MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas State’s recent football mastery over Oklahoma came to an end during a 37-31 loss on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The Wildcats couldn’t keep up with the No. 6 Sooners in the second half and suffered their first loss in this series since 2018.
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley can now say he has defeated K-State coach Chris Klieman.
The loss kept K-State (3-2, 0-2 Big 12) at the bottom of the conference standings after an impressive run through nonconference play. The win will give Oklahoma (5-0, 2-0) an opportunity to potentially move up in the national polls for the first time this season.
Here are some key takeaways from the game.
Thompson returns, provides spark
K-State senior quarterback Skylar Thompson played his first game since limping off the field against Southern Illinois nearly a month ago, and the K-State offense welcomed him back with open arms.
The Wildcats looked much more dynamic than they had in recent games with Thompson back in command of the offense.
Thompson led K-State on some methodical, time-consuming drives in the first half that gave the Wildcats an early 7-3 lead and kept the score tied at 10 just before halftime.
It would have been an even better start for the Wildcats if not for a fumble from backup running back Jacardia Wright at the Oklahoma 11 on their opening drive. Instead of scoring a field goal or finding the end zone, the Sooners grabbed the loose ball and took it the other way, setting up their offense for an easy three points.
Thompson was visibly limited with an injury to his right knee. He didn’t attempt a single rush in this game. But he still moved around the pocket well and threw a nice ball. He completed 29 of 41 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns.
This was one of his better games. He gave the Wildcats a chance to win. But the defense couldn’t do its part.
Kansas State defense falls flat ... again
It was unrealistic to expect the Wildcats to sustain the level of defensive play they showed against Stanford, Southern Illinois and Nevada.
K-State allowed a total of 47 points in their three nonconference games and were particularly stingy against the run, allowing just 1.9 yards per rush. The Wildcats surprised Stanford with a 3-3-5 defensive formation, held Southern Illinois scoreless in the second half and held Carson Strong in check.
All three games were impressive, but they came against different offenses than K-State sees on a weekly basis in the Big 12.
There was going to be a drop-off once conference games began. But this much of a drop-off is a surprise. K-State allowed 31 points and 481 yards last week during a loss at Oklahoma State. Then it allowed 37 points and 392 yards against Oklahoma.
OU quarterback Spencer Rattler looked like a Heisman Trophy contender on Saturday, completing 22 of 25 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns. The Sooners scored on their first drives. It didn’t matter that K-State’s offense kept them off the field for much of the first half.
Tackling in space was a problem all day long for the Wildcats.
K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman will need to find some answers during the bye week to make K-State more competitive against Big 12 opponents.
Riverboat Klieman
Give Klieman credit for this much: He played to win the game.
The K-State coach held nothing back against the Sooners. He elected to go for it five times on fourth downs rather than punt or attempt a field goal. Those proved to be good decisions, as K-State converted on four of five of those attempts.
Its only miss came on a pass to Landry Weber that was overturned by video review.
Klieman also dialed up a surprise onside kick midway through the third quarter. And the Wildcats appeared to recover for a potential game-changing play until the officials controversially overturned it after two video reviews.
Those type of aggressive decisions will help his reputation with fans, even in a loss.
