Wildcats lose at CU: Look forward to OU

EDIT: Sorry it's late again.


The old saying of “close... but no cigars” couldn’t have been more fitting to describe K-State’s loss to Colorado last Saturday. Whether it was missed field goals, costly penalties, or turnovers inside enemy territory (the most devastating), the Cats weren’t able to get the job done in Boulder, losing 14-13 to the Colorado Buffaloes.

The Wildcat defense showed a tremendous amount of improvement in holding Colorado to only 14 points. Granted that CU’s offense is the worst in the Big XII in most categories, it was gratifying to see the Cats could still tackle somebody.

The real question is, “Where was the offense?” Josh Freeman had a very mediocre day throwing the football, completing only 49 percent of his passes. Brandon Banks dropped two passes that would have been first down. Further, reliable kicker Brooks Rossman missed two field goals (42 and 47 yards). Just one of those field goals could have been the difference. A Brett Alstatt fumble in front of the Colorado sideline at the 35 yard line with less than 7 minutes to go in the game was the back breaker for Kansas State as the Cats weren’t able to get into Buffalo territory the rest of the game.

There were, however, some positives to the game; specifically, the defense was able to have a decent showing. I say “decent” because the Cats did give up 247 yards on the ground to Colorado. Colorado is probably the worst offensive team the Cats will see for the rest of the season; hopefully the defense will be able to build on their modest improvement. Unfortunately, the negatives out-weighed the positives: K-State really wasn’t able to sustain a consistent running game, the Cats had to battle themselves, and they had 9 penalties accounting for 84 yards.

Unfortunately for the Cats, this Saturday’s game is going to be their toughest test yet this season as the powerhouse Oklahoma Sooners come into Manhattan. Oklahoma is ranked number 4 in the newly released BCS Rankings. They also bring in the nation’s third highest scoring offense and a quarterback that is a top contender for the Heisman. However, the Sooners do have a shaky defense and a special teams susceptible to giving up a long return. OU’s defense has been exposed in their last two games, giving up a total of 66 points in the two games. If Kansas State is going to keep this game close, they are going to need to get big plays in the special teams game, as well as to get stops on defense. OU’s pass defense is very suspect, and they are missing Manuel Johnson (WR) and Ryan Reynolds (LB). Is the possibility for the upset there? If we have learned anything this season, the answer is “Yes.” Do I think it will happen? In my best Magic 8-Ball imitation, “Outlook is not good.”