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Kansas scored 14 points in the first half Saturday. Kansas State scored 24 in less than 5 minutes.
The rivalry game called the Sunflower Showdown was more like a beat down.
After the Jayhawks' Jordan Webb orchestrated a 78-touchdown drive late in the first half, the Wildcats answered with a field goal as time ran out. That started a run on points that continued into the second half, and No. 12 Kansas State rolled the rest of the way to a 59-21 victory.
The Kansas defense gave up 40 points or more for the sixth consecutive week. Mired in a five-game losing streak, coach Turner Gill has come under increased scrutiny, with many calling for him to be fired despite three years and $6 million remaining on his five-year contract.
''He's kind of like between a rock and a hard place,'' linebacker Steven Johnson said. ''Coming in here and trying to turn things around in this program. It's going to be hard. Nobody can do that. It's hard. With kids you don't know and you come from Buffalo. I stand behind coach Gill's back. Sometimes I think it's ridiculous what people say about him.''
Safety Bradley McDougald and running back James Sims said that Gill can't make plays, just call them, and that it's not entirely his fault when players are not fulfilling their assignments.
''It's all on us as a team, we just need to play together,'' Sims said.
It was a missed assignment that led to the avalanche of Kansas State points.
Webb's touchdown drive made it 28-14 with 14 seconds left in the first half, but then Collin Klein hit Tyler Locket for a 58-yard pass over the middle. That set up a 26-yard field goal as time expired.
''We had a guy who didn't do what he's supposed to do,'' Gill said. ''He went onto another receiver instead of staying in his quarter of the field. They threw the ball right here he left. That was a huge play in the game. There were several others that we didn't execute as well, but that one hurt.''
It hurt even more when Lockett took the opening kick of the second half 97 yards for a score.
''I can't speak for them,'' Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said, ''but I think it was a major play in the game.''
After the ensuing kickoff, running back Tony Pierson fumbled the ball on the first play of the drive on his own 8-yard line, which was recovered by Kansas State. Two plays later, Klein bullied his way in for his fourth score of the game.
The woes continued for the Kansas offense on the next drive when Webb fumbled again in Jayhawks' territory. Kansas State converted the turnover into another touchdown and the rout was on.
The Wildcats (7-0, 4-0) are riding their best start since 1999, when they won their first nine games. They'll host third-ranked Oklahoma next Saturday in a matchup that should go a long way toward deciding the Big 12 champion now that there's no conference title game.
Snyder improved to 16-4 in his career against the Jayhawks, including a 59-7 blowout last year in Lawrence. The stretch of I-70 dominance includes 11 straight wins during the 1990s and early 2000s, when Snyder was annually fielding one of the best teams in college football.
The Wildcats are headed in that direction again.
Behind the solid decision-making of Klein, a vastly improved defense and the guidance of their 72-year-old coach, Kansas State has already matched its win total from all of last season.
Klein finished with 92 yards and four TDs rushing on Saturday, and Lockett - the son of former K-State great Kevin Lockett and the nephew of Aaron Lockett - had five catches for 110 yards. Running back John Hubert added 92 yards and another score.
''We're not without our faults, but I thought our youngsters played well,'' Snyder said, ''and particularly played well when they had to. We got off to a good start and then stalled a little bit, but they came back and really opened it up in the third quarter.''
