No. 17 K-State rallies late to win at Tulane

NEW ORLEANS (KWCH) - The 17th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats overcame a fourth-quarter deficit To Tulane thanks to a scoop-and-score and interception in the final period, earning a 34-27 road win to improve to 2-0.

Kansas State was tied with under 9 minutes to play when Jack Fabris returned a fumble 60 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. VJ Payne sealed the game with an interception in the end zone in the final seconds.

The Wildcats took a 3-0 lead on a 48-yard field goal by Chris Tennant in the first quarter, but a 53-yard by Tulane set up Makhi Hughes for a short touchdown run and a 7-3 lead for the Green Wave.

Darian Mensah completed a 36-yard touchdown on the next drive to push Tulane’s lead to 14-3.

Kansas State’s offense found life when DJ Giddens rushed for 51 yards, leading to a touchdown by Avery Johnson to Will Swanson on third down.

Tulane added two field goals before halftime, while Tennant missed a 53-yarder as time expired, and K-State trailed 20-10 at the break.

K-State allowed 291 yards in the first half and was outgained 218-62 through the air.

Dylan Edwards gave the Cats a spark in the third quarter with runs of 10 and 27 yards on back-to-back plays, setting up a short field goal by Tennant.

On K-State’s next drive, Johnson found Giddens for a 45-yard catch-and-run to tie the game at 20 late in the third.

Mensah found Bauman on the second play of the fourth quarter to give Tulane another lead, though Edwards broke free for a game-tying 13-yard touchdown with 11:21 to play.

On Tulane’s ensuing drive, Austin Romaine sacked and forced a fumble of Mensah, and Jack Fabris returned it 60 yards to give K-State a 34-27 lead with 8:24 remaining.

The Cats sealed the game with a VJ Payne interception in the end zone with 5 seconds remaining.

Johnson finished with 181 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while Giddens led the way with 177 total yards and a touchdown.

Kansas State will return home to face No. 20 Arizona at 7 p.m. Friday.