Kansas State’s quarterback situation only got murkier after the Wildcats’ 66-28 loss to Oklahoma State, and first-year coach Collin Klein isn’t pretending there’s a clean answer right now.
The Wildcats have now dropped three straight, and the biggest issue has been impossible to miss: the quarterback room has been in constant flux. Over the last four games, Kansas State has turned to four different starting quarterbacks, and outside of Avery Johnson, none of them have consistently settled things down.
Against the Cowboys, Blake Barnett and Dillon Duff were again part of the mix, continuing the rotation that has defined the last two weeks. After the game, Klein broke down what he saw from both players and made it clear that Duff’s snaps were part of the process of getting him more experience. He said Duff had a couple solid drives in relief of Barnett.
Barnett, a junior, has had a rougher stretch after looking nearly flawless in relief of Duff two weeks ago against Colorado. Duff, meanwhile, is a sophomore, and the youth of both quarterbacks is one of the few encouraging notes Kansas State can point to as it tries to sort out the position.
For now, it appears both Duff and Barnett will keep getting chances the rest of the way while Johnson stays on the sideline. That leaves the Wildcats trying to move forward without the quarterback who had been the centerpiece of the offense for the past three seasons.
Johnson’s run at Kansas State was a big one. He started 32 straight games at one point before everything started to unravel. His decline has been tough to watch given how much he meant to the program, and he’s still in the conversation with some of the most important quarterbacks in school history, including Will Howard, Michael Bishop and Klein.
The timing makes it sting even more. Johnson had just helped Kansas State beat Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown, and the Wildcats were two games above .500 and rolling in the first season under Klein. He was also in line to keep climbing the Kansas State record book.
Instead, he’s now dealing with the possibility that his career could end on the sideline. Klein has called a return this season a longshot, though Johnson still has a path to a fifth year under the new NCAA eligibility rules.
In Other News...
Kansas State Suddenly Has A Bigger Problem Than Just One Loss
Kansas States rough November got a lot uglier in Stillwater, where the Wildcats were blown out by Oklahoma State 66-28 and absorbed a third straight loss. The defeat pushed the season into dangerous territory, with bowl eligibility suddenly no longer a given, and it left head coach Collin Klein describing the afternoon as one of the worst he has experienced.
The problems were everywhere for Kansas State, from an offense that never found any rhythm to a defense that could not slow Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who finished 22 of 28 for 313 yards and four touchdowns. After a game like that, the Wildcats are not just trying to bounce back from one bad result, they are trying to stop a slide before it turns into something much harder to fix. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Just Exposed A Bigger Problem Than One Bad Loss
Kansas States lopsided 66-28 loss to Oklahoma State at Bill Snyder Family Stadium was ugly from the opening stretches, but the score only told part of the story. Drew Mestemaker carved up the Wildcats for 313 passing yards and four touchdowns, while Caleb Hawkins added 175 rushing yards and three scores, giving Oklahoma State answers in every phase and leaving Kansas State chasing the game almost immediately.
For the Wildcats, the bigger concern was how little resistance they offered on either side of the ball. Blake Barnett and Dillon Duff combined for multiple interceptions, and the run game never provided much relief, averaging just 3.3 yards per carry. One bad afternoon can happen, but this kind of collapse raised questions well beyond the final margin. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Just Sent A Message But The Playoff Math Barely Budged
Kansas States place in the postseason picture got a small but noticeable nudge after the latest round of Week 10 results, as ESPNs FPI adjusted the Wildcats along with a handful of other power-conference teams. The changes reflected recent performance more than any dramatic rewrite of the season, with the metric continuing to sort out who is trending up and who is simply hanging on in the race for a meaningful finish.
For Kansas State, the update is another reminder that the margin for movement is thin at this stage of the year. Dukes rise drew plenty of attention in the broader FPI refresh, but the Wildcats own outlook barely shifted in a way that changes the bigger conversation, leaving their postseason path still tied to what they do next rather than what the numbers say today. [Read more 🡒]