DALLAS (FWAA) – Skylar Thompson and Byron Pringle connected for 166 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Kansas State Wildcats to a 45-40 win at No. 13 Oklahoma State. Pringle added a fourth touchdown on an 89-yard kickoff return, helping K-State (6-5) win in Stillwater for the first time since 1999 and earn the Football Writers Association of America National Team of the Week award for games of the weekend of Nov. 18.
The announcement came on "Off Campus with Mark Packer" on ESPNU Radio on SiriusXM. Each Monday during the season, the FWAA National Team of the Week will be unveiled during the program, which airs weekdays from 4-7 p.m. ET.
Pringle, a day after his 24th birthday, not only had a career-high receiving day, but also became the first player in Big 12 history with three touchdown catches and a kickoff return touchdown in the same game. Thompson, in his second career start, put Kansas State in the end zone on its opening drive, a 10-play, 71-yard march all on the ground capped by Thompson's five-yard run. Thompson ran six times for 65 yards on the drive and finished with a career-high 93 rushing yards on 17 carries to go with 204 passing yards. Kansas State led 42-13 in the third quarter.
"We needed to have a good start to the game, punch them in the mouth and let them know that we're here to win today," Thompson said. "For us to go do that, it gave us a lot of confidence, gave the defense a lot of confidence and kind of set the tone for the rest of the day. We just tried to build off that."
This was Kansas State's first win over a ranked opponent since 2014 and its first over a top-10 team since winning at No. 6 Oklahoma, 24-19, in 2012, a game that earned the last of the Wildcats' three previous National Team of the Week awards. Kansas State is now bowl-eligible for an eighth consecutive season and the 19th time under head coach Bill Snyder, and earns Snyder his 122nd career Big 8/Big 12 victory to break his tie with Bob Stoops and move into sole possession of second-place all-time.
The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Nov. 18 were:
Florida Atlantic (8-3): The Owls reclaimed the Shula Bowl trophy with a 52-24 win over FIU in front of a Shula Bowl-record crowd of 24,116, also clinching the Conference USA East Division title and the right to host the C-USA Championship on Dec. 2. Devin Singletary ran for 164 of Florida Atlantic's 326 rushing yards and the sophomore now has 1,524 yards on the season and 2,545 in his two-year career.
Missouri (6-5): The Tigers won their fifth consecutive game, toppling Vanderbilt on the road 45-17, to become just the 14th team in FBS history to start 1-5 on the season and later qualify for a bowl game. Missouri is just the second SEC team in accomplish that, joining the 1983 Ole Miss team. The Tigers put up 28 points in the second quarter and led 35-0 at the half, helped by scores from its defense (interception return) and special teams (punt return).
Texas (6-5): The Longhorns reached bowl eligibility for the first time since 2014 behind a defensive effort that held No. 24 West Virginia to season-lows of 295 total yards and 239 passing yards in a 28-14 win in Morgantown. Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger threw for 136 yards and two touchdowns and finished with 91 all-purpose yards, including his first career reception of 23 yards.
The Football Writers Association of America has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. Members of the 12-person FWAA All-America Committee – plus one fan vote from Twitter – decide the weekly honor.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,400 men and women who cover college football.
The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key
executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas
that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team.
For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson
at tiger@fwaa.com.