Five things we learned from another Kansas State Wildcats victory in Sunflower Showdown
The Kansas State Wildcats secured bowl eligibility and retained the Governor’s Cup by defeating the Kansas Jayhawks 35-10 in yet another purple dominated Sunflower Showdown.
K-State (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) has now won 13 straight games against KU (1-8, 0-6) to make this one of the dullest in-state rivalries in college football.
Here are some thoughts on what the Wildcats did well, and could have done better, before they turn their attention to next week’s home game against West Virginia:
Career day for Deuce Vaughn
The sophomore running back had his finest day in a K-State uniform by rushing for a career high 162 yards and three touchdowns.
And he did it on just 11 carries.
Vaughn was the equivalent of a one man wrecking crew against the Jayhawks. Many expected him to have a good game in this one, because KU entered the day with the Big 12’s worst run defense and allowed nearly six yards per rush. But Vaughn exceeded even some optimistic projections by breaking loose for an 80-yard touchdown run at the start of the third quarter and continually making big plays for his team.
He was also involved in the passing game, as he caught six passes for 70 yards. K-State quarterback Skylar Thompson barely overthrew him on a wheel route in the end zone in the third quarter, otherwise he would have scored again.
K-State is undefeated when Vaughn rushes for 100 or more yards this season. It’s easy to see why. The Wildcats were practically unbeatable moving the chains behind him on Saturday. He finished with 232 all-purpose yards.
That might be good enough for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week.
His previous best rushing day came against Nevada when he ran for 127 yards.
“He just is so special making plays,” K-State coach Chris Klieman said, “and he made a couple of really good plays on third down in the pass game where we’re trying to get him the football. He made a couple of guys miss and his long run to start the second half was huge.”
Daniel Green had some monster tackles
A pair of early tackles from K-State linebacker Daniel Green helped set the tone for this game.
Green sprinted into the KU backfield on a pair of key plays and delivered bone-crushing hits that made an impact.
The first came on a third-and-3 near midfield on the opening drive of the day. KU running back Devin Neal tried to get up field for a first down, but Green drilled him for a loss of two yards. That led to a punt, which allowed K-State to pull ahead 7-0 on the ensuing drive.
Then, later in the first quarter, Green hit KU quarterback Jason Bean for a loss as he was trying to pick up a first down on third-and-one. Not only did that force the Jayhawks to attempt a field goal, the tackle knocked Bean out of the game with an injury to his right arm.
The Jayhawks were forced to switch to Miles Kendrick and then Jalon Daniels to finish out the game.
Green finished with a team-high eight tackles.
Strong game all around on offense
The Wildcats did most of their damage on the ground against the Jayhawks, but Thompson was also sharp as a passer.
He completed 19 of 24 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown. A boat load of K-State receivers were involved. Thompson connected with 12 different receivers before sitting out the end of the fourth quarter when backup Will Howard came on in relief.
Thompson’s finest play of the day came on a 68-yard touchdown throw to Malik Knowles. K-State blockers gave Thompson all kinds of time to find an open man down field and he took advantage by finding the team’s No. 1 receiver with a deep ball.
With both the passing game and rushing game working, K-State only punted twice all day and averaged nearly nine yards per play.
“It’s big time just because that is what we talked about doing throughout the week,” Vaughn said. “When our passing game is on point we can use all our playmakers on the field. We like it when we can run this guy, we can post this guy and we know anybody can go make a big play.”
K-State easily could have won by more
The Wildcats could have, and probably should have, won this game an even larger margin than they did.
Klieman strangely opted to punt rather than go for it on fourth-and-two from midfield in the second quarter when K-State was moving the ball at will. K-State also got cute in the red zone in the third quarter and tried to get the ball to some unsung players rather than simply punch the ball in with a handoff to Vaughn.
The Jayhawks held the Wildcats out of the end zone and then Chris Tennant missed a field goal.
K-State also took its foot off the gas in the fourth quarter when it was leading 35-10.
Forty points were easily within reach. K-State couldn’t quite get there.
Time to find out what K-State is really made of
K-State fans are no doubt feeling good about the state of Wildcats football now that Chris Klieman’s team has improved to 6-3 after winning its last three games.
A bowl trip is on the way and the Governor’s Cup is secure. Those are good things.
But it’s important to remember which teams those victories came against. Texas Tech and TCU fired their coaches immediately after losing to K-State. Leipold will avoid the same fate in his first year with the Jayhawks, but KU was no match for the Wildcats.
In other words, most Big 12 teams would also go 3-0 against those teams.
Much less will be certain in K-State’s final three games.
The schedule is about to get tougher. The Wildcats close out the season with home games against West Virginia and Baylor, followed by a road trip to Texas.
K-State hasn’t beaten the Mountaineers since 2015. Baylor entered the week ranked 14th nationally. Texas has has beaten K-State four straight times.
We will learn more about the Wildcats during their closing stretch. If they can win two or more of those games, they will be in line for an attractive bowl game and have an opportunity to exceed the eight victories Klieman posted during his first season.
But a few losses will likely leave fans wanting more.
How good of a season is this going to be for K-State? We’re about to find out.
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Five things we learned from another Kansas State Wildcats victory in Sunflower Showdown."