Numerous Defensive Woes Contribute To Kansas State Shutout Victory
MANHATTAN, Kansas– The Cowboys broke a lot of records in tonight’s matchup against the Kansas State Wildcats, but not in the way that people had expected. This one was tough to watch in many different aspects on the Cowboy’s end of things. The Wildcats took advantage of several shortcomings from Oklahoma State and walked away with a 48-0 win.
Some of these shortcomings were especially evident in the Cowboy’s defense. K-State RB Deuce Vaughn was able to pick apart the Oklahoma State defensive line, finishing the day with 158 yards rushing and a touchdown. There were several missed tackles, frequent holes in the D-line and busted coverage in the secondary that allowed the Wildcats to have multiple breakout plays.
“They just made plays and we didn’t,” said Taylor. “That’s the big part. We didn’t make the plays that we could have or should have. We had a couple of missed things, but that’s alright. Just gotta keep moving forward.”
The first big play happened just a few minutes into the game, as backup K-State QB Will Howard threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to a pretty open receiver in Kade Warner. This was a result of a misread by the Oklahoma State secondary.
The next came from Vaughn, who broke through the defensive line for a 62-yard rushing score only three minutes after the previous scoring play. This was only the start of OSU’s woes on defense, as they allowed 495 total offensive yards on the day.
“Sometimes, the best teams are the ones that get beat,” Safety Jason Taylor II said. “But you’re able to bounce back, fight back and show that you have no quit. So, that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to do whatever we can to brush this off and keep moving forward.”
The following two scoring drives resulted in a 31-yard touchdown pass to WR Phillip Brooks, then another 41-yard touchdown pass to Warner. Kansas State utilized big, explosive plays to keep the momentum on their side, and Oklahoma State just couldn’t get much going to answer back with.
Records broken:
- OSU was shut out in a game for the first time since Nov. 28, 2009.
- Tonight’s loss marks the worst loss under Mike Gundy since 2005.
- OSU is now the first AP Top 10 team with a 40+ point shutout loss since Oct. 26, 1968.
- WR Brennan Presley has recorded at least one reception in 22 of the last 23 games
Eight of the Wildcats’ 13 drives resulted in a scoring play. While there were a lot of weaknesses on display through the Cowboy’s performance today, the lack of momentum can be attributed to the heavy struggles on offense and the lack of play-making ability and awareness on defense.
“We’re going to go watch it on film, see what we did wrong, work from there and be ready next week,” said Cowboy WR Bryson Green, who had an amazing one-handed catch at the beginning of the matchup.
This is a game that will be used by the Cowboys as a learning tool. After sitting in the reality of the loss for a little while, they’ll have to get right back up on their feet and prepare for another matchup in Kansas against the 5-3 Jayhawks this coming weekend. And even though this game resulted in a loss, the Cowboys are still the same team they have been all season long, and will look to remind everyone of that in their next matchup.