Grades from Kansas State’s comeback win at Oklahoma and a look ahead to Texas Tech
Another year. Another Kansas State upset over mighty Oklahoma.
Chris Klieman and Skylar Thompson were once again giant-slayers on Saturday as they led the Wildcats to a 38-35 road victory over the Sooners at Memorial Stadium.
This time around, they did so as 28-point underdogs after falling behind 28-7 early in the third quarter. The odds of a K-State victory seemed remote at that point, but the Wildcats remained confident all afternoon and dominated the closing stretches to claim a win that some players said they will remember for the rest of their lives.
Here are grades from the game and a look ahead at K-State’s next test against Texas Tech.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Handing out this award wasn’t easy. Several K-State players performed well enough to merit consideration. But Deuce Vaughn gets the nod over Skylar Thompson, Jahron McPherson and Khalid Duke because he was at the center of the Wildcats’ come-from-behind effort on offense.
The short pass he caught from Thompson and promptly turned into a 77-yard gain midway through the third quarter was the turning point in Saturday’s game. K-State’s offense was hapless before that play and unstoppable afterward. Vaughn was the main reason why. The freshman running back went on to gain 35 yards on another catch from Thompson that put the Wildcats in scoring range and he also broke free for a 38-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
He finished with 174 all-purpose yards and a touchdown on 12 touches. That means every time the Wildcats got him the ball, his average gain was 14.5 yards.
K-State found the end zone on four straight drives in the second half to tie the game at 35 and then went ahead on a Blake Lynch field goal after trailing 28-7, in large part because of Vaughn.
It’s hard to believe he is only two games into his college football career.
PLAY OF THE GAME
As good as Thompson’s 77-yard pass to Vaughn was, that wasn’t his longest throw of the day. The K-State quarterback also completed a 78-yard pass to Keyon Mozee in the third quarter that set up a short touchdown run moments later.
Though Vaughn’s play was more influential in the grand scheme of things, Mozee’s big gain was arguably more impressive because of everything that had to go right for Thompson to even look his way.
Mozee, a running back, was far from Thompson’s first read on the play. After originally lining up in the backfield, Mozee motioned to the perimeter as a receiver and ran a streak route, presumably as a decoy. Oklahoma certainly didn’t consider him a threat, because the Sooners neglected to cover him in the secondary.
But it took a few moments for Thompson to recognize the busted coverage, as his first three reads were on the opposite side of the field. Fortunately for him, K-State’s offensive line provided excellent pass protection and Thompson had ample time to survey the field and eventually find Mozee with a well-placed pass up the left sideline.
That big play allowed K-State to answer an Oklahoma score and make it 35-21 late in the third quarter. Without it, a comeback might not have happened.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Wildcats matched the biggest comeback in school history (21 points) against Oklahoma and defeated a team ranked in the top three of the Associated Press poll for the first time ... ever. Not bad for a team that was staring at a win probability of 1.2%, per ESPN analytics, when the Sooners led 35-14.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“Great resolve by our guys and a great team win. We really challenged the guys at halftime. Knew we could play better on both sides of the ball. We knew we could finish better on both sides of the ball, a block, a tackle, a throw or a run, a play on the ball and all those things. We just needed to have some good things happen. Luckily, we were able to get some things going.” - Chris Klieman.
GRADES
Offense: A. The first half was hard to watch, outside of a 45-yard touchdown strike to Chabastin Taylor. But the second half was a thing of beauty. K-State’s offensive line found a rhythm and provided excellent pass protection in the second half. Thompson took advantage by completing 18 of 25 passes for 334 yards and a touchdown while also adding three touchdowns on the ground. Coordinator Courtney Messingham showed some big-play potential in this one. The rushing game (66 yards) could still use some work, but there is little else to complain about after the Wildcats (7.8 yards per play) won a shootout with the Sooners (6.8 yards per play).
Defense: A+. Maybe it’s a good thing player absences forced coordinator Joe Klanderman to switch around K-State’s secondary. Previously seldom-used defensive backs like Ekow Boye-Doe, Justin Gardner and Ross Elder were terrific while the Wildcats forced four turnovers and held the Sooners to 517 yards. Khalid Duke was also a big difference-maker up front with nine tackles and two QB hurries. The preseason hype was warranted with him. Jahron McPherson was the MVP of the defense, as he forced a fumble and had a game-clinching interception. K-State would probably be 2-0 right now if not for his early injury against Arkansas State.
Special Teams: A. The Wildcats came up with a blocked punt in the fourth quarter and Blake Lynch kicked a 50-yard field goal with the game on the line. This was a total team win.
Coaching: A. Chris Klieman is undefeated against Oklahoma. How about that? There’s a reason the Wildcats were 28-point underdogs in this game, and the oddsmakers seemed to have pegged the matchup exactly right when the Sooners raced to a 21-point lead. But Klieman and his assistants refused to let the Wildcats quit. They deserve lots of credit for flipping the script.
NEXT UP
It’s hard to tell what kind of challenge the Wildcats will be in for when Texas Tech visits Bill Snyder Family Stadium at 2:30 p.m. next week.
The Red Raiders opened the season with a too-close-for-comfort victory over Houston Baptist but then seemed on their way to their first signature victory of the Matt Wells era when they built a 56-41 lead over No. 8 Texas on Saturday. For a few moments on Saturday, it seemed like K-State and Texas Tech was going to be a battle for first place in the Big 12.
Alas, Texas Tech imploded in the final moments and lost 63-56 in overtime.
Alan Bowman threw for 325 yards and five touchdowns against the Longhorns, so K-State’s defense will once again face an up-tempo test against the Red Raiders. But it won’t be any harder than what the Wildcats just faced in Norman.
K-State has won eight of its past nine games against Texas Tech, including four straight at home. The Wildcats will hope that trend continues.
This story was originally published September 27, 2020 at 9:47 AM.