Kansas State vs. Oklahoma State
The biggest shock was Kansas State‘s 29-21 loss to Oklahoma State on Friday night at Boone Pickens Stadium considering how close they were to winning the game.
The Wildcats nearly returned from an early deficit after making many mistakes and putting forth a lackluster attacking effort, but they lost for the third successive game in Stillwater.
The Wildcats forced Oklahoma State to settle for field goals after the break and got within one score on Will Howard’s 6-yard touchdown run with 8:56 left after giving up a touchdown after an interception for a 20-7 deficit at the break.
With an eight-point deficit after selecting to go for two points, the Wildcats’ wide receiver Keagan Johnson’s ball was incomplete.
Once again in possession of the ball, K-State advanced into Oklahoma State territory before Will Howard was intercepted by linebacker Nickolas Martin, ending the risk. This was Howard’s third pick-six of the game.
Kansas State vs. Oklahoma State
The Wildcats still had a chance, but they fumbled the ball on downs.
Ollie Gordon ran for 136 yards and a touchdown for Oklahoma State, and quarterback Alan Bowman completed 19 of 35 throws for 235 yards overall. The Cowboys’ offense as a whole was 412 yards.
Howard completed 15 of 34 passes for 152 yards and three interceptions for Kanas State, but he also raced 10 times for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Kansas State vs. Oklahoma State
Here are three lessons taken from an unsuccessful night for the Wildcats.
Kansas State’s first-drive failure is a concerning sign
In each of the first four games, Kansas State scored on its first possession, so it only made sense for the Wildcats to receive the ball when they won the coin toss.
The only difference was that the Wildcats missed to complete a third down this time, and Oklahoma State answered with a 15-play, 72-yard scoring drive that took 5 minutes, 24 seconds to finish.One more game, one more choice, and it gets worse
Will Howard has been excellent this season, but he has tended to be overly aggressive. He had an interception in each of the first four games due to this.
But he doubled that against Oklahoma State in the first half alone, twice getting hit by Cowboys safety Cameron Epps.
The Wildcats weren’t harmed by the first one, which came in the first quarter on a deep pass to Phillip Brooks, but the second one certainly did.
In the last second of the half, with the Wildcats down 13-7, Howard threw an out route to Brooks, who cut to the sideline but then moved downfield. OSU led 20-7 at halftime after Epps leaped the out route and went uncontested 35 yards to the end zone.
A fourth-quarter drive that the Wildcats might have used to tie the game ended by a third interception, but Nickolas Martin.
In the contest, Howard completed 15 of 34 passes for 152 yards.
Kansas State vs. Oklahoma State
Wildcats continue to struggle with explosive plays.
For the fourth game in a row, the opposition had at least one 30-yard run and one 30-plus-yard pass play. In order to make that happen, Oklahoma State needed one half.
Ollie Gordon gained 33 yards on the ground for the Cowboys in the first half, and Alan Bowman connected on passes of 45 yards to Jaden Bray and Rashod Owens. Gordon added a further 36 yards of rushing in the third quarter.
The fact that starting cornerback Jacob Parrish did not participate and did not travel to Stillwater did not help. With a minute left in the first half, the other cornerback, Will Lee, also suffered an injury.
Lee made eight tackles in the first half, one of his greatest trips. Justice James replaced his position, while Keenan Garber took Parrish’s place in the beginning.