Senior Safety Parker Robertson Leads the Way for Newly Energized Defense
Kansas State beat Oklahoma State 14-6 on Saturday afternoon at Boone Pickens Stadium. The loss extended the Cowboys conference losing streak to 16 games.
Oklahoma State played a much better game defensively, led by senior safety Parker Robertson.
“He has such great instincts on the ball,” interim coach Doug Meacham said. “It’s hard to find a bad thing to say about him. He’s a great kid.”
OSU’s defense entered the game ranked no. 128 in the nation, giving up just under 444 yards and just under 40 points per game.
“Our kids have had to battle through a lot and this has not been an easy situation for them,” interim defensive coordinator Clint Bowen said. “We have a group of kids who continue to fight and battle, and I think they are starting to see themselves improve.”
Kansas State gained 10 yards in the first quarter.
“I will always appreciate our team’s fight,” Meacham said. “Kansas State has arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the league. You won’t find many teams with as much fight as we have.”
Saturday was the first time since the game against Tulsa last season a Cowboy opponent did not score in the first quarter.
“It was definitely helpful having the bye week,” Robertson said. “We had two weeks to prepare and we had a really good scheme in place."
Robertson finished with eight total tackles, his third most this season, and a sack.
“You grow up dreaming about being in all the different stats columns,” Robertson said. “Today was just a really fun day for me, and one of the best games that I’ve had.”
Kansas State’s opening possession of the second half ended with Robertson’s second interception of the season.
“We were in man-to-man coverage, and the ball was a little behind him,” Robertson said. “I was able to get in and undercut and get my hands to it.”
The Cowboy offense could not capitalize on Robertson and the defense’s performance. The offense had five turnovers and did not score a touchdown. All four second half possessions ended with turnovers inside the Kansas State 25-yard line.
“Unfortunately, when you have turnovers like that you probably can’t even beat Stillwater high school,” Meacham said. “It just came down to four of five plays or it could have been a different result.”
Robertson leads a Cowboy team which now has two chances to end the losing streak.
“Parker does everything that you ask him to do,” Bowen said. “He’s a great kid, he’s a coachable kid, and he’s everything you want to be a part of as a coach.”
