What we learned from Kansas State’s first Big 12 loss, against West Virginia
Everything the Kansas State football team did right while winning its first four conference games of the season seemed to go wrong for the Wildcats during a 37-10 loss to West Virginia on Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Star running back Deuce Vaughn was held in check, Will Howard threw three interceptions (including a pick six), tight end Briley Moore left the game with a back injury and K-State was unable to create an advantage on defense or special teams.
Some raised their eyebrows when the Vegas oddsmakers tabbed West Virginia (4-2, 3-2 Big 12) as a home favorite against K-State (4-2, 4-1) in Morgantown, but they knew exactly what they were doing with that betting line. If anything, they showed the Wildcats too much respect, who have now lost to the Mountaineers five straight times.
West Virginia posed myriad problems for K-State with its top-flight defense. And they were too much for Chris Klieman’s team to overcome.
The Wildcats have essentially been a two-man show on offense all season, leaning heavily on Vaughn and Moore for most of their big plays. Neither one of them did much of anything against the Mountaineers, and few of their teammates were able to step up and gain key yardage.
Vaughn, who looked like the nation’s best freshman in K-State’s first five games, was limited to 23 yards in this one. Without him making plays in space, the Wildcats turned to Moore early and he made a pair of big catches for 37 yards. But he was unable to play beyond the second quarter after taking an awkward hit to the back.
Howard looked rattled without them, as he finished 19 of 37 for 187 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
West Virginia ended any hope of a K-State comeback in the third quarter when Dylan Tonkery picked off a tipped pass intended for Chabastin Taylor on a screen and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown to take a 34-10 lead.
K-State rallied from 21 points down to beat Oklahoma this season, but that was with senior quarterback Skylar Thompson leading the charge. It couldn’t find the same magic with Howard, a freshman under center, and the Wildcats suffered their first lopsided loss of the year.
Jarret Doege led West Virginia, throwing for 298 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Leddie Brown rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown.
The loss dropped K-State even with Oklahoma State and Iowa State in the loss column of the league standings.
With four games remaining, and upcoming matchups against Oklahoma State and Iowa State, the Wildcats will need to bounce back quickly if they hope to reach the Big 12 championship game.
Here are a few other things we learned about K-State during Saturday’s game:
Looking like a freshman
Howard has played admirably for the Wildcats since taking over for Thompson earlier this month, but he looked very much like a freshman against the Mountaineers.
Aside from a 35-yard touchdown pass to Malik Knowles in the second quarter, Howard didn’t have many highlights in this one.
His biggest problem was interceptions. Howard threw a pick on the opening drive of the game and then another later in the first quarter. The Wildcats didn’t have to pay much of a price for either of those mistakes, as neither team could muster more of a field goal in first 15 minutes. But the Wildcats paid dearly when Howard threw his third interception and West Virginia returned it for a touchdown.
It’s hard to say what exactly this game means for Howard, as the Mountaineers took his top playmaker (Vaughn) out of the game and his favorite target (Moore) left early with an injury. But he was unable to create any magic for a struggling offense.
Did West Virginia provide a blueprint for future teams to shut down K-State’s offense?
Howard and K-State’s receivers may need to work to create some new ways to move the ball.
What’s next?
This was arguably the biggest swing game on the schedule for K-State.
A victory would have put the Wildcats in great position to reach the Big 12 championship game. Splitting upcoming games against Oklahoma State and Iowa State would have put them in the driver’s seat.
Now they will probably need to win one of those games just to stay in the race. A pair of losses will put them on a three-game losing streak.
K-State’s closing schedule is more difficult than its opening few games were. The next two weeks will be gut-check time for the Wildcats.
Short-handed secondary
The Wildcats played this game without starting defensive back A.J. Parker.
It’s hard to argue his absence was a key reason why the Wildcats lost to the Mountaineers, but it certainly didn’t help. Parker has been one of K-State’s best defenders since switching positions from cornerback to nickel. Without him, the Wildcats struggled to defend the middle of the field. West Virginia burned K-State several times with slant passes, especially on third down.
All or nothing
Midway through his second season with the Wildcats, Chris Klieman has yet to split a single series with another Big 12 football team.
Klieman owns a 2-0 record against Kansas, Oklahoma, TCU and Texas Tech.
He is 1-0 against Iowa State.
He is 0-1 against Oklahoma State, Baylor and Texas.
And he is 0-2 against West Virginia.
Though that is much too small a sample size to draw any conclusions about those coaching matchups, it is interesting that he has dominated against certain teams and certain teams have dominated against him.
West Virginia, overall, seems to have K-State’s number lately. The Mountaineers have won five straight against the Wildcats. Neal Brown is off to a 2-0 start against them. Something else to consider here: Brown was K-State’s runner-up choice when it hired Klieman last year.
This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 2:35 PM.