Bill Snyder anticipates K-State QB Jesse Ertz will start against KU

Alex Delton helped Kansas State throw a scare into Oklahoma on Saturday, but the sophomore quarterback won’t start against Kansas if Jesse Ertz is healthy enough to play.

“As far as who the starter will be this week, it would be Jesse if he is 100 percent healthy,” K-State football coach Bill Snyder said Monday on the Big 12 teleconference, “which we anticipate that he will be.”

Ertz, a senior, has missed the past two games with a knee injury. Last week, he dressed and warmed up for a 26-6 loss to TCU, but ultimately watched every play with K-State’s reserves. Over the weekend, he wasn’t on the sideline for a 42-35 loss to Oklahoma. But he started all 13 games last season and the first five this season.

Some wondered if Delton’s impressive effort against the Sooners, which featured 144 yards and a touchdown passing on top of 142 yards and three touchdowns rushing, was worthy of a promotion on the depth chart. But Snyder says the starting job still belongs to Ertz.

“Jesse is healthier now,” Snyder said. “... He is back on his feet and going pretty well right now.”

With Ertz at quarterback, the Wildcats started 3-2. He has thrown for 930 yards and seven touchdowns this season, while also running for 336 yards and three touchdowns.

Delton took over for Ertz late during a 40-34 overtime loss at Texas. His season statistics: 320 passing yards, 283 rushing yards and six total touchdowns.

Snyder has been pleased with Delton’s development. He has a positive outlook on K-State’s quarterback situation, regardless of who starts each game.

“It just allows me to feel as though we have two good young guys at the position,” Snyder said. “We can feel comfortable with either one of them.”

Playing hurt

Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield looked sharp against K-State, amassing 479 total yards and scoring four touchdowns in a come-from-behind victory.

But OU coach Lincoln Riley said Monday that Mayfield didn’t practice at all last week and played through a shoulder injury.

It seemed bizarre when the Sooners moved Mayfield to receiver on several plays and let backup Kyler Murray run out of the wildcat formation against K-State, but Riley said those plays were called to help take some workload away from Mayfield.

Third quarter blues

K-State stormed to a 21-7 lead over Oklahoma when Delton scored on a 21-yard run in the second quarter. It didn’t score again until it trailed 28-21 in the fourth quarter.

The Sooners forced the Wildcats to punt on their first three drives of the second half, and seized control of the game.

What went wrong?

“The first five minutes of the third quarter are extremely important in the outcome of the ballgame,” Snyder said. “We’ve got to be able to initiate the second half like we did the first half, and we have to start well. We came out of the locker room at pregame, and I thought the spirit and emotion was good, the intensity was good, the determination was good. In the second half, that wasn’t there.

“So that goes back to some immaturity and taking ourselves for granted sometimes, and consequently some not-so-good things happened. Then again, Oklahoma had a good deal to with that, as well. They came back in the second half and played well. They were a far better football team in the second half than they had been earlier in the season.”

Kickoff set for Texas Tech

K-State and Texas Tech will kickoff at 11 a.m. on Nov. 4 in Lubbock, Texas. Fox Sports 1 will televise the game.

This story was originally published October 23, 2017 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Bill Snyder anticipates K-State QB Jesse Ertz will start against KU."