What we learned from Kansas State’s deflating 20-18 loss to Oklahoma State
It’s been a long while since Kansas State fumbled away a football game, but that’s literally what the Wildcats did during a 20-18 loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Just when it looked like K-State was poised to take a fourth-quarter lead over the No. 14 Cowboys, Will Howard lost control of the ball on a quarterback keeper as he was running for a first down in the red zone … and it bounced directly into the hands of OSU safety Jason Taylor, who ran 85 yards untouched in the other direction for a decisive touchdown.
Instead of pulling ahead with 6 minutes, 32 seconds remaining, they trailed 20-12.
The Wildcats built a 12-0 halftime lead and responded to that late miscue with a quick touchdown drive to keep the game interesting until the final moments, but none of it was enough for them to overcome a handful of costly errors and a pair of missed two-point conversions.
This was a painful loss for K-State.
After a hot start in conference play, the Wildcats (4-3, 4-2 Big 12) are now in danger of falling out of the league championship race. The Cowboys (5-1, 4-1 Big 12) are now ahead of them in the standings for the first time all season.
Oklahoma State, playing without star receiver Tylan Wallace, won thanks to some excellent coaching adjustments at halftime, and a few timely turnovers.
K-State is normally the team that takes advantage of mistakes with opportunistic takeaways and scores, but Oklahoma State beat K-State at its own game on Saturday by forcing Howard to lose a fumble and throw an interception in the fourth quarter.
Howard otherwise played a quality game, finishing with 143 yards and a touchdown passing to go along with 125 yards and a touchdown rushing. But the game turned on Taylor’s scoop-and-score. And it ended on a Howard interception with K-State trying to pull off a dramatic come-free-behind victory with less than two minutes to play.
The Wildcats will now get a week off to try and figure a few things out before heading to Iowa State for their next game.
Until then, here is a look at a few things we learned from this game.
Going for two
K-State head coach Chris Klieman chose to go for a two-point conversion with K-State leading 12-0 late in the first half, and that is a decision that will be scrutinized by fans for quite some time.
The Wildcats failed the conversion attempt when Howard was unable to connect with Phillip Brooks on a short pass to the left in the front of the end zone.
Coaches rarely chase points early in games, and missing out on the opportunity to go ahead 13-0 proved costly.
It meant Oklahoma State was able to take a 13-12 lead when it began to rally in the second half and then a 20-12 lead in the fourth quarter. That forced K-State to try for another two-point conversion after making the score 20-18 late in the game. Another failed conversion attempt left the Wildcats scrambling for a last-ditch comeback that involved an unsuccessful onside kick, a three-and-out from the Cowboys and then an interception from Howard.
A pair of successful kicks for extra points would have made the final moments much different than they were. The game might have gone into overtime.
Bounce back for the defense
What happened to K-State’s defense last week against West Virginia looks like a fluke.
The Wildcats bounced back in a big way against Oklahoma State and played at a much higher level against the Cowboys, making it difficult for them to move the ball up and down the field and holding them to 256 yards.
K-State was at its best in the first half, holding Oklahoma State to just 83 yards and four first downs. The Wildcats were so good that it was hard for the Cowboys to cross midfield.
Give the defensive line most of the credit. Wyatt Hubert, Bronson Massie and Khalid Duke took Oklahoma State’s offensive line to school. Quarterback Spencer Sanders was constantly under pressure. On the opening series of the game, Hubert nearly forced a huge turnover when he drilled Sanders from behind as Sanders was attempting to throw and lost a fumble. But the Cowboys recovered and then punted.
K-State was good in all phases. Oklahoma State rushed for only 9 yards in the first half. This was night and day from last year when star running back Chuba Hubbard bludgeoned K-State for 296 yards.
The Cowboys made some adjustments and pulled ahead with some big plays in the second half, but they still only gained 256 yards on the day. Hubbard rushed for 31 yards. Sanders threw for 108.
Hubert had an excellent game that included 3.5 tackles for loss. K-State held Oklahoma State scoreless in the first half and then only allowed 13 points after halftime.
“We proved we can play with anybody in the country and I stand by that,” linebacker Justin Hughes said. “We have a great defense and our defensive line is amazing.”
New playmakers on offense
Senior tight end Briley Moore was unable to play in this game with a back injury, which forced the Wildcats to search for other playmakers.
That wasn’t an easy challenge, as Moore leads K-State in receptions this season and has been one of the team’s top offensive players alongside freshman running back Deuce Vaughn. But coordinator Courtney Messingham found some creative ways to move the ball without Moore.
By using lots of misdirection, Howard had lots of room to run on quarterback keepers. He finished the first half with 125 rushing yards on 14 carries, including a 69-yard gain in the second quarter.
Fullback Jax Dineen helped fill the void left by Moore in the passing game, as he caught four passes for 35 yards and actually looked like a dynamic playmaker at times. Sammy Wheeler also got loose for a 58-yard catch.
Mixed bag for Howard
It’s difficult to evaluate the way Will Howard played on Saturday.
On one hand, it was a nice step forward for the K-State freshman quarterback. He amassed 268 yards of total offense and scored a pair of touchdowns. On the other hand, he also lost a pair of costly turnovers and struggled to produce touchdowns in the red zone.
The Wildcats utilized him as a runner against the Cowboys, allowing him to keep the ball on designed runs for 125 yards. That was encouraging.
But it was discouraging to see him complete 10 of 21 passes. He needs to raise his completion percentage before K-State can start expecting more consistent results from this offense.
This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 6:48 PM with the headline "What we learned from Kansas State’s deflating 20-18 loss to Oklahoma State."