Texas Tech snapped an eight-game skid to Kansas State and bagged its first win in Manhattan since 2008, thumping the Wildcats 43-20 behind a takeaway frenzy, a healthy QB1, and a bruising ground game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

Behren Morton returned from injury to throw for 249 yards and two touchdowns, J’Koby Williams ripped 135 yards and a score, and the Red Raiders (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) forced five turnovers to overwhelm mistake-prone K-State (4-5, 3-3).

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“That was a huge win,” head coach Joey McGuire said, arriving to his presser in a T-shirt featuring former Kansas State linebacker and current Tech AD Kirby Hocutt. “This is no disrespect to K-State. It’s a tip of my hat to my AD who played linebacker here, and it’s been a long time since we beat Kansas State. … I know it was a big win for him and a huge win for this team.”

The game started sloppy on both sides as Morton threw an early interception, then Avery Johnson answered with one of his own. But Tech settled in and started cashing K-State mistakes.

A Jayce Brown fumble set up a touchdown for a 9-7 lead. A late 3-and-out became a booming 55-yard field goal. Then, on the fourth play of the second half, a Garrett Oakley fumble turned into Williams’ 41-yard house call and a silenced crowd at 19-7.

“Winning the turnover battle is a huge thing for us,” linebacker Jacob Rodriguez said after forcing two fumbles. “And we knew we had to do that to win.”

Morton’s steady hand kept the pressure on with a dart to Caleb Douglas and a field-goal drive from Stone Harrington, stretching it to 29-14 entering the fourth. When K-State tried to claw back, Tech’s defense slammed the door.

A two-point try stuffed, a fourth-down stop near midfield, and, after a brief offensive miscue, another fourth-down stonewall with under six minutes left. John Curry put the exclamation point on it, scooping Johnson’s late fumble and sprinting in for the dagger with 4:52 remaining.

“I’m really, really proud of the way we handled adversity today,” Morton said. “We got down and we fought back.”

Johnson totaled 199 yards passing with a touchdown and 86 rushing with two scores, but his two interceptions and late fumble headlined a brutal night of miscues for the Wildcats, who finished 0-for-4 on fourth down and littered key drops across drives.

“Some things happened that absolutely can’t happen when you play a team like that,” K-State coach Chris Klieman admitted. He added, “I thought our guys battled on defense. We just didn’t have enough.”

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The win pushes Texas Tech to its best Big 12 start since 2008 – the Mike Leach Cotton Bowl season – and showcases a defense that flips fields and a balanced offense that travels. Cameron Dickey added a touchdown run to the party, and Morton’s return clearly lifted the ceiling.

Up next, Texas Tech returns home to face No. 10 BYU next Saturday while Kansas State is off before a Nov. 15 trip to Oklahoma State.