In the press conference following the 42-30 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, head coach Bill Snyder was quick to dismiss any notion of a moral victory.
“They ought to be upset and disappointed that they lost a ball game against no matter who it is,” Snyder said about the team’s postgame attitude. “That was a great football team down here at Oklahoma, but you ought to be disappointed you lost because that is what the competitive nature is all about.”
That being said, it was evident the coach was pleased with the Wildcats resiliency, especially after struggling on both offense and defense during the first quarter, which provided the Sooners a 21-0 lead. However, an early deficit was almost impossible to avoid, as the Sooner defense has not allowed any first quarter points all season.
Overall, I thought the Wildcats played well. The Wildcats were going to have to play a near-perfect game to beat the Sooners at home. After all, it hasn’t happened since 2005. And yes, it is too bad they started so slow. With about 11 minutes left in the first quarter, the Sooners were up 14-0 and the Wildcats hadn’t gotten a first down. If you take away even one of those three early touchdowns, the Wildcats would have been right there at the end of the game.
The first quarter was bad, but as the second quarter played out, the Wildcats started to gain some momentum. By the third quarter, the Wildcats looked like the an equally-talented team. However, the Sooners pulled away in the fourth after quarterback Landry Jones led multiple drives past the worn out K-State defense.
The most telling statistic in this game was in the turnover column. Up until the fourth quarter, when quarterback Grant Gregory was forced to throw on every play to try and score quickly, there had been zero turnovers by either team. Part of K-State’s success against Texas A&M and Colorado was a high turnover margin. The Aggies and Buffaloes coughed up the ball multiple times, which led to good field position for the Wildcats.
In the Oklahoma game, the Wildcats never had that. Aside from the kick return for a touchdown by Brandon Banks, the team started on its own side of the field on every drive. That makes it extremely tough to score, especially for a team that has struggled on offense most of the year.
Another impressive statistic in this game was K-State’s success in the running game. Coming in, the Sooners had allowed just one rushing touchdown all season. The Wildcats scored three, with two of those run in by Keithen Valentine, who shared snaps with a banged-up Daniel Thomas all night long. The Wildcats’ success in this area allows them to control the clock and wear out opposing defenses. If K-State can duplicate its success on the ground next week against Kansas, they will wear out the outmatched Jayhawk defense and dominate the game at the line of scrimmage.
Snyder seems to think moral victories don’t help the team in the long run, but it is hard to ignore the positives of playing such a good team down to the wire. After the game, Banks was able to find several sources of optimism for the K-State offense.
“I think we have a little more confidence on the offensive side of the ball and just knowing that we can put points on the board,” Banks said. “30 points tonight, we’re pretty excited about that.”
Be the first to comment on this article!