MANHATTAN, Kan. — In a game filled with as many twists and turns as this week's presidential election, it is only fitting that a coaching decision from Chris Klieman will be remembered as the most controversial part of Oklahoma State's 20-18 victory over Kansas State on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The decision: Going for two with a 12-0 lead late in the first half.
Why it was controversial: The Wildcats failed the conversion attempt, forcing them to go for two again later in the game in hopes of forcing overtime. They also came up short on that attempt. Passing on a pair of extra points proved to be the difference in the final score. Oh what could have been.
To be fair, there were many other reasons why K-State suffered a heart-breaker against Oklahoma State. Will Howard lost a pair of costly turnovers, including a fumble that resulted in an 85-yard touchdown return for Oklahoma State safety Jason Taylor. The offense settled for a pair of early field goals in the red zone. And the Cowboys dominated the second half thanks to some excellent coaching adjustments by Mike Gundy.
But Klieman's decision to go for two was magnified because many deemed it unnecessary. Why chase points in the second quarter, especially when your team is leading 12-0?
"You are always trying to get to those 14 points rather than chasing it later on," Klieman said.
Two-point conversions have become a hot topic in football thanks to the advancement of analytics. In the past, going for two was often a last-ditch decision from coaches employed only when their teams were trailing by an usual margin like eight or 16. More and more, though, experts are suggesting coaches should go for two when their team trails or leads by seven.
You may remember that K-State initially lined up as if it intended to go for two when trailing 35-34 in the fourth quarter of a game against Oklahoma earlier this season. A communication error led the Wildcats to take a delay penalty and kick an extra point before they got the ball back and ultimately won, 38-35. But Klieman said he wanted to go for two and put pressure on the Sooners right then and there.
Some of that thinking was once again at work in Klieman's brain when he chose to keep his offense on the field after Will Howard found Phillip Brooks in the back of the end zone with 37 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The Wildcats had to settle for field goals on their first two trips to the red zone on Saturday, and there was no telling when they might get another scoring opportunity. So he took an aggressive approach and tried to cash in.
To his credit, he expressed no regret in his decision.
"Let's be honest," Klieman said. "We had a great play called and we didn't execute it. It was open and we just didn't execute it, otherwise it is 14-0."
Indeed, the Wildcats came oh so close to converting that two-point conversion. Brooks ran an excellent route to the front left corner of the end zone and Howard threw a pass that hit him in the hands. But they couldn't connect.
"I'm on board," K-State center Noah Johnson said. "Let's go. Let's make it a full 14-point lead. I will never, ever, ever second guess a decision that Coach Klieman makes or Coach (Courtney) Messingham makes. They want to be aggressive, and we want to be aggressive. It's all about taking advantage of opportunities when you get them, and we didn't finish."
That failure meant K-State led 12-0 at halftime instead of 13-0 or 14-0.
Perhaps that wouldn't have been important had the Wildcats responded with a strong third quarter. Alas, Oklahoma State pulled ahead 13-12 and then 20-12.
Going for two in the first half, while a reasonable decision at the time, suddenly didn't look so good.
Howard responded beautifully after losing a costly fumble at the 6:32 mark of the fourth quarter by guiding the Wildcats on a touchdown drive that made the score 20-18 with just over 2 minutes remaining. But they needed more than extra point to force overtime, because they already failed a two-point attempt.
So they tried for two again and once again came up empty. This time, Oklahoma State covered all of K-State's receivers and Howard was hit in the backfield.
From there, K-State tried for an onside kick and was unsuccessful. But its defense forced Oklahoma State to go three-and-out. Despite messing up a pair of two-point conversions, the Wildcats could win the game with a field goal in the final moments.
But the Cowboys clinched victory with an interception on the first play of K-State's final drive.
Would things have played out differently had Klieman taken a more conservative approach after the Wildcats' first touchdown? It's impossible to know for sure. But going for two didn't work out.
