Kansas State is turning to Blake Barnett again, and this time it’s for a start.
The Wildcats will hand the junior the first-string job Saturday against Oklahoma State in Manhattan, Kan., after Barnett threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 27-24 overtime loss to Colorado. Collin Klein said Barnett “earned that right with how he played.”
It will be the fourth different starting quarterback for Kansas State in as many games. Avery Johnson opened the season as the starter for the first six games before a neck/shoulder injury sidelined him. Jacob Knuth got the nod against Arizona State on Oct. 24, and Dillon Duff started and played the first quarter in Boulder.
“I've been through some crazy quarterback situations and I've not seen one like this before,” Klein said.
The challenge waiting on the other sideline is a big one. Oklahoma State arrives averaging 41.1 points and 529.6 yards per game, both numbers ranking No. 3 nationally. Klein said Kansas State can’t get away from what it wants to be just because the scoreboard might demand it.
“I think anytime you start chasing and not being yourself and your identity, and how you want to play, any problems you do have get worse,” Klein said. “And so I think we have to be us.”
Kansas State enters at 4-4 overall and 1-4 in the Big 12 after back-to-back losses and four defeats in its last five games since a 3-0 start.
Oklahoma State, meanwhile, is 5-3 and 3-2 in the league. The Cowboys have lost two of their last three, and both of those setbacks came on the road. Still, after falling 24-10 at Tulsa in their opener, they’ve scored at least 32 points in every game since.
Last week’s 51-49 loss to Iowa State offered another reminder of how dangerous Oklahoma State can be around the goal line. The Cowboys converted all four of their red-zone chances into touchdowns, an area where they had been scoring touchdowns on just over half of their trips before that game.
“We've just got to continue to prove it week in, week out,” Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris said. “That's a beautiful thing about this game you play. You're only as good as your last week.”
Morris also said he was hopeful that defensive end Jaleel Johnson and linebacker Tate Romney could return this week. Tight end Carson Kolb, who missed last week after suffering a foot injury the week before in a win over Colorado, will not play Saturday and could be out longer.
Kansas State has won the last two meetings with Oklahoma State.
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