Wildcat report: Oklahoma State 43, Kansas State 37

Kansas State linebacker Elijah Lee (9) celebrates recovering an Oklahoma State fumble on a punt on Saturday in Manhattan. Bo Rader The Wichita Eagle

First quarter

The key: Kansas State rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns to take a 13-7 lead.

Second quarter

The key: Mason Rudolph finished the first half with 225 yards and three touchdowns.

Third quarter

The key: Duke Shelley returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown.

Fourth quarter

The key: Mason Rudolph led Oklahoma State on a pair of touchdown drives to win the game.

Report card

Offense: B+. K-State exploited a big weakness in Oklahoma State’s defense and ran for nearly 350 yards. Jesse Ertz was particularly efficient running the ball.

Defense: C. Give the Wildcats credit for making a handful of big plays and creating turnovers, but the secondary continues to give up way too much yardage.

Special Teams: C. Ian Patterson missed an extra point and K-State attempted an ill-advised fake field goal that didn’t work. Those negatives outweighed some solid returns.

Coaching: C. Two weeks ago, Bill Snyder explained why he went for it on a fourth and short by saying the offense only needed to gain a few inches. If it couldn’t do that, he said, the team “might as well go into the locker room” and give up on the game. On Saturday, he punted in a similar situation.

Reason to Hope

K-State remains a near lock for bowl eligibility with a home game against Kansas remaining on the schedule. Road games at Baylor and TCU also look like toss-ups.

Reason to Mope

A win here would have vaulted K-State into the conversation for a spot in the top 25. A loss means 6-6 is a real possibility.

Next up

K-State gets a week off before it heads to Baylor, which got pounded by TCU on Saturday.

Kellis Robinett

This story was originally published November 5, 2016 at 9:24 PM with the headline "Wildcat report: Oklahoma State 43, Kansas State 37."