D
Derek Young
Guest
OFFENSE
It was another unorganized mess today. The first half was more so when K-State only gained 59 yards of offense on the Kansas defense. It didn’t help when they didn’t score a point with the wind at their back in the first quarter.
There were some crucial plays on third down in this one. Alex Delton dropped a snap on third down that led to a punt on what looked to be a promising drive in the first half. In the second half, Wykeen Gill made a circus catch on third down that kept a drive alive that resulted in the Wildcats taking a 14-10 lead. It was a drive that was dominated by the K-State offensive line and was capped off by a 24-yard touchdown run by Alex Barnes.
Kansas State did approach play-calling in a bit of bizarre fashion. They did not call a designed run for Delton in the first half. They called eight alone in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Jayhawks adjusted, caught on and took that part of the offense away from the Wildcats.
The offense was much better in the second half. KU figured it out offensively as well. The first half offense and special teams miscues were the culprit of the loss. However, the fourth down attempt that was not converted in the fourth quarter with 12 minutes to go, at midfield, did whittle away some hope but the Jayhawks did not take advantage.
K-State did get the ball back with five minutes to go with another chance, down three. On fourth and 2 from their own 48-yard line, the Wildcats went Wildcat and Alex Barnes converted it with a three-yard run. Kansas State scored to secure a 21-17 lead and win.
DEFENSE
They were much stronger in the first half. Though in the first half, they were fortunate when KU dropped a touchdown pass and had another slip away when Peyton Bender lead his receiver out of bounds instead of down the sideline. Kansas State was also fortunate when Kansas dropped an easy pitch and catch on third down that would have been enough for a first down. It was the immediate set of downs following K-State turning it over on downs in the fourth quarter. The Jayhawks had the opportunity to make it a two-possession game. And in the fourth quarter, the Jayhawks had two massive runs called back due to holding calls. The second one was corroborated by a personal foul on Mavin Saunders for kicking the penalty flag and trying to hide it from the officials. Yes, this game had it all.
Unfortunately for Kansas, the Wildcats did not defeat themselves and came away with great field position and a chance to tie the game or go ahead because of Kansas’ mistakes.
Wyatt Hubert had two key plays that probably did not appear so at the time. His facemask penalty in the first half clearly was an error on his part but the tackle itself did save about a 65-yard touchdown. Secondly, following the blunder to open the second half where the Wildcats did not recover the kickoff, they held KU and turned them over on downs. On first down, Pooka Williams likely has a touchdown if Hubert had not stayed home and forced him to the backside. Everyone else on the defense was fooled on that first down play-call. The freshman defensive end also had a sack in the first quarter.
Kansas State’s defensive effort in the tackling department could certainly be questioned again. They were pushed back regularly and driven. It is a problem that has crept up with a semblance of regularity this year.
Steven Sims had a score where it appeared KU had out-schemed Blake Seiler on that particular play, getting him matched up one-on-one with Kendall Adams.
And to top it off, Kansas State’s defense finishes out with two blitzes that cause issues for Peyton Bender who loses the ball backwards in his final throw of the game.
SPECIAL TEAMS
This phase of the game did nothing to show any kind of improvement today.
Despite punting with the wind from the opponent’s 33-yard line a week ago on 4th and 2, Kansas State instead chose to kick a field goal with the wind on 4th and 7 from the opponent’s 36-yard line today. And it was missed by Andrew Hicks. There just doesn’t seem to be a lot of thought, organization or planning behind any decision.
A.J. Parker was penalized for running into the punter. It didn’t give KU a first down but it allowed them to re-kick and push the ball 12 yards further back. He also was penalized for running into the kicker a little bit later. The Jayhawks took their own points off the board to settle for a first down and new set of downs instead. The drive still resulted in only three points.
Isaiah Zuber wasn’t tasked with returning any kicks or punts. That was Landry Weber and Phillip Brooks. When KU punted the ball back to K-State with about five minutes remaining in the game, Brooks muffed the punt but luckily recovered it, also.
Devin Anctil had a strong day punting the ball. He had a strong and timely 39-yard punt against the wind. But he also had a 61-yard punt that flipped the field as well. He was the best player on the unit. One of the bigger plays of the game could have been Landry Weber recovering a KU kickoff on a fumble. However, K-State went backwards and didn’t score.
The most embarrassing play of the game for the Wildcats was when they failed to recover the opening kickoff of the second half. Kansas was not even attempting to trick Sean Snyder’s unit. It was just a short kick that K-State could not come up with. Of course, the Jayhawks turned it over on downs and didn’t score.
Three more points were wiped away as well when Kansas State botched a field goal snap for the second consecutive week.
PERSONNEL
On special teams, Landry Weber and Phillip Brooks were used as today’s returners and not Isaiah Zuber. True freshman Spencer Trussell did not see time on special teams like he did a week ago.
Offensively, Alex Delton was the starting quarterback and only quarterback used in the game. Abdul Beecham notched the start at left guard after Josh Rivas started against TCU. Rivas did see some playing time in the second quarter. Wykeen Gill was the third receiver and Landry Weber the fourth. Isaiah Zuber was the fifth receiver used but still saw a limited number of snaps but did have 2 catches for 26 yards.
Defensively, true freshman Lance Robinson recorded his first career start. Taking all the snaps at nickel today. Walter Neil did not play. Jonathan Durham started in place of Duke Shelley again. The starting safeties were Kendall Adams and Jahron McPherson. Eli Walker saw very, very few snaps while Denzel Goolsby was used mostly as a substitute for Adams and McPherson.
Adams did shift down to linebacker in short-yardage situations with Goolsby and McPherson playing safety. Kyle Ball saw some time on the interior of the defensive line in the jet package but is still limited by injury. Chase Johnston was the regular defensive end that rotated with Wyatt Hubert and Reggie Walker.
It was another unorganized mess today. The first half was more so when K-State only gained 59 yards of offense on the Kansas defense. It didn’t help when they didn’t score a point with the wind at their back in the first quarter.
There were some crucial plays on third down in this one. Alex Delton dropped a snap on third down that led to a punt on what looked to be a promising drive in the first half. In the second half, Wykeen Gill made a circus catch on third down that kept a drive alive that resulted in the Wildcats taking a 14-10 lead. It was a drive that was dominated by the K-State offensive line and was capped off by a 24-yard touchdown run by Alex Barnes.
Kansas State did approach play-calling in a bit of bizarre fashion. They did not call a designed run for Delton in the first half. They called eight alone in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Jayhawks adjusted, caught on and took that part of the offense away from the Wildcats.
The offense was much better in the second half. KU figured it out offensively as well. The first half offense and special teams miscues were the culprit of the loss. However, the fourth down attempt that was not converted in the fourth quarter with 12 minutes to go, at midfield, did whittle away some hope but the Jayhawks did not take advantage.
K-State did get the ball back with five minutes to go with another chance, down three. On fourth and 2 from their own 48-yard line, the Wildcats went Wildcat and Alex Barnes converted it with a three-yard run. Kansas State scored to secure a 21-17 lead and win.
DEFENSE
They were much stronger in the first half. Though in the first half, they were fortunate when KU dropped a touchdown pass and had another slip away when Peyton Bender lead his receiver out of bounds instead of down the sideline. Kansas State was also fortunate when Kansas dropped an easy pitch and catch on third down that would have been enough for a first down. It was the immediate set of downs following K-State turning it over on downs in the fourth quarter. The Jayhawks had the opportunity to make it a two-possession game. And in the fourth quarter, the Jayhawks had two massive runs called back due to holding calls. The second one was corroborated by a personal foul on Mavin Saunders for kicking the penalty flag and trying to hide it from the officials. Yes, this game had it all.
Unfortunately for Kansas, the Wildcats did not defeat themselves and came away with great field position and a chance to tie the game or go ahead because of Kansas’ mistakes.
Wyatt Hubert had two key plays that probably did not appear so at the time. His facemask penalty in the first half clearly was an error on his part but the tackle itself did save about a 65-yard touchdown. Secondly, following the blunder to open the second half where the Wildcats did not recover the kickoff, they held KU and turned them over on downs. On first down, Pooka Williams likely has a touchdown if Hubert had not stayed home and forced him to the backside. Everyone else on the defense was fooled on that first down play-call. The freshman defensive end also had a sack in the first quarter.
Kansas State’s defensive effort in the tackling department could certainly be questioned again. They were pushed back regularly and driven. It is a problem that has crept up with a semblance of regularity this year.
Steven Sims had a score where it appeared KU had out-schemed Blake Seiler on that particular play, getting him matched up one-on-one with Kendall Adams.
And to top it off, Kansas State’s defense finishes out with two blitzes that cause issues for Peyton Bender who loses the ball backwards in his final throw of the game.
SPECIAL TEAMS
This phase of the game did nothing to show any kind of improvement today.
Despite punting with the wind from the opponent’s 33-yard line a week ago on 4th and 2, Kansas State instead chose to kick a field goal with the wind on 4th and 7 from the opponent’s 36-yard line today. And it was missed by Andrew Hicks. There just doesn’t seem to be a lot of thought, organization or planning behind any decision.
A.J. Parker was penalized for running into the punter. It didn’t give KU a first down but it allowed them to re-kick and push the ball 12 yards further back. He also was penalized for running into the kicker a little bit later. The Jayhawks took their own points off the board to settle for a first down and new set of downs instead. The drive still resulted in only three points.
Isaiah Zuber wasn’t tasked with returning any kicks or punts. That was Landry Weber and Phillip Brooks. When KU punted the ball back to K-State with about five minutes remaining in the game, Brooks muffed the punt but luckily recovered it, also.
Devin Anctil had a strong day punting the ball. He had a strong and timely 39-yard punt against the wind. But he also had a 61-yard punt that flipped the field as well. He was the best player on the unit. One of the bigger plays of the game could have been Landry Weber recovering a KU kickoff on a fumble. However, K-State went backwards and didn’t score.
The most embarrassing play of the game for the Wildcats was when they failed to recover the opening kickoff of the second half. Kansas was not even attempting to trick Sean Snyder’s unit. It was just a short kick that K-State could not come up with. Of course, the Jayhawks turned it over on downs and didn’t score.
Three more points were wiped away as well when Kansas State botched a field goal snap for the second consecutive week.
PERSONNEL
On special teams, Landry Weber and Phillip Brooks were used as today’s returners and not Isaiah Zuber. True freshman Spencer Trussell did not see time on special teams like he did a week ago.
Offensively, Alex Delton was the starting quarterback and only quarterback used in the game. Abdul Beecham notched the start at left guard after Josh Rivas started against TCU. Rivas did see some playing time in the second quarter. Wykeen Gill was the third receiver and Landry Weber the fourth. Isaiah Zuber was the fifth receiver used but still saw a limited number of snaps but did have 2 catches for 26 yards.
Defensively, true freshman Lance Robinson recorded his first career start. Taking all the snaps at nickel today. Walter Neil did not play. Jonathan Durham started in place of Duke Shelley again. The starting safeties were Kendall Adams and Jahron McPherson. Eli Walker saw very, very few snaps while Denzel Goolsby was used mostly as a substitute for Adams and McPherson.
Adams did shift down to linebacker in short-yardage situations with Goolsby and McPherson playing safety. Kyle Ball saw some time on the interior of the defensive line in the jet package but is still limited by injury. Chase Johnston was the regular defensive end that rotated with Wyatt Hubert and Reggie Walker.
