K-State Football: Three takeaways from the Cactus Bowl
K-State football wrapped up the 2017 season with an easier than expected victory against the Bruins of UCLA. It caps an up and down season where the Wildcats finished 8-5 overall and experienced some major highs and lows.
Bowl games, no matter the outcome, are always bittersweet. Once it’s over, your season as a fan is over. As K-State fans know all too well however, there’s a big difference between winning and losing that last game. Head Coach Bill Snyder improved his bowl record to 9-10.
The offseason should provide plenty of storylines from the quarterback battle (more on this later) to the status of the 78 year old head coach. There are five seniors on the defensive two-deep that will need to replaced, however most of the offense returns.
Let’s break down the game one last time with some thoughts. Some good, some bad.
Alex Delton
The Hays, America product showed up in a big way. Skylar Thompson, who started the game, had ended the season earning some ridiculous praise, including from yours truly, however, that didn’t appear to bother Delton.
The two young QBs were splitting reps and both were expected to appear in the bowl game. However, after two ineffective drives by Skylar Thompson, Delton took over and never looked back.
Delton didn’t stop there, as he picked up 158 yards rushing on 20 carries with three touchdowns. He only went 7 for 10 for 52 yards passing, but still added a touchdown and ended up with a 97.2 QBR on ESPN’s quarterback statistic.
The entire running game deserves a quick shoutout as Alex Barnes had 12 carries for 117 yards and Isaiah Zuber had 37 yards on one carry. That play was impressive, as it looked like Zuber would go out of bounds, but instead he cut across the field for a huge gain.
Alex Delton single-handily threw the offseason into chaos, and congratulations are due to him for that. Both quarterbacks should get much better this season from the competition and that’s good for K-State. Delton took home much-deserved offensive player of the game awards and should be a viable alternative to start next year.