Three things we learned from Kansas State’s win over SIU after Skylar Thompson injury
A day that began with excitement and optimism ended on a more somber note for the Kansas State football team.
Even though the Wildcats escaped Bill Snyder Family Stadium with a 31-23 victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday, they lost their starting quarterback for an unknown period of time in the process.
Until we know more about the health status of starting quarterback Skylar Thompson and his injured right knee, K-State fans are going to be nervous when they think about the rest of the season. For now, he’s out indefinitely.
Still, the Wildcats gave their supporters something to celebrate when they gutted out this game behind a strong defensive performance and three rushing touchdowns from star running back Deuce Vaughn. They improved to 2-0 before Nevada comes to town next week.
Here are some key takeaways from the game.
Different offense without Thompson
The Wildcats looked like a shell of themselves on offense when Skylar Thompson exited the game early with an injury to his right knee and Will Howard took over control of the huddle.
With Thompson in the game, K-State looked to throw the ball down field and did so successfully when the senior quarterback connected with Malik Knowles for gains of 43 and 50 yards.
K-State also took an early 21-3 lead in this game.
But the Wildcats shifted almost exclusively to its running game after Howard entered. He turned the ball over twice in the first half (on a pick-six interception and a fumble) and was nearly intercepted on two other pass attempts. Not wanting to risk any more big mistakes, K-State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham kept the ball on the ground after halftime.
On one drive, the Wildcats drove 66 yards on 14 plays for a field goal to take a 24-23 lead ... and they only let Howard throw the ball once. They even asked him to try and convert a third-and-13 by running the option. It didn’t work.
K-State also started a drive at the SIU 9 midway through the fourth quarter and was unable to score. Howard badly misfired on a pass to Deuce Vaughn on third down, and Taiten Winkel missed a field goal on the next play. It was that kind of day.
But the Wildcats did enough things right on offense behind Vaughn to eventually win. The sophomore running back had 120 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries.
K-State head coach Chris Klieman called Howard “the best backup quarterback in the country” last week. But Howard looked nothing like that in this game.
Howard completed 8 of 17 passes for 76 yards and an interception. He also ran for 9 yards on eight carries.
It’s possible K-State could re-evaluate the position moving forward and give other quarterbacks such as Jaren Lewis and Jake Rubley an opportunity in future games, if Thompson is unable to play. But Howard remains the team’s best option, simply based on his experience. Remember, he started seven games last season and led K-State to victory in two of them.
But he will need to perform better if the Wildcats want to open up their offense the same way they do with Thompson.
Big plays on defense
The Wildcats once again looked good on defense, as they held Southern Illinois to 276 yards and essentially won the game all by themselves with the offense sputtering and turning it over.
Three plays stood out.
In the first quarter, Ryan Henington dove for an errant pass and successfully tipped it up and into the hands of K-State defensive tackle Jaylen Pickle for an interception. Thompson threw an interception of his own on the next play, so it didn’t end up meaning much in the grand scheme of things. But it was still one heck of a play.
In the fourth quarter, Felix Anudike forced SIU quarterback Nic Baker to fumble in the backfield, and Daniel Green scooped up the loose ball for a key recovery.
Then Anudike struck again when he hit Baker in the backfield for another fumble that was recovered by Timmy Horne.
Anudike deserves a game ball after this one.
Weird vibes
If we’re being honest, it was hard to focus on the game after Thompson left.
Klieman was in tears. K-State players gathered near the team’s injury tent for any kind of update. The crowd grew quiet.
That made for an odd game setting and might explain why the Wildcats had so much trouble beating an opponent they paid $450,000 to play here.
The Wildcats will need to put together a more cohesive offensive plan, or get Thompson back, if they hope to continue their winning streak next week against Nevada. But that might be a simpler task than it was against Southern Illinois with so many distracted coaches and players.
This story was originally published September 11, 2021 at 9:46 PM with the headline "Three things we learned from Kansas State’s win over SIU after Skylar Thompson injury."