Grades from Kansas State’s loss to Arkansas State and a look ahead to Oklahoma
The Kansas State Wildcats began what promises to be an unusual season with a 35-31 loss to the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
It was a disappointing result for the Wildcats, as they entered the game as 13-point favorites and paid Arkansas State a sum of $550,000 to visit Manhattan as a replacement opponent after their three originally scheduled nonconference games were all canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
K-State lost a home opener for the first time since 2013.
Here are grades from the game and a look ahead at K-State’s next game against Oklahoma on Sept. 26.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jonathan Adams is the slam-dunk selection here. The Arkansas State receiver was dominant against every coverage scheme the K-State defense threw at him, as he finished the afternoon with eight catches for 98 yards and three touchdowns on just 10 targets.
He was most effective in the red zone. Arkansas State quarterbacks lofted jump balls his way on his first two touchdown grabs. Then he cut through the defense for his third decisive touchdown, which won the game for the Red Wolves.
Some K-State fans will point out that the Wildcats should have done more to stop him and adjusted their schemes as the game went on. That’s fair. But it might not have mattered. Adams had a special day and will probably end up being one of the best receivers K-State defends all season.
The wild thing about his performance is that his best play of the day, a leaping one-handed grab with K-State defensive back Will Jones committing pass interference against him, was actually ruled an incomplete pass after a review.
PLAY OF THE GAME
It felt like Kansas State might roll to a blowout victory when it led 21-7 midway through the second quarter. The Wildcats were looking strong on special teams and defense, plus they were humming along on offense with touchdowns from Phillip Brooks, Deuce Vaughn and Briley Moore.
But momentum shifted when Arkansas State called a trick play and pulled off a 48-yard pass from Jeff Foreman to Rashauud Paul.
The Red Wolves fooled K-State defenders into cheating up in the secondary with a backward pass, and that allowed Paul to get behind the defense for an easy touchdown. The play brought back memories of the trick play Navy used to beat K-State last year in the Liberty Bowl.
“We have to read our keys,” K-State linebacker Justin Hughes said. “We don’t have excuses, but we have some young guys in there and they just haven’t seen that type of stuff before because they haven’t been on the field and had that experience. We have to not make any excuses and we have to play ball, read our keys, and get coached up. We just have to move on and execute the next play. We can’t put our heads down and just be in the dumps after that.”
Trick plays doomed the Wildcats all afternoon. Arkansas State also converted a fake punt and another double pass in the second half. But that touchdown was the turning point in the game for Arkansas State.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Wildcats averaged 2.3 yards per rush in this game. Chris Klieman’s teams are at their best when they have a power running game to lean on. K-State was unable to establish much of anything on the ground, save for a few nice runs from freshman Deuce Vaughn and one solid drive from Harry Trotter, against Arkansas State. An inexperienced offensive line losing center Noah Johnson on the first series hurt matters. The Cats finished with 91 rushing yards on 39 attempts.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“You better believe I am going to buckle down and bring it harder than ever after this. I’m not going to let this team define me. The team isn’t either. The captains on this team aren’t going to let it happen. It fires me up. I hate losing.” - K-State quarterback Skylar Thompson.
GRADES
Offense: C-. Given the circumstances, K-State deserves a passing grade on offense. The Wildcats gained 374 yards while playing with a third-string center and only a handful of scholarship receivers. Of course, Arkansas State was down starters, too. K-State’s running game was mostly inept behind an unimpressive offensive line, but the Wildcats found ways to move the ball through the air. Skylar Thompson finished with 259 yards and two touchdowns. Chabastin Taylor turned in a huge day that featured four catches for 98 yards and Briley Moore was as good as advertised at tight end. Unfortunately, most will look past those numbers and focus on missed opportunities. There were several of those. Thompson and his receivers were “inches away” from connecting on some game-changing deep balls. Thompson could have thrown for well over 300 yards with better execution.
Defense: D. Joe Klanderman’s debut as defensive coordinator got off to a sensational start, but the combination of K-State injuries and Arkansas State adjustments made it hard for the Wildcats to get off the field in the second half. K-State could do nothing to stop Adams and fell for some trick plays as Arkansas State piled up 489 yards on 71 plays. On the plus side, K-State looked good up front with a re-tooled defensive line. Eli Huggins, Drew Wiley and Wyatt Hubert all had sacks. But that wasn’t enough to make up for a short-handed secondary.
Special Teams: C. The Wildcats were limited here without electric return man Joshua Youngblood, but they still pulled off a big play via a blocked punt from Will Jones in the first quarter. Two missed field goals from Blake Lynch turned out to be significant.
Coaching: C. It’s hard to blame a loss on the coaching staff when at least two dozen players were unable to play in the game and third-stringers were thrust into action at key positions. Klieman and his assistants did a solid job under those circumstances, but Arkansas State coaches clearly made better adjustments at halftime. It was also concerning to see the Wildcats get beat on trick plays.
NEXT UP
Things won’t get any easier for the Wildcats from here. After a week off, K-State will return to action on Sept. 26 with what might be the hardest game on its schedule -- a road trip against Oklahoma.
The Sooners are once again the favorites to win the Big 12 and they had little trouble in their opener against Missouri State, winning 48-0.
Oklahoma raced to a 41-0 halftime lead on Saturday wtih new quarterback Spencer Rattler completing 14 of 17 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns.
The good news for K-State is that it will likely have more players available for that the OU game. Klieman also led the Wildcats to a victory over the Sooners last year in Manhattan. Another upset isn’t outside the realm of possibility. But K-State will need to play much better than it did against Arkansas State to have a chance against the high-powered Sooners.
This story was originally published September 13, 2020 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Grades from Kansas State’s loss to Arkansas State and a look ahead to Oklahoma."