Bill Snyder fumes after WVU defeat: ‘I can’t coach a team that can’t get six inches’
I can’t coach a team that can’t get six inches on a play.
Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder, a man who rarely makes explosive statements to the media, said those words following a 35-6 loss to West Virginia on Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium.
They were in response to a question about his decision to go for it on fourth-and-short from the K-State 42 midway through the second quarter. The Mountaineers were leading 7-0, and had just stuffed a quarterback sneak from Skylar Thompson on third-and-short. A punt could have pinned West Virginia in front of its end zone and given the Wildcats an opportunity to enter halftime with a single-digit deficit.
But Snyder opted to go for it, and the play went poorly. K-State offensive coordinator Andre Coleman called for another QB sneak, but Thompson checked out of the play when he saw WVU defenders stacked in the A Gap and pitched to running back Alex Barnes on an option run to the outside. Problem was, West Virginia adjusted its defense when Thompson changed the play and smothered him for a loss of four yards.
The Mountaineers took over and Will Grier finished the half with a pair of touchdown passes to David Sills to give the Mountaineers a 21-0 lead.
A close game suddenly felt out of reach. Snyder fumed on the sideline and remained hot after the game ended.
“I went in the locker room and I accepted the responsibility for being behind in the ballgame at the halftime with our players,” Snyder said, “because there were two touchdowns following that. But I can’t coach a team that can’t get six inches on a play.”
There was plenty of blame to go around for that failure. Thompson didn’t see West Virginia move defenders to the perimeter. He said he would have gone back to a QB sneak if he had. Barnes said crowd noise hindered K-State’s ability to move in and out of the correct play. Coleman could have been more creative. Snyder could have decided to punt.
In the grand scheme of things, that single play probably didn’t make a huge difference in the outcome of this game. Yes, it was important. But No. 12 West Virginia was the far superior team. K-State needed a lot more than one mulligan.
Perhaps that is why Snyder threw his players under the bus.
Let’s be honest. K-State’s biggest problem had little to do with player execution or coaching strategy. It had more to do with talent.
The Mountaineers had better blockers and playmakers than the Wildcats. More depth, too. It showed.
Grier is a Heisman Trophy candidate and played like it, throwing it for 356 yards and five touchdowns. David Sills is a touchdown machine and played like it, grabbing 10 passes for 73 yards and three scores. Marcus Simms is a home-run threat and played like it, beating K-State defensive back A.J. Parker for an 82-yard touchdown in the first half.
West Virginia is also talented on defense. The Mountaineers held the Wildcats to 318 yards.
K-State doesn’t have many players in that stratosphere. Dalton Risner is one of the nation’s best right tackles, but that’s not a position that impacts games on the same level as quarterback or receiver. Isaiah Zuber is starting to show star potential, but it’s not always easy for the Wildcats to get him the ball.
The Wildcats have some potential on defense, but are young and lack star power.
Much like a 31-10 loss to No. 14 Mississippi State two weeks ago, this was an obvious mismatch. If these teams played a seven-game series, West Virginia would probably sweep.
Snyder’s teams have been mostly immune to the effects of poor recruiting ratings in recent years. The Wildcats have played in eight straight bowl games without a recruiting class that finished near the top of the Big 12. But recruiting has taken a nosedive in recent years, and a string of poorly rated classes is starting to show on the field.
According to Rivals, the Wildcats haven’t finished better than eighth in the Big 12 in any of the past four recruiting cycles. They finished last in 2017. K-State develops its recruits better than most schools, but still starts with a talent disadvantage.
That’s hard to overcome, especially when the talent gap is as wide as it appeared on Saturday. The Wildcats’ Xs and Os were no match for the Mountaineers’ Jimmys and Joes. K-State lost this game on signing day.
K-State historically starts slow and gets better as the season goes along. Many of Snyder’s teams have looked completely different in Game 12 than they have in Game 1. Maybe this team can follow that same path. But it will be an uphill climb.
Snyder says the Wildcats have the talent necessary to put a pair of dispiriting early losses behind them and finish the season strong. But he also says the team isn’t practicing well. He blasted players for not properly preparing for this game on Tuesday and Wednesday, just as much as he did for poor execution on Saturday.
K-State is 2-2 and 0-1 in the Big 12 with Texas up next. Odds are the Wildcats will be underdogs in that game, same as this one.
If a turnaround is coming, it needs to start quickly.
That might not be easy. Even if K-State learns how to gain six inches on a play this week, the roster isn’t changing. It will still be the same group Snyder said he couldn’t coach.
This story was originally published September 22, 2018 at 7:40 PM.