Kansas State left Boulder with a narrow overtime loss, but Collin Klein spent much of his postgame session making sure Colorado got its due.
The Wildcats coach pointed to a Buffaloes defense that crowded the line, created interior problems and forced Kansas State to work for nearly everything it got. He also said a late timeout from Deion Sanders’ side changed the calculus on the biggest decision of the night.
After Garrett Oakley’s 8-yard touchdown catch cut the deficit to 21-20 in the final seconds of regulation, Klein sent his offense back out with a chance to win on a two-point try. Colorado stopped the play with a timeout and altered its alignment.
“They adjusted their alignment, called timeout,” Klein said. “You know, talking about a couple different options as a staff. Didn’t feel as good about it as we did the first one after their adjustment and decided to keep playing.”
That left Kansas State to kick the extra point and force overtime, where the Wildcats eventually fell. Klein said the choice to back off the two-point attempt was not easy.
“Oh, absolutely. I mean, absolutely.
I wanted to do it,” Klein said. “We initially thought we had a chance, but we’ve got to be smart, too, and credit them and decided to just keep playing.”
Colorado’s front was the first thing he brought up when asked what stood out.
“Well, I mean, they were definitely loading the box ... there was some, you know, some interior pressures, a couple defensive line movements and different things that, you know, we didn’t handle great,” Klein said.
“Had some answers as we kind of worked through the game. But, you know, that’s a good defensive front.”
The numbers backed up that view. Kansas State managed 121 rushing yards on 39 carries and never found the end zone on the ground. Gideon Lampron was a problem all night, finishing with 15 tackles, four tackles for loss and two of Colorado’s five sacks.
Klein also zeroed in on a drive that he felt swung the game.
“We’re still missing some tackles and giving them some explosives and allowing them to continue their drives in some tough situations,” Klein said. “That 99-yard drive was a backbreaker.
Have a couple chances to get the brakes put on and get it shut down. We don’t do that.”
Colorado’s official recap listed that possession as 96 yards over 10 plays. It came right after Kansas State tied the game 14-14 late in the third quarter, and Klein said the Wildcats had opportunities to end it before Richard Young scored the go-ahead touchdown.
Two delay-of-game penalties also drew his criticism, with Klein saying the crowd played a role.
“Play clock running down in a loud end zone, it’s going to take a little longer than, you know, normal,” Klein said. “And we weren’t able to get it off.”
One of those penalties turned a fourth-and-4 into a fourth-and-9 in the fourth quarter, forcing Kansas State to settle for a field goal. Luis Rodriguez, who had been 11-for-11 on field goals this season, missed from 43 yards, and the Folsom Field crowd helped make that miss part of the story.
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