COLLEGE FOOTBALL : BIG EIGHT ROUNDUP : Kansas State Rebounds From Loss to Nebraska, Stuns No. 6 Kansas, 41-7

Kansas State gave Kansas and the critics a whipping.

The 14th-ranked Wildcats, angrily rebounding from an embarrassing 49-25 loss to defending national champion Nebraska, took all their frustration out in a 41-7 rout of No. 6 Kansas on Saturday at Manhattan, Kan.

“We definitely had something to prove,” offensive tackle Scott Heun said. “People wrote us off. They bashed us. They said we were a fluke. We just felt like we had to come out and show people what kind of team we are.”

Against a Kansas team that was averaging 232 yards rushing, the Wildcats, 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big Eight, gave up only 19 yards on the ground while rolling up 335 rushing yards.

Matt Miller’s two touchdown passes gave Kansas State a quick lead, and the Wildcats went on to their first victory over a Top Ten team since 1970 and their biggest margin of victory over Kansas (7-1, 3-1) since 1955.

Never before in a series in which last place in the Big Eight was the traditional stake had both teams been ranked so high, or had so much to play for.

Fittingly, the crowd of 44,284 was a KSU Stadium record.

“I didn’t think anybody could shut our offense down like that,” said Coach Glen Mason, whose Jayhawks came in as one of five unbeaten major-college teams. “I don’t care if we ran or passed or whatever. But we didn’t do it very well today. I hope this is inconsistent. I’d hate to have to stand on the sidelines through three more games like this this year.”

No. 23 Oklahoma 13, Missouri 9--Eric Moore connected with Jerald Moore on a 72-yard touchdown pass play with 6:20 remaining as the Sooners escaped with a victory over the Tigers at Columbia, Mo.

Mark Norris kicked three field goals for Missouri, which almost bagged its first victory over a ranked opponent in nearly three years. But after Norris missed a 41-yard attempt with 7:15 to play that would have padded a 9-7 lead, Oklahoma needed only three plays to produce the game-winner.

On third and four from the Oklahoma 28, Jerald Moore caught a swing pass and outran several defenders for his second touchdown. He also scored on a 41-yard run in the second quarter.

Oklahoma (5-2-1, 2-2) has a 12-game winning streak against Missouri and has won 24 of 26. This one was nothing like recent mismatches--Oklahoma won by an average of 47-15 the previous six meetings--even though it assured Missouri (2-6, 0-4) of its 12th consecutive losing season.

Iowa St. 38, Oklahoma St. 14--Freshman Todd Bandhauer passed for three touchdowns in his first start, and Troy Davis ran for 202 yards as the Cyclones beat the Cowboys (2-6, 1-3), at Ames, Iowa for their first Big Eight victory in two years.

Iowa State (3-5, 1-3) had gone 12 consecutive games without a conference victory since beating Kansas State, 27-23, on Nov. 6, 1993. It was Iowa State’s biggest margin in a Big Eight victory since a 48-19 triumph over Kansas State in 1989.

Davis, the nation’s leading rusher, carried 37 times and became Iowa State’s single-season rushing leader even though Oklahoma State often bunched eight players on the line to try to stop him. He increased his total to 1,526 yards, breaking the record of 1,516 set by Blaise Bryant in 1989 and scored on an eight-yard run.

Oklahoma State, which had broken a 20-game winless streak in league play a week ago, helped the Cyclones with inept play. The Cowboys threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, had a punt blocked and failed on a fake punt deep in their own territory.