Grades from K-State’s 21-17 win over KU and a look ahead to Texas Tech
The Kansas State Wildcats defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 21-17 on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Here are some grades, thoughts and awards from the football game.
Player of the game
Alex Barnes: Without usual starter Skylar Thompson at quarterback the Wildcats didn’t have much of a passing attack to speak of, and the Jayhawks knew it. So KU defenders focused on stopping K-State’s ground game. But Barnes still rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. He was K-State’s offense on Saturday.
Play of the game
Alex Delton found Wykeen Gill for a gain of 15 yards on third-and-9 late in the third quarter. It was easy for that play to get lost in the shuffle, considering what happened in the fourth quarter, but it’s hard to imagine K-State winning without that conversion. The Jayhawks led 10-7 at the time and they scored a touchdown the next time they touched the ball. But Gill’s catch extended K-State’s drive and led to an Alex Barnes touchdown run that gave the Wildcats a 14-10 lead.
Stat of the game
46: The Jayhawks out-gained the Wildcats 347-301, a good indicator that the gap has closed in this rivalry.
Quote to note
“It’s huge given where we are at in the season right now and it’s also huge because it’s KU. I think it just means so much more to all the guys on this team. All the guys from the state of Kansas and all these fans ... It was big for them.” — K-State receiver Dalton Schoen.
Grades
Offense — D: Three Kansans (Alex Barnes, Alex Delton and Dalton Schoen) deserve credit for delivering victory with a decisive scoring drive in the final minutes, but it was a game to forget for K-State’s offense otherwise. The Wildcats managed 301 total yards and had just 59 at halftime. K-State lacks playmakers in the passing game, which severely limits its big-play abilities. Its longest gain was 28 yards on Saturday.
Defense — C: K-State held KU to 347 yards, which appears great at first glance. But the Wildcats were the beneficiaries of a dropped touchdown pass and two holding penalties that negated potential game-clinching runs by KU. This unit was far from dominant. Still, Justin Hughes continued to play well, finishing with three tackles for loss, and the Wildcats produced a solid pass rush.
Special teams — D: Devin Anctil was the lone bright spot for Sean Snyder’s unit. He had a 61-yard punt and pinned KU inside its own 20 on three occasions. Special teams was a trainwreck in every other area. The Wildcats missed a field goal, botched the hold on another, muffed a punt and got nothing from its kick returners. Landry Weber did recover a fumble on one return, but the Wildcats failed to even field the opening kickoff of the third quarter. This unit continues to struggle.
Coaching — D: Other than winning, there weren’t many positives for K-State to take away from this game. Kansas was in position to win its first conference road game in a decade and nearly beat Bill Snyder in Manhattan for the first time since 1989. There wasn’t much difference between these struggling teams.
Next up
Kansas State will host the Texas Tech Red Raiders at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 17) at Snyder Family Stadium on senior day.
The Wildcats might be getting the Red Raiders at a good time. Texas Tech has lost three straight games after getting off to a hot start and is coming off a last-second defeat against Texas.
Still, this will be a difficult matchup for K-State. Texas Tech (5-5, 3-4 Big 12), as always, has an explosive offense, and its defense has improved compared to previous years under Kliff Kingsbury.
Texas Tech is averaging 41.8 points per game. It will be difficult for K-State and its sputtering offense to keep up.
This story was originally published November 11, 2018 at 1:32 PM.