Collin Klein didn’t sugarcoat Kansas State’s 28-17 loss at Arizona State. He came away frustrated, and he made it clear the Wildcats left too many openings on the road.
“We did the things that you can't do when you want to win on the road,” Klein said Saturday. “Lost the battle at the line of scrimmage.
Ran for 84 yards. Not going to work.
They almost doubled that. Not going to work.”
Kansas State had chances, but the offense couldn’t string enough together when it mattered. Klein pointed to the Wildcats’ third-down struggles, noting they finished 4 of 15 and “Not going to do it.” He also said his team had “two good red-zone drives in the first three quarters there that we were able to find with some short fields,” but Kansas State “weren't able to capitalize enough on short fields through the course of the day.”
Defensively, Klein thought the first half was mostly solid outside of the deep-ball damage. He said, “I thought the defense in the first half, minus just the go route and them throwing it up in one-on-one situations, did a decent job.” But those isolated breakdowns grew costly, and he added, “Obviously, too many explosives just in those one-on-one situations, which was tough.”
The second half brought more of the same frustrations, especially on critical downs. Klein said Kansas State “just weren't able to on a couple of those critical conversion downs,” and he pointed to “a couple of critical errors on most of those conversion downs down the stretch,” which he said ended up being the difference in a one-score game at that point.
One of the brighter spots for Kansas State was Jacob Knuth, and Klein made sure to single him out. “I was very proud of Jacob Knuth,” he said.
“He stepped up. He battled, fighting through it himself a little bit.
His toughness and competitiveness that he gave his football team and put out there for them today, I was very proud of.”
Klein closed by saying there is plenty to correct across the board, starting with him and the staff. “There are a lot of things that we're doing that we've got to get fixed for us to become the football team that we can,” he said.
“It starts with me and our staff, and right on down the line. Tough one today, but we've got to get to work.”
In Other News...
Kansas State Suddenly Has A Serious Avery Johnson Problem
Avery Johnsons absence against Arizona State changed the look of Kansas States offense in a hurry, and it came after the quarterback was hurt in the previous game against Kansas. With Johnson unavailable, fifth-year senior Jacob Knuth got the start, giving the Wildcats a very different answer at the most important position on the field.
The bigger concern for Kansas State is that there is still no clear timeline for Johnsons return. Collin Klein said the medical staff is continuing to evaluate the injury, leaving the Wildcats to wait and see how long they might have to manage without the quarterback who has been central to their plans. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas States Frustrating Loss Came Down To One Coaching Decision
Playing without starting quarterback, Kansas State still had enough to keep things within reach for a stretch at Mountain America Stadium, where Jacob Knuth filled in and handled the spot well enough to give the Wildcats a chance. Arizona State pulled away for a 28-17 win on Oct. 24, but the loss did not feel like one that was simply decided by injuries or a mismatch on paper.
Collin Kleins offense had its moments, yet one third-quarter coaching decision swung the tone of the game and blunted the momentum Kansas State had built. The result left the Wildcats with a frustrating finish and a film room full of grades to sort through, with offense, defense, special teams and coaching all coming under the microscope. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Let This One Slip Away For A Frustrating Reason
A night that had already asked a lot of Kansas State got even tougher in the third quarter, when a fourth-and-12 decision by Collin Klein turned into one of the game's biggest turning points. The Wildcats were still within striking distance against Arizona State on Oct. 24, and backup quarterback Jacob Knuth had given them enough to hang around after stepping in for Avery Johnson and operating efficiently through the air and on the ground.
But Kansas State could never fully take control because the offense could not get the run game going, finishing with only 84 rushing yards, while Arizona State found steadier answers with its ground attack and three-quarterback approach. Knuth did his part with 194 passing yards and a touchdown, plus a score on the ground, but the Wildcats were left looking back at a decision that helped swing momentum at the worst possible time in a 28-17 loss. [Read more 🡒]