A 41-yard Alex Barnes touchdown on fourth-and-inches early in the fourth quarter gave Kansas State Wildcats the breathing room they needed, and a strangling 99-yard drive aided by personal fouls on an undisciplined UCLA Bruins squad iced the cake as K-State overcame a 17-7 halftime deficit to post a 35-17 win in the 2017 Cactus Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix.
The tide turned immediately after halftime. After UCLA (6-7, 4-5 Pac 12) burned nine plays without even reaching midfield after taking the second half kickoff, Alex Delton got the half off to a good start, leading K-State (8-5, 5-4 Big 12) on an 8-play, 74-yard drive culminating with him scoring on fourth-and-inches from the jumbo set.