Grades from Kansas State’s 26-13 loss at Oklahoma State and a look ahead to Baylor
The Kansas State Wildcats couldn’t keep their hot start going and lost their Big 12 opener 26-13 against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Here are some awards and grades from the game, as well as a look ahead to next week’s game against Baylor:
Player of the game
It has to be Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard. The redshirt sophomore rushed for an astounding 296 yards on 25 carries. K-State could do little to contain him on defense, as he broke free for several long gains, including a long of 84 yards.
On the K-State side, it’s harder to choose an MVP.
The fact that senior punter Devin Anctil is in the discussion shows what kind of day it was for the Wildcats. He booted seven punts for 321 yards and pinned Oklahoma State within its 20 on two occasions. K-State would have had much worse field position without him.
Still, the honor goes to defensive end Wyatt Hubert, who had two sacks and a forced fumble in his return from injury. He was the most disruptive defensive player on the field.
Play of the game
Believe it or not, the Wildcats were in decent shape at the start of the third quarter. Even though Oklahoma State dominated the first half, K-State only trailed 16-3 and received the opening kickoff of the second half. A touchdown drive would have made things very interesting.
But the Wildcats couldn’t take advantage. Oklahoma State forced them to punt quickly and then Hubbard responded with an 84-yard touchdown run to put the Cowboys ahead 23-3.
Just like that, the game was out of reach.
Stat of the game
K-State averaged 3.9 yards per rush. The Wildcats rely on their power running game to control clock and set up their passing attack. But they never got much of anything going on the ground in this game, and that’s the main reason why they fell behind and were unable to catch up.
Quote to note
“One moment doesn’t define us. A win or a loss doesn’t define us. It’s how we respond to it that’s going to define us. I promise you all I’m going to lead this team the best I can in that aspect. I’m going to have the best week of practice that I’ve had all year this week. I’ll lead the charge in keeping the energy up. I’ll take all the ownership for that loss. Put it all on me.” — K-State quarterback Skylar Thompson.
Grades
Offense: F. Oklahoma State is not known for its defense. The Cowboys entered Saturday’s game allowing 415 yards and 26.8 points per game. So it’s certainly discouraging to see the Wildcats produce about half those numbers and finish with 244 yards and 13 points. K-State badly missed top receiver Malik Knowles and never got its ground game going, finishing with 126 yards on 32 attempts.
Defense: C. K-State surrendered 526 yards to Oklahoma State, but that didn’t bother Klieman. He said the Wildcats “did a nice job” on defense, because they held the Cowboys to 26 points, well below their average of 44. He’s got a point. K-State was good on third down (4 of 13) and fourth down (0 for 1) and great in the red zone. But Oklahoma State had lots of early down success, which won it the game.
Special Teams: B+. Blake Lynch connected on field goals of 37 and 46 yards, while Devin Anctil came through with several quality punts. The Wildcats didn’t have any explosive returns, but they didn’t have any mistakes in that area either.
Coaching: D. Klieman and his staff will have to go back to the drawing board after this one. More was expected from them in the Big 12 opener given that they had two weeks to prepare.
Next up
K-State will be back in action at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium against the Baylor Bears next week.
Things won’t get any easier for the Wildcats in their second Big 12 game. The Bears are one of two remaining undefeated teams in the Big 12 and are coming off an entertaining 23-21 victory over Iowa State.
Baylor led 20-0, fell behind 21-20 in the fourth quarter and then rallied late to win the game. Charlier Brewer led the way with 307 yards and three touchdowns passing.