D
Derek Young
Guest
KEY PLAYS
It is easy to pick out the Will Howard fumble that was returned for a score as one of the critical plays of the contest. Kansas State only trailed by one and was going in for a score to either take a two-point lead or convert on a touchdown.
However, one play typically doesn’t lose you a game. There were others that also mattered.
The key defensive play that hurt the Wildcats was the big run from Oklahoma State’s LD Brown that put them in position for their first touchdown of the game in the third quarter.
Justin Hughes did not shed a poor block well at all and Ross Elder put his head down and completely whiffed on the tackle. Brown took it to the one-yard line. Without that, there is little to no explosion from the Cowboy offense.
I would also be mistaken if I didn’t bring up, had they not gone for two in the first half, they could have just kicked an extra point to tie it at 20 after their final score on offense. Hindsight is 20/20, though.
KEY DRIVES
While there were some key plays that thwarted K-State’s effort to pull off the upset over Oklahoma State, there were a few drives that costly. I said on the two red zone field goals in the first half, that it was exactly what Chris Klieman and Courtney Messingham emphasized that they cannot do when we spoke earlier in the week.
When you’re trying to win a game of that magnitude, and when you have the offensive limitations that Kansas State does on the offensive end, red zone field goals are a killer. It’s not that they attempted the kick and more about not being able to punch it in at all.
Red zone field goals in the first half and not touchdowns impacted the scoreboard. Those were points the Wildcats needed by the time the game had ended.
DISHEARTENING
I’ll be honest and say that this may be one of the more infuriating Kansas State losses I’ve covered. It is a combination of the game being extremely winnable, the magnitude of the game if they can pull it out and just how many chances you can pinpoint that could have changed the game.
Maybe some of that comes with having a true freshman quarterback. Maybe some of that is part of the territory when the skill position unit is absolutely depleted and banged up.
However, they could have been right back in the Big 12 Championship Game mix had they pulled out what was a far winnable game than we anticipated it being. And quite frankly, most of that is because the Cowboys were also banged up and didn’t have the full complement of their offense, either.
Additionally, I don’t think Oklahoma State was all that interested in this game when the ball kicked off. They played about as poorly as they could in the first half and still figured out a way to win.
This is a gut-wrenching loss for K-State. Between Howard’s fumble, the two-point conversion in the first half and not converting touchdowns, they have to feel like they gave this away when Oklahoma State wanted no business winning in Manhattan for most of the day.
HATS OFF TO THE DEFENSE
Kansas State’s defense has been a bright spot for most of the season and today was no different. When you shut out Oklahoma State in the first half (they did the same to Texas Tech) and hold them to 20 points overall, you expect to win. Plain and simple.
They also were key in the way they handled the third quarter. Sure, the Cowboy offense began to click a bit, but they held them to field goals on two of the three possessions and they forced punts on two key occasions in the fourth quarter. One of those was to give the offense the ball back with a chance to win the game.
Oklahoma State only had 83 yards in the first half. They held the Cowboys to 4 of 15 on third down. LD Brown got loose in the second half but Chuba Hubbard only rattled off 31 yards on 6 carries.
It’s just frustrating. The Wildcats out-gained Oklahoma State for the game, 370-256. If you had told me that before the game, I’d assume they win by multiple scores. They probably should have.
It is easy to pick out the Will Howard fumble that was returned for a score as one of the critical plays of the contest. Kansas State only trailed by one and was going in for a score to either take a two-point lead or convert on a touchdown.
However, one play typically doesn’t lose you a game. There were others that also mattered.
The key defensive play that hurt the Wildcats was the big run from Oklahoma State’s LD Brown that put them in position for their first touchdown of the game in the third quarter.
Justin Hughes did not shed a poor block well at all and Ross Elder put his head down and completely whiffed on the tackle. Brown took it to the one-yard line. Without that, there is little to no explosion from the Cowboy offense.
I would also be mistaken if I didn’t bring up, had they not gone for two in the first half, they could have just kicked an extra point to tie it at 20 after their final score on offense. Hindsight is 20/20, though.
KEY DRIVES
While there were some key plays that thwarted K-State’s effort to pull off the upset over Oklahoma State, there were a few drives that costly. I said on the two red zone field goals in the first half, that it was exactly what Chris Klieman and Courtney Messingham emphasized that they cannot do when we spoke earlier in the week.
When you’re trying to win a game of that magnitude, and when you have the offensive limitations that Kansas State does on the offensive end, red zone field goals are a killer. It’s not that they attempted the kick and more about not being able to punch it in at all.
Red zone field goals in the first half and not touchdowns impacted the scoreboard. Those were points the Wildcats needed by the time the game had ended.
DISHEARTENING
I’ll be honest and say that this may be one of the more infuriating Kansas State losses I’ve covered. It is a combination of the game being extremely winnable, the magnitude of the game if they can pull it out and just how many chances you can pinpoint that could have changed the game.
Maybe some of that comes with having a true freshman quarterback. Maybe some of that is part of the territory when the skill position unit is absolutely depleted and banged up.
However, they could have been right back in the Big 12 Championship Game mix had they pulled out what was a far winnable game than we anticipated it being. And quite frankly, most of that is because the Cowboys were also banged up and didn’t have the full complement of their offense, either.
Additionally, I don’t think Oklahoma State was all that interested in this game when the ball kicked off. They played about as poorly as they could in the first half and still figured out a way to win.
This is a gut-wrenching loss for K-State. Between Howard’s fumble, the two-point conversion in the first half and not converting touchdowns, they have to feel like they gave this away when Oklahoma State wanted no business winning in Manhattan for most of the day.
HATS OFF TO THE DEFENSE
Kansas State’s defense has been a bright spot for most of the season and today was no different. When you shut out Oklahoma State in the first half (they did the same to Texas Tech) and hold them to 20 points overall, you expect to win. Plain and simple.
They also were key in the way they handled the third quarter. Sure, the Cowboy offense began to click a bit, but they held them to field goals on two of the three possessions and they forced punts on two key occasions in the fourth quarter. One of those was to give the offense the ball back with a chance to win the game.
Oklahoma State only had 83 yards in the first half. They held the Cowboys to 4 of 15 on third down. LD Brown got loose in the second half but Chuba Hubbard only rattled off 31 yards on 6 carries.
It’s just frustrating. The Wildcats out-gained Oklahoma State for the game, 370-256. If you had told me that before the game, I’d assume they win by multiple scores. They probably should have.
