History suggests K-State won’t win Big 12 with a backup QB, but it’s been done before
The Kansas State Wildcats are on top of the Big 12 standings, they are ranked No. 22 in the national polls and they will be heavy favorites in their next football game against the Kansas Jayhawks.
Still, many consider them underdogs.
Those who handicap the Big 12 race for a living remain skeptical about K-State. The oddsmakers at BetOnline are currently giving the Wildcats 8-to-1 odds of hoisting a conference championship trophy in Arlington, Texas in December. They seem to be more confident in four other teams -- Oklahoma (7 to 4), Oklahoma State (11 to 4), Iowa State (13 to 4) and Texas (19 to 4).
You can practically hear K-State fans crying disrespect.
Even though K-State (3-1, 3-0 Big 12) is level with Iowa State and a half game up on Oklahoma State in the league standings, it remains a long-shot to stay there. Gamblers can find better odds on Oklahoma (2-2, 1-2) and Texas (2-2, 1-2) rallying to win the Big 12, despite both getting off to disappointing starts this season.
There is only one explanation: Outsiders have little confidence in K-State’s offense now that freshman quarterback Will Howard has taken over for senior Skylar Thompson, who is out for the season with an injury.
It is a valid concern.
Only one team in Big 12 history has lost its starting quarterback and gone on to win a conference championship.
That honor belongs to Oklahoma, which had to make backup plans in 2006 when projected starter Rhett Bomar was dismissed from the team shortly before that season began. Former coach Bob Stoops asked Paul Thompson, who played receiver the year before, to take command of the offense. The Sooners started 3-2, but found a rhythm (and fed the ball to Adrian Peterson) as the season went on and finished with eight straight conference victories.
Otherwise, losing a starting quarterback has typically been a kiss of death for Big 12 teams with championship aspirations.
But quarterback isn’t the only question mark on K-State’s offense. The Wildcats are also breaking in a group of five new starters on their offensive line and are struggling to find any consistent receivers to pair with Chabastin Taylor. The bulk of their big plays flow through star freshman running back Deuce Vaughn and graduate transfer tight end Briley Moore.
That was only enough for 318 yards and one touchdown in Howard’s first start last week at TCU. K-State won thanks to stellar play on defense, but some worry the Wildcats will need more when their schedule reaches its hardest stretch with consecutive games against Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Baylor and Texas.
Can the Wildcats keep winning with so many limitations on offense?
Klieman will have an argument for national Coach of the Year honors if they do.
He has some positive experience to draw on. When Klieman was coaching at North Dakota State, he guided the Bison to a FCS championship in 2015 despite his senior quarterback, Carson Wentz, suffering a broken wrist in the sixth game. Fans panicked when NDSU started 4-2 and handed the offense over to Easton Stick, then a redshirt freshman, but the team rallied around him and won eight straight games before Wentz returned for the championship game.
You can bet he shared that story with K-State players this week.
“Carson was Easton’s best coach,” Klieman said. “We had a really good (QB) coach in Randy Hedberg, but Carson was with him every day helping with the game plan, helping him understand the schemes, and I challenged Skylar to do the same. I know he will with Will Howard, as well as Coach (Collin) Klein. The other thing is that we challenged everyone on the team to raise your level of play.
“It’s never going to be and never will be about one player. It’s about everybody rising up and raising your level of play. It doesn’t matter if it’s the offensive line, defensive line or a specialist. When you lose players, other positions have to step up.”