Five things we learned from Kansas State’s discouraging home loss to Iowa State
The Kansas State football team was no match for Iowa State during a 33-20 loss on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The Wildcats (3-3, 0-3 Big 12) dropped their third straight game and remain at the bottom of the conference standings, despite a strong start to the season. The Cyclones (4-2, 2-1) won their second straight game as they work to make a case for inclusion in the top 25.
Here are a few things we learned from the game:
Iowa State has pulled ahead in this rivalry
For the first time in two decades, it feels like the Cyclones have bragging rights over the Wildcats.
Yes, this was Matt Campbell’s third victory over K-State since he took over as coach in Ames. But this was the first time he took Iowa State on the road and found a way to win against a team that traditionally tortures the Cyclones in Manhattan.
Iowa State dominated in all phases and won its first road game in this series since 2004.
Combine that with a 45-0 victory at Iowa State last season, and there is frighteningly little for K-State fans to hold over their Iowa State counterparts today.
Iowa State’s Breece Hall set the tone with a 75-yard touchdown run on the opening play. He finished with 197 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Cyclones flexed their muscles most in the third quarter when they pulled off an 18-play drive that covered 93 yards and lasted more than 10 minutes. They went a perfect five for five on third-down conversions and capped the drive with a touchdown pass from Brock Purdy to Sean Shaw that gave them a 27-7 lead.
That is the exact kind of drive that K-State head coach Chris Klieman yearns for, but it was Campbell’s team that produced it. Watching a drive like that had to be painful for K-State fans.
Another quarterback shines against Kansas State
The Wildcats have developed a bad habit of making opposing quarterbacks look like future NFL draft picks.
It was Brock Purdy’s turn.
Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns against them, Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler completed 22 of 25 passes against them and Iowa State’s Purdy followed suit.
Purdy, a senior, played a near perfect game by completing 22 of 25 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown.
Purdy has been mistake prone for the Cyclones this season. Turnovers and misfires cost them dearly in their two losses against Iowa and Baylor. But he didn’t have any problems carving up K-State’s secondary.
K-State tried to rattle Purdy with blitzes, but he was able to evade that pressure and find his receivers.
The Wildcats have allowed Big 12 quarterbacks to complete 78.5% of their passes in the past three games.
Sloppy return from bye week
The Wildcats didn’t look sharp after spending the past two weeks honing their craft in practice.
Phillip Brooks dropped a pass that would have given K-State a first down in the third quarter. The Wildcats were penalized for having 12 men on the field while on defense a few players later, and the Cyclones took advantage by converting a third down following the flag. Even when things went right for K-State, such as a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Skylar Thompson to Malik Knowles, it wasn’t pretty.
Iowa State had a defender in perfect position to intercept the pass, but it bounced off his hands and fell into the arms of Knowles.
Thompson also threw an interception in the first quarter.
K-State made far too many mistakes to compete in this game.
Nothing from special teams
K-State seemed to have a big advantage over Iowa State on special teams, but the Wildcats didn’t dominate in that area.
In fact, the Wildcats were outplayed.
K-State kicker Taiten Winkel missed a field goal and an extra point. Malik Knowles and Phillip Brooks were unable to get much going in the return game.
With Iowa State gaining more than 400 yards and not committing a single turnover, K-State needed a big play on special teams to keep pace. But none ever came.
One positive for K-State
If you’re looking for a positive out of K-State’s most recent performance, look no further than its receivers.
Brooks and Knowles each caught a touchdown pass, and Tyrone Howell looked ready to contribute at a higher level by catching a pair of passes for 27 yards.
Thompson appears to have found a few receivers he trusts and got the ball to them for the second straight game.
This story was originally published October 16, 2021 at 10:11 PM with the headline "Five things we learned from Kansas State’s discouraging home loss to Iowa State."