Grades from Kansas State’s shutout victory over Houston and a look ahead to Texas
Houston was no match for Kansas State on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The gulf between them was so vast during a 41-0 blowout that it felt like the Cougars and the Wildcats were in different leagues. That makes sense when you consider that K-State is the defending Big 12 champion and Houston is struggling to get situated in its new conference after coming in from the AAC.
K-State (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) is bowl eligible after another dominant home victory. Houston (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) is probably wishing it could go back to playing an easier schedule right about now.
Now, it’s time to analyze the game and look ahead to a huge game against Texas ...
Play of the game
Cooper Beebe delivered such a vicious block on a 9-yard touchdown run for DJ Giddens that the ESPN2 announcing team fawned over Beebe as if he scored six points.
You don’t see that everyday.
It was an incredible block, which made it the best play of the day.
Player of the game
Will Howard gets the proverbial game ball this week after he completed 15 of 17 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
The veteran quarterback had the K-State offense humming on several long drives that made it impossible for Houston find any kind of rhythm. After throwing seven interceptions in his first five games, he has now gone three straight games without a turnover.
Stat of the game & quote to note
Third-string quarterback Jake Rubley completed his first pass of the season for 5 yards on Saturday, the truest sign possible that K-State dominated in every way possible.
As for the quote...
“I didn’t even mention it in there. We’re on to the next one.” — K-State coach Chris Klieman on how meaningful (or not) it is for the Wildcats to achieve bowl eligibility.
K-State football grades
Offense: A+. The final numbers don’t look all that impressive, but K-State could have posted way more than 41 points and 394 yards if it wanted to. The Wildcats jumped out to a big lead and eased up in the second half.
Defense: A+. Donovan Smith is one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12, but the Wildcats made him look downright bad as he completed 13 of 28 passes for 88 yards. K-State shut out Houston for the first time since 2000.
Special Teams: A. This unit didn’t have to do much of anything against the Cougars, but Jack Blumer did pin them within their own 20 on two occasions with solid punts.
Coaching: A+. This was a classic “sandwich spot” for K-State, as the Wildcats were coming off a big win over TCU and have a monster game against Texas on deck next week. But Klieman didn’t let his team look ahead. The Wildcats took care of business.
Next up: Texas
This is going to be a big game.
Scratch that. This is going to be a really big game.
K-State will travel to Texas for an 11 a.m. kickoff on Saturday for a contest that will have Big 12 championship implications. With five teams currently tied for first place in the conference standings, the winner of this game will find itself in excellent position to reach the league title game in December. The loser will face an uphill climb the rest of the way.
The oddsmakers have Texas favored by seven. That is actually a lower betting line than some expected. A few weeks ago, some sports books the Longhorns favored by closer to two touchdowns with their look-ahead lines for this game.
The Wildcats have won three straight games and will head to Austin riding all kinds of momentum.
The Longhorns have won back-to-back games, but they will likely be missing starting quarterback Quinn Ewers when they play Chris Klieman’s team. Maalik Murphy took over for Ewers, who is out with an injured shoulder, against BYU and led Texas to a 35-6 victory by throwing for 170 yards and two touchdowns.
K-State will be looking to end a long losing streak against Texas in their final meeting as Big 12 rivals. The Longhorns have won six straight in the series.