MANHATTAN, Kan. _ Kansas State's 31-21 victory over Texas Tech came at an expensive price for the Wildcats.
They lost their starting quarterback, and it's unclear when he will return to action.
Skylar Thompson was knocked out of Saturday's game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium with an injury to his right shoulder late in the first half and was unable to return. He spent the entirety of the second half watching the game in street clothes with a sling on his right arm.
What will happen to the Wildcats if they have to play a few more games with a freshman leading the offense as their senior starter gets healthy? Fans got a preview of what that may look like when Will Howard took over for Thompson and handled every snap in the second half.
Turns out, K-State may be in capable hands. After a few shaky moments, Howard helped the Wildcats hold off a comeback attempt from the Red Raiders with a pair of passes that his skill players turned into monster gains. Both occurred after K-State coughed up a 14-0 halftime lead and was forced to mount a comeback of its own down 21-17 in the fourth quarter.
The first was a 66-yard pass to tight end Briley Moore, who caught the ball in the middle of the field and then tip-toed his way up the sideline for a game-changing play that allowed Harry Trotter to splash into the end zone for a 24-21 lead moments later.
Two drives later, Howard found running back Deuce Vaughn over the middle, and Vaughn outran everyone on the field for a 70-yard touchdown that further established him as one of the best freshmen in K-State football history.
Vaughn finished the day with 113 yards and a touchdown on 16 rushing attempts to go along with 81 yards and a touchdown on three catches.
His big plays helped Howard rise to the occasion while playing in just his second college game. Howard completed 7 of 12 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown after Thompson had led the Wildcats to a pair of scoring drives in the first half.
It will be fascinating to see what Howard can accomplish moving forward if he is thrust into a starting role next week against TCU.
For now, though, all is swell in Manhattan.
Things got nervous for the Wildcats (2-1, 2-0 Big 12) when the Red Raiders (1-2, 0-2) began the second half with three straight touchdown drives, but the Wildcats made clutch plays down the stretch to win their second straight game.
