K-State of the Union: Football Where We’ve Been Part 2
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The K-State of the Union: Football Where We’ve Been Part 1 post looked back at the first 9 games of the season and finished with a recap of the Texas game. Continue reading to revisit the last games of the season and see what it means for the overall state of Kansas State Wildcat Football.
Things looked fine after the Texas game. Bowl eligibility with three to play re-kindled the hope of Wildcat nation with 2 of those next 3 winnable and an outside chance of winning out to finish the regular season 9-3. Four Kansas State turnovers mixed with a little purple plague was more than needed to bring a 38-28 loss at Missouri. Mizzou rattled off 17 straight points off of turnovers and racked up 187 yards on the ground to push it winning streak against Kansas State to 5 in a row.
Despite the loss to Mizzou, fans were still thinking 8-4 as they traveled to Boulder to face a team that had just fired its head coach a couple of weeks prior. The purple plague instead decided to give Colorado a great Big 12 parting gift which included 251 yards rushing, a 44-36 final score, and interim coach Brian Cabral’s second win.
The final regular season game was no longer a lock and what had been high hopes just three weeks prior had returned to earth with a loud thump. The purple plague pulled out all the stops in an effort to bring a .500 final record but Daniel Thomas and on again, off again, on again, off third down, on again Collin Klein wouldn’t have any of that. Thomas went berserk rushing for 269 yards which was only clouded by North Texas’ Lance Dunbar edging him by one yard, totaling 270 yards rushing. Despite the best anti-win defense Chris Cosh could dream up, Kansas State pulled it out 49-41 and finished with a 7-5 record.
Fast forward one month to the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl which reunited the Wildcats and Syracuse for the third time in postseason play. The game ended up being a back and forth battle of big plays. Kansas State’s offense did all it could but eventually lost to the Cosh lead purple plague. In typical fashion, the defense made average players seem like super stars handing out career bests like late Christmas presents. Despite that, there was still a chance late in the game. A touchdown strike to Adrian Hilburn, aided by Syracuse’s own defensive inabilities, pulled the game within two points and things were looking possible until an absurd personal foul/unsportsmanlike conduct flag was thrown. The ball was placed on the 18 yard line for the two point conversion try and in an all too fitting end; Carson Coffman overthrew what appeared to be an open receiver.
Now that the season has been completed, its time to evaluate all that took place. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of where we’ve been this season:
The Good
Overall Record. Last season the Wildcats finished 6-6, the two before that were both 5-7. While a one game improvement in the win-loss column doesn’t always mean an incredible amount, returning to a bowl game brings lots of benefits. Not only does the team get a jump start on practicing for next year, but Kansas State ended up getting more exposure than normally comes from a bowl appearance. The Pinstripe Bowl ending has gotten play on every major network as well as time on almost every blog and news site. While a win would have been nicer, the Cat’s were competitive and had a great showing in a part of the country that doesn’t typically see or hear much about the middle of the country.
Player growth. No one can deny the steady amount of improvement and development seen in players who could be the foundation for the next few years. Freshman Ty Zimmerman is number one on that list. His play earned him team defensive co-mvp honors as well as plenty of attention from others selecting all freshman teams. Junior JuCo transfer David Garrett is also on this list. He led the team in tackles, made some great defensive plays, and earned team defensive co-mvp honors. Even Collin Klein showed a bit of what he is capable of as a running quarterback.
The Bad
Inability to Adjust. Just how annoying was it to watch the defense give up hundreds of rushing yards per game? It almost drove me insane over the course of the season. The worst part was that there was never any doubt about what each team planned to do. Any pop warner football coach would have been able to see the problem and make the necessary adjustments, so what happened to our coaches?
The Ugly
Defense. Even thinking about the defense this season makes me sick. That entire side of the ball was a failure. Everyone saw it and the last thing I want to do it break my laptop thinking about it more.
Defensive Rankings. The defense gave up 29 points per game (ranked 78 of 120 teams), 231 yards rushing per game (119/120), 214 yards passing per game (52/120), and #106 of 120 in total defense. Totals like that usually make some heads roll. If this was the NFL, we would see some players cut and coaches fired. Let’s see what happens to the coaching staff in the coming weeks.
Be watching for the next K-State of the Union post which will examine where the football program is headed and how to get there.