No. 20 Kansas State won its first bowl game in the 97-year history of the school, routing Wyoming 52-17 in the Copper Bowl on Wednesday night behind an offensive blitz led by Chad May and Andre Coleman.
May scored on a short run and threw for two more touchdowns, one a 61-yard pass play to Coleman. Coleman, a wide receiver and return specialist, also scored on a 68-yard punt return.The Wildcats (9-2-1), appearing in only their second bowl, handed Wyoming (8-4) its sixth consecutive postseason loss dating to 1968. The Cowboys fell to 4-6 in bowl play. The victory gave Kansas State its most wins since 1910.
Wyoming's last bowl appearance was a loss in the 1990 Copper Bowl to California. Kansas State's only other postseason game was a 14-3 loss to Wisconsin in the 1982 Independence Bowl.
J.J. Smith ran for a bowl-record 133 yards, May completed 19 of 28 passes for 275 yards and Coleman caught eight passes for 144 yards as Kansas State had 502 yards in total offense.
The Wildcats held Wyoming to 36 yards rushing and 302 total yards, with cornerback Kenny McEntyre, who had 11 tackles for the game, ending the scoring on a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown with 6:09 remaining.
Wyoming committed three costly mistakes early that enabled the Wildcats to jump to a 16-3 lead early in the second quarter.
Penalties nullified a first-possession Cowboys' touchdown and canceled a fumble recovery that would have snuffed a Kansas State touchdown drive. The Wildcats also picked off a Wyoming pass in their end zone.