No. 20 Kansas State crumbles to No. 5 Auburn after poor second half

Kansas State looked like it had the stuff to upset Auburn Thursday night in Manhattan, Kan. 

That is, until the second half started.

Wildcats quarterback Jake Waters threw an interception, his defense missed out on what would have been two clutch turnovers on an interception and a fumble, and the team as a whole collapsed after a strong first half. Waters finished the day with two picks and another turnover on a lost fumble.

Meanwhile, kicker Jack Cantele missed all three of his field goal attempts, including a measly 22-yarder. 

Kansas State's performance was promising in the first half, especially defensively. Lead by the Big 12's reigning defensive lineman of the year Ryan Mueller, the defense held up their end of the deal by keeping Auburn's passing attack in check. Auburn's receivers helped out with a few key drops as well. 

Senior running back DeMarcus Robinson ran for a three-yard score late in the second quarter to give the Wildcats an early 7-3 lead. 

But after that it was all Tigers, including a convincing answer to Robinson's touchdown nearly four minutes later. 

Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall found an open Ricardo Louis on the right sideline, who did the rest himself for a 40-yard score.

Marshall would later find Duke Williams for a nine-yard score to extend Auburn's lead to 17-7.

Kansas State did make it interesting with 3:49 left in the game on a short-yardage touchdown by running back Charles Jones, but ultimately it was too little, too late. Senior receiver Curry Sexton helped out with several key grabs on the drive, ending the game with 11 catches for 121 yards. 

Overall, Kansas State's decent defensive performance might have been enough to keep the Wildcats within the top 25. 

And while they couldn't tame the dragons from afar, Kansas State did show that they deserve to be respected this season, holding Auburn to under 360 yards offensively. 

Thursday night's game wasn't a convincing win for Auburn by any means - its offense looked shabby for much of the first half - but it still showed which team was better.