Texas vs. Kansas State: Longhorns cannot hold up against Wildcat attack, fall 42-24

The Texas Longhorns lost 42-24 to Kansas State in Saturday's regular season finale. The Longhorns played well, and held a 17-14 third quarter lead. The Kansas State bulldozer eventually pulverized the Texas defense, though, and the Wildcats were able to score four consecutive touchdowns to build the final margin of victory. KSU quarterback Collin Klein needed just 8 completions in 14 pass attempts, throwing for 184 yards and running 23 times for an additional 103 yards. Klein was responsible for three Wildcat touchdowns.

Case McCoy was extremely effective in place of David Ash, going 26-of-34 for 314 yards and two scores through the air. McCoy did have two interceptions, however, leading to 14 Kansas State points. Daje Johnson had 85 receiving yards on five catches. D.J. Monroe led a sputtering Texas rushing attack, running for 46 yards on his sole carry.

At Burnt Orange Nation, they utter two words never before spoken by a Texas football fan: Moral victory.

In all seriousness, the Longhorns played a tough game against Kansas State on Saturday that was closer than the final score, which was aided by a late fumble from Quandre Diggs when Texas was still in the game and another interception from Case McCoy an out route, this time to the opposite side of the field than his first pass that was nearly taken for at touchdown the other way, providing the final 42-24 margin to a game that was much closer than the final score appeared.

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The final score looked rather ugly, but the game was closer than it indicated -- Texas hung with Kansas State for about three quarters, more than many expected.

Anyone up for a moral victory?

Texas finishes the season 8-4 overall and 5-4 in the Big XII, good for third in the conference. They are widely projected to receive a bid to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.