K-State Football: Report Card VS Stanford Cardinal

Defense

If I had stopped watching the game after the first quarter, the K-State defense would have gotten somewhere in the “D” range from me. They were not looking good, as Stanford was pouring on the yards early on and Kansas State couldn’t get off the field on third downs to save their lives.

If the K-State defense can continue to play this well, then this could be a fun season.

Stanford quarterback Ryan Burns didn’t have an incomplete pass until the third quarter. The third quarter! Granted, he was swapping time with the other Cardinal quarterback, but still.

In the second half, however, the Wildcat defense did not allow Stanford to put anymore points on the board until near the end when Christian McCaffrey had that big run to put the game away. Had their offense come through for them, Kansas State would have had a strong shot to win this game. So it goes.

I was most impressed by how well the defense was able to “shut down” Heisman hopeful Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey ended the night with 126 yards rushing and 40 receiving yards and had two rushing scores. Despite those stats not looking great for KSU, McCaffrey looked visibly frustrated at times with how well the K-State guys were able to stop him.

If the K-State defense can continue to play this well, then this could be a fun season. That’s assuming the offense gets it together, of course.

Next: Were they special?