What we learned from Kansas State football in its shutout loss to Iowa State
The Iowa State football team took out more than a decade’s worth of frustration against its Farmageddon rival during a 45-0 landslide victory over Kansas State on Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.
After losing 12 of the past 13 games in this series, with many of those defeats coming in excruciating fashion, the Cyclones flexed their muscles and kicked proverbial sand in the face of the team that normally bullies them.
No. 17 Iowa State (6-2, 6-1 Big 12) looked like a legit conference championship contender while outclassing K-State (4-4, 4-3 Big 12) in every way possible.
The Cyclones didn’t just win, they dominated. That showed most in the final yardage totals, where they held a 539-149 advantage over the Wildcats.
This game was a mismatch from the start. The Cyclones scored touchdowns on five of their first six drives and built a 35-0 halftime lead. It was far and away Chris Klieman’s worst half since he took over as K-State’s head coach last season, and it might have been the worst half of his entire career.
It was without a doubt his most lopsided defeat as a head coach, going all the way back to his time at Loras College in 2005.
The last time K-State lost a game by a bigger margin was 2015 when Oklahoma defeated the Wildcats 55-0.
Things got so ugly that Kansas State starting quarterback Will Howard was pulled in the second quarter after completing 3 of 9 passes for 32 yards and an interception. Nick Ast finished out the game, but failed to provide an offensive spark.
By comparison, Iowa State’s Brock Purdy and Breece Hall had all-star performances.
Purdy, a junior quarterback, completed 16 of 20 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Hall, a sophomore and former Wichita Northwest standout, once again flaunted his Heisman potential with 135 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
K-State will try to bounce back with a strong effort at Baylor on Nov. 28.
Until then, here a few key takeaways from this game:
Covid hurts Cats
When the week began, Klieman said the Wildcats were missing enough players because of COVID-19 testing and contact tracing that he wasn’t sure Farmageddon would be played as originally scheduled.
That turned out to be a bit of an exaggeration, as K-State was only missing three starters on Saturday. But the Wildcats clearly missed the players they left at home.
The offense was limited without Malik Knowles suiting up at receiver. And the defense struggled mightily without linebackers Justin Hughes and Elijah Sullivan on the field.
Still, those absences aren’t enough to explain this kind of defeat.
Iowa State was simply the better team, by a wide margin.
QB controversy?
Perhaps the most discouraging part of Saturday’s loss for K-State was that Howard was unable to gain valuable experience from the game.
Teams expect to take their lumps with a freshman quarterback commanding the offense, but at least those tough times come with a silver lining and hope that the young passer is building toward better days in the future.
That wasn’t the case for Howard against the Cyclones. He played so poorly that he didn’t play in the second half, which creates some uncertainty at quarterback moving forward. Will Howard remain the starter next week? Or will Klieman give Ast another look? Or will the Wildcats give someone else like Jaren Lewis an opportunity to show us what he’s got?
Howard seemed like the unquestioned starter when he guided K-State to victories over Texas Tech, TCU and Kansas while replacing the injured Skylar Thompson. There is some uncertainty now that the Wildcats have lost three straight games.
Red zone offense still struggling
Before this game got out of hand, the Wildcats had an early opportunity to put some pressure on the Cyclones.
After Iowa State scored on its opening drive, K-State responded by marching all the way to the Iowa State 3 … but the Wildcats turned the ball over on downs without scoring any points.
Reaching the red zone hasn’t been much of a problem for K-State this season. Finding the end zone has. Settling for field goals was a big reason why the Wildcats lost recent games against West Virginia and Oklahoma State. It once again was a factor here.
K-State squandered its best scoring opportunity when Howard couldn’t connect with Chabastin Taylor when the receiver was open in the end zone on a second-and-goal play. Howard followed that incomplete pass with a pair of QB keepers that went nowhere.
After the goal-line stand, Iowa State marched 97 yards for a touchdown that gave it a 14-0 lead. The rout was on. Maybe things would have been different had K-State tied things up at 7-7 in the first quarter.
What’s next?
K-State has lost three straight games since opening the season hot at 4-1, which probably knocks it out of the mix for a spot in the Big 12 championship game. But there is still plenty for the Wildcats to play for as it closes out this unusual year with games against Baylor and Texas.
One more victory would ensure at least a .500 record. Two more victories would likely be enough for a top half finish in the conference standings.
If bowl games take place over the holiday season, that could also help them earn an invitation to a quality postseason game.
K-State will need to play better than it has recently to beat either the Bears or the Longhorns, but motivation shouldn’t be a problem.
This story was originally published November 21, 2020 at 6:23 PM with the headline "What we learned from Kansas State football in its shutout loss to Iowa State."