Kansas State’s offense was good. Its defense was bad. That’s all you really need to know about the Wildcats’ 47-42 loss at Baylor yesterday.
But here is a deeper look at everything that transpired in Waco, anyway.
THE GOOD
1. Aubrey Quarles is turning into a real weapon at wide receiver. The senior caught six passes for 131 yards and a touchdown Saturday, and was consistently wide open. His route running improves every game, and he has the best hands on the team.
2. William Powell is no Brandon Banks, but he is awful close. The backup running back terrorized Baylor with huge kick return after huge kick return, and regularly gave K-State stellar field position. He took four returns up field for 172 yards, and broke free for a 100-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
3. Carson Coffman is no longer the biggest question mark on the roster. The senior quarterback followed up his big game at Kansas with another solid effort against Baylor. He completed 20 of 29 passes for 231 yards. He even hit receivers for big gains on a few third-and-longs. The passing game has taken pressure off Daniel Thomas (who rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns) in back-to-back weeks.
4. It was nice to see the Wildcats get more creative with their playbook. Bill Snyder finally asked Thomas to throw down field, and he hit Quarles for a 67-yard touchdown. Chris Harper also turned a nifty reverse into a 17-yard gain.
5. David Garrett can be proud of the way he played in Waco. Even though the Wildcats’ overall defensive effort was poor, he put together an impressive afternoon. The cornerback flew around the field, and made three tackles for loss while breaking up two passes and recovering a fumble. Right now, he is the defensive MVP.
THE BAD
1. Coming into the season, who could have guessed Tysyn Hartman and Emmanuel Lamur would have so little impact as juniors? Both safeties were dynamite last year, and were considered to be the leaders of K-State’s defense. This season, both are regularly out of position and beaten on their coverage assignments. They weren’t any better against Baylor. The Bears torched K-State’s secondary for 404 yards and four touchdowns. Ty Zimmerman has proven to be a more productive player.
2. Jarell Childs may have made 12 tackles, but not even that gave the K-State linebackers a good day. Alex Hrebec was benched at times in favor of freshman Tre Walker, and Kadero Terrell even saw some action. No combination worked. While being asked to defend against both the pass and run, the Wildcats surrendered 683 yards of offense.
3. K-State’s defensive line struggled as much as any other unit. Other than a tipped pass by Prizell Brown that led to an interception by Raphael Guidry, there are no positives to point out. Brandon Harold and Antonio Felder failed to pressure Robert Griffin, and Jay Finley gashed them for 250 yards on the ground.
4. As good as the Wildcats’ offense was, it sputtered at the wrong times. On the first possession of the second half, when K-State had to put a scoring drive together, Thomas fumbled. When the Wildcats got the ball back a few minutes later and had the chance to take their first lead of the game, they went three-and-out. While trailing 47-35 with 12:01 remaining in the fourth quarter, Coffman had a tipped pass intercepted. For those reasons, Coffman and Thomas said they were to blame as much as anyone else for this loss.
5. As is the norm when K-State faces a fast offense, it was unable to prevent the big play. Baylor scored touchdowns of 28, 52, 47 and 30 yards. Snyder has complained about “bend but don’t break” defense at times this season. He would have welcomed it Saturday.
THE INTERESTING
1. For the second time this season, the Wildcats had to spend extended time in the locker room during a weather delay. Lightning suspended play for nearly two hours in Waco in the first quarter.
2. The departure of co-defensive coordinator Vic Koenning to Illinois during the offseason is noticeable. Hartman and Lamur have regressed, and the Wildcats are allowing more than 230 rushing yards per game. By comparison, Illinois is allowing 112 rushing yards per game. But it’s not fair to say his presence would automatically improve the situation. Remember, his defense couldn’t stop the spread last year either. Texas Tech piled up 739 yards and 66 points against K-State in Lubbock last season. Missouri and Oklahoma had big days, too.
3. Baylor fans rushed the field to celebrate Baylor becoming bowl eligible, and you have to feel happy for them. The Bears haven’t been to a bowl game since 1994, and open seats were still plentiful at Floyd Casey Stadium yesterday. But excitement is returning to the program, and the Bears are now ranked in both major polls.
4. K-State is still one win shy of bowl eligibility, and it’s impossible to predict where its next victory will come. Oklahoma State is up next at home, but its offense is more explosive than Baylor’s. Texas comes to Manhattan after that, and if the Longhorns play like they did in home losses to Iowa State and UCLA (two teams K-State has beaten this year) the Wildcats could win that Saturday. But if they play like they did at Nebraska, victory will be difficult. A road game at Missouri looks much tougher today than it did earlier in the season. Trips to Colorado and North Texas still appear very winnable, though.
5. Snyder and Thomas both make fun of Thomas’s throwing ability, but he threw a beautiful pass to Quarles yesterday. Thomas heaved a nice spiral down field, Quarles caught it in stride and jogged into the end zone.