Kansas State Wildcats miss opportunities in loss
By Chris Taylor
The Kansas State Wildcats missed multiple opportunities against West Virginia, falling short in a game that they should have won.
The Kansas State Wildcats have historically been a team that plays smart football during the Bill Snyder era. They take advantage of easy scoring chances, they protect the football, they are disciplined.
The present Wildcat team is having a hard time with tradition. The young group has struggled with all of the above this season. Injuries haven’t helped the Wildcats either, still, even with a third string Freshman starting late in the season, Kansas State has been competitive. That’s one thing every Snyder team has, competitiveness.
Thompson struggles
Skylar Thompson was the hero of the day last week, leading the Wildcats to a come-from-behind victory against Texas Tech. In his first collegiate start, things didn’t go so well.
Thompson finished the game 13/26 for 159 yards and 2 interceptions. For numbers people, that’s a 12.9 QBR. He rushed for over 50 yards but the West Virginia defense kept him out of the end zone both through the air and on the ground.
Both of Skylar Thompson’s interceptions came at bad times and served costly for Kansas State. His first was right before halftime in their own territory, Will Grier threw a deep pass to the end zone as time expired to take a 28-20 lead into the second half. His second came late in the game deep in West Virginia territory.
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Missed Chances
West Virginia turned the ball over four times in the first half. The Wildcats got three points off of those turnovers. Kansas State turned the ball over twice and the Mountaineers scored seven points off of those. The difference in the game.
On the Mountaineers first possession they fumbled the ball, D.J. Reed recovered giving the Wildcats great field position on West Virginia’s side of the 50. The Wildcats couldn’t get any yardage and punt the ball. A couple drives later, D.J. Reed intercepted Griers’ pass, returning the ball to the three yard line. The Wildcats settled for a field goal.
The Wildcats gained two more turnovers, turning them into a combined four yards. Matthew McCrane missed a 32 yard field goal which would have made it a two point game at the end. well, maybe he missed it, coach Snyder sure thought it was good.
Going Forward
Dalvin Warmack ran the ball 14 times, after seeing no action in the previous six weeks. he managed 96 yards, most of which came in the first half. Winston Dimel ran the ball twice, scoring both times. Dimel also caught a pass for 33 yards.
It has been a running back carousel for the Kansas State Wildcats this season. Justin Silmon ran the ball five times for 15 yards. Alex Barnes only received three carries.
Thompson had a bad game, but he definitely looks like he has the potential to lead this team in the possible future. West Virginia did well making him uncomfortable, his decision making was one step slower than the West Virginia defense all game.
Defensively the Wildcats came to play the second half, possibly setting up a blueprint on how to slow Grier and the offense down for future Mountaineer opponents. Grier struggled when the Wildcats brought pressure. Reed had a game for the ages, coming away with a fumble, interception, and some big plays on special teams.
Next: Top 15 rushers All-Time at KSU
The road to the postseason gets even harder going forward. The Wildcats head to Stillwater to face the Cowboys, who came from behind to beat the Iowa State Cyclones. The Cyclones come to Manhattan to end the season. This one hurts, but the Wildcats get to play spoiler from here on out, and they are very capable of doing so.