MANHATTAN, Kan.-Bill Snyder dodged every question that hinted at whether he had just coached his final home game at Kansas State, preferring instead to shower his seniors and defense with hard-won praise.
They certainly provided the Wildcats a throwback performance.
They held high-flying Texas Tech to 181 yards total offense, forced four turnovers and generally made life miserable for the Red Raiders on Saturday. Their comprehensive 21-6 victory, which also kept alive Kansas State's bowl aspirations, looked a lot like all those wins during the 1990s, when Snyder's defenses kept the Wildcats near the top of the college football hierarchy.
"I was really proud of our defensive players, our coaches. Pretty special," said the 79-year-old Snyder, who some believe could retire after this season. "Regardless of the win, the real effort of how we played was special."
Skylar Thompson returned from a concussion to throw for 213 yards and a touchdown, Blake Lynch hit four field goals and Alex Barnes added 136 yards rushing for the Wildcats (5-6, 3-5 Big 12), who topped the Red Raiders (5-6, 3-5) for the seventh time in their last eight meetings.
Texas Tech still hasn't won in Manhattan since 2008.
"You have to give them credit," Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said, "but we were not able to run the ball at all and the passing game was not very sharp. We were not very crisp."
Red Raiders quarterback Jett Duffy, who threw for 444 yards and four TDs last week against Texas, was just 19 of 27 for 150 yards and an interception. The sophomore also lost two fumbles while spending most of the game under constant pressure for the Wildcats' defensive front.
The Red Raiders had been averaging 383 yards passing, second-best nationally, but were essentially grounded by Kansas State on a cold, steel-gray afternoon.
"Everyone was doing their job. Everyone was executing," Kansas State linebacker Wyatt Hubert said. "I'm just proud of the way the defense came together and played how we're supposed to."
Clayton Hatfield hit a pair of fields to help Texas Tech to an early 6-3 lead, but the Wildcats soon pulled ahead late in the first half. They took over when Duffy lost his first fumble near midfield and needed seven plays for Thompson to find freshman Malik Knowles in the end zone for the score.
The Wildcats had trouble adding to their lead, though.
They marched to the Texas Tech 10 to start the second half before Barnes was stuffed on fourth-and-1. Kansas State blocked a punt out of the end zone moments later for a safety, but Thompson tossed an interception in the end zone a few minutes later to spoil a chance for more.
But the Red Raiders were even more impotent on offense.
They coughed up the ball when Duffy had his arm his hit while preparing to throw, and Kansas State turned that fumble into a field goal. Another promising drive ended when Duffy threw an interception to A.J. Parker deep in Kansas State territory, and the Wildcats tacked on another field goal.
They were still leading 18-6 when Texas Tech forced a punt with about 6 minutes left, and Kingsbury sent McLane Carter in at quarterback. The very first snap hit Carter in the knee and Kansas State pounced on yet another fumble to set up one final field goal.
Oklahoma State 45,
West Virginia 41
STILLWATER, Okla.-Taylor Cornelius passed for 338 yards, ran for 106 more and threw a touchdown to Tylan Wallace with 42 seconds remaining to rally Oklahoma State past No. 7 West Virginia, 45-41, on Saturday.
West Virginia quarterback Will Grier led the Mountaineers down to the Oklahoma State 14-yard line but couldn't connect with David Sills V on the final play. The loss all but ended West Virginia's shot at the College Football Playoff and put a dent in Grier's Heisman Trophy campaign.
Oklahoma State (6-5, 3-5) became bowl eligible with the victory. West Virginia (8-2, 6-2, No. 9 CFP) faces Oklahoma next Friday and still has a shot at reaching the Big 12 title game.
Grier's 6-yard touchdown run on fourth down in the fourth quarter gave West Virginia a 41-31 lead, but Cornelius' 16-yard touchdown run and a stop by Oklahoma State's defense put the Cowboys in position to win.
Oklahoma State now has Top 25 wins over Boise State, Texas and West Virginia this season. The Cowboys won despite leading rusher Justice Hill sitting out with a rib injury.