 after Roberson fumbled the snap on third down, creating a fourth-and-21 from the Wildcats 6.