Three Positives:
- Adrian Martinez. There was a lot of heat thrown his way last week and through the first three games of the season. He shut every single person up with his play against Oklahoma. He played with a swagger tonight that we hadn't seen all season and we saw him play free. The Adrian Martinez on the field against Oklahoma was the Adrian Martinez that Kansas State believed that they were getting. Now, he has to build on it.
- Resiliency. This team and certain players could have folded after their performance last week. They didn't. That shows a sense of belief in the coaching staff, the culture that has been established and the standard that they hold themselves to. That's important because in this Big 12, there are likely going to be a lot of highs and lows. Staying even could be integral in the Wildcats finding success.
- Defense bends; doesn't break. The defense surrendered 550 yards on Saturday. That's bad. They allowed 34 points. That's not great. But they were stout in the third quarter despite allowing Oklahoma to get into K-State territory multiple times. They didn't allow a TD in the third quarter. One of the differences in the game is.
- Tackling. The defense did miss a lot of tackles on Saturday. Give Oklahoma's rushers some credit they broke the tackels. But missing tackles can cost you in a lot of situations. K-State was able to overcome the mistakes on Saturday.
- Pass protection. Martinez wasn't sacked at all on Saturday, but part of his brilliance was evading pressure and making plays to scramble on non-designed runs. Pass protection could probably be improved.
- Coverage breakdowns. Kansas State did allow two touchdowns of at least 50 yards on Saturday. You expect to give up big plays against Oklahoma, but to give up two scoring plays of at least 50 yards burns. There are some explosive offensive players in the Big 12. Eliminating those would go a long way in elevating the play of the defense in conference play.
