Grades from Kansas State’s snowy loss to Iowa State and a look ahead to bowl season
Bitterly cold weather descended upon Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday night as Iowa State pulled off a 42-35 upset victory against Kansas State on a slippery field covered with several inches of snow.
The mood was even colder inside the K-State locker room after the game was over.
“That locker room is really down,” K-State football coach Chris Klieman said, “especially all those seniors that have put so much time and effort into this. We so wanted to go undefeated at home. That hadn’t happened for a long time. That might have been something that they were putting pressure on themselves a little bit probably defensively. But Iowa State is a good team and they made some plays in the second half, and we didn’t on defense.”
This was a downer ending for the Wildcats.
A win would have given them a perfect record at home for the first time since 2012, a tie for second-place in the Big 12 standings with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, a guaranteed invitation to one of the conference’s best bowl games and an opportunity to win 10 games for the second consecutive season.
This loss ruined all of that.
Losing to a rival on senior day is also never fun.
“We knew we had a good game plan,” K-State tight end Ben Sinnott said. “We knew that we could really do good things against them. Just how everything worked out with a couple of miscues was really frustrating. Not being able to win for all the guys who are leaving was just really frustrating.”
K-State (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) will now wait to learn its bowl destination on Dec. 3 after all of the conference championship games are played and the College Football Playoff field is selected. Iowa State (7-5, 6-3 Big 12) is in the same boat.
Now, it’s time to analyze the Iowa State game...
Play of the game
Let’s go with the very first play of the game.
Iowa State running back Abu Sama took a handoff and zoomed straight ahead through the K-State defense for a 71-yard touchdown run. The Wildcats had opportunities to stop him short of the end zone but missed a tackle every time they got near him. That play set the tone for Iowa State on a day when the Cyclones scored six touchdowns on explosive plays.
Player of the game
This honor has to go to Sama. He looked like the second-coming of Troy Davis while running for 276 yards and three touchdowns.
From a K-State perspective, Ben Sinnott was the best player on the field. He finished with 10 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown. Will Howard targeted him 13 times, and that number would have been higher, but Sinnott battled cramps late in the game.
Stat of the game & quote to note
Iowa State scored more points (42) than it ran plays (35). Averaging 1.2 points per play is a stat you don’t see everyday.
As for the quote...
“I think you should always be happy to make a bowl and be able to get another shot with your teammates, because a lot of teams in the country are done,” said tight end Ben Sinnott. “TCU made the national championship last year and then they come back and don’t make a bowl. It’s super tough. I’m not trying to call them out, but it’s super tough to make a bowl and super tough to win games, especially in this league. There’s still a lot to play for with the bowl game.”
K-State football grades
Offense: B+. It’s hard to be critical of the K-State offense. Will Howard (288 yards and a touchdown passing), DJ Giddens (114 yards and a touchdown rushing) and Ben Sinnott (136 yards and a touchdown receiving) all did their part while leading the Wildcats to 35 points and 497 yards. But they did leave some points out there. Howard threw an interception and only completed half of his passes. K-State ran a school record 102 plays but only averaged 4.9 yards per snap. The offense played well, but this was not a flawless effort.
Defense: F. The Cyclones averaged 13.9 yards per play and scored all six of their touchdowns on explosive gains. It’s rare you see a team log scoring plays of 33, 60, 71, 77, 79 and 82 yards. K-State defenders simply couldn’t bring Iowa State’s playmakers to the ground. Klieman understandably said it was the worst tackling he had seen during his five years in Manhattan.
Special Teams: A. Chris Tennant kicked a pair of field goals and made all of his PAT attempts. Those points were not to be taken for granted in a blizzard. Seth Porter also scooped up a fumble on a punt.
Coaching: C. K-State lost three games as a favorite this season. The first two were understandable, as both Missouri and Oklahoma State turned out to be much better than most expected. Those games were also on the road. But this one was a head-scratcher. The Wildcats weren’t ready to make tackles on a snowy field, and that negated a fine performance from the offense. This season would have played out much differently had some of those games swung the other way.
Next up: Bowl game
Two bowl games stand out as strong possibilities for the Wildcats.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando and the Texas Bowl in Houston should both be very interested in K-State.
Losing to Iowa State on Saturday, and finishing in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings, will make it hard for the Wildcats to earn an invitation to the Alamo Bowl. But the next two postseason games in the Big 12 bowl order still make logical sense.
A representative with the Pop-Tarts Bowl was in attendance for Saturday’s game and he was interested enough in the Wildcats to remain at the stadium well after the action was over for Klieman’s news conference.
K-State has never played in a bowl game in Florida. Other contenders for the Pop-Tarts Bowl like Iowa State and Oklahoma State have both been there in the past few years. The timing may be right for the Wildcats to finally play a postseason game in the Sunshine State.
If that doesn’t work out, the Texas Bowl would be the next option. The Liberty Bowl would choose next, but it seems most interested in Iowa State and requested three media credentials for Saturday’s game. Unfortunately, none of their representatives made it to the game because of weather.
K-State would also prefer to head elsewhere after two recent visits to Memphis. If K-State gets passed over for both the Pop-Tarts Bowl and the Texas Bowl, then the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix could become an option.
The Big 12 championship game between Oklahoma State and Texas could also affect bowl selections. If the Longhorns win and make the College Football Playoff then two Big 12 teams will qualify for major bowls. That scenario would almost certainly end with K-State playing in the Pop-Tarts Bowl against an ACC team on Dec. 28.
This story was originally published November 26, 2023 at 10:42 AM with the headline "Grades from Kansas State’s snowy loss to Iowa State and a look ahead to bowl season."