The 2020 version of Farmageddon for K-State fans was just like the rest of 2020.  Something we’d all like to forget.  What seemed like a promising football season a few weeks ago has taken a big turn for the worse.  Do we blame Covid or is Iowa State 45 points better than the Wildcats?  I think it’s a little bit of both.  Let’s take a look….

“Give Matt and Iowa State credit. They did a great job. They outplayed us in all three phases.”…Chris Klieman, post game.

JM:  This is what a head coach should say after losing a game 45-0.  These Zoom post-game press conferences are a bit weird.  Klieman looks like he is sitting two inches from the computer screen and his head looks huge.  It also appears that none of the reporters traveled to the game.  They are asking questions from their homes.  Just a weird vibe all around.

“We got hammered with Covid the last two weeks…. It sucks, but there’s nothing they can do about it.  They just gotta play with whoever we have and get ready to go.”…Chris Klieman, post-game.

JM:  Klieman danced around the Covid issue a bit here, mentioning that it was an issue but also saying it’s not an excuse.  K-State was down two starting linebackers, Elijah Sullivan and Justin Hughes, wide receiver Malik Knowles, and defensive lineman Jaylen Pickle.  All of those missing pieces were huge in the game yesterday.

“The Wildcats’ offense was at the other end of the spectrum. K-State gained just 149 yards, a season low, and the lowest total in Klieman’s two-year, 21-game tenure as head coach.”…Ryan Black, Manhattan Mercury

JM:  The offense was pathetic in this one.  Iowa State’s defense gives up around 333 yards a game and K-State couldn’t even get halfway there.

“Our offense had a great first drive, and we couldn’t finish the drive and then kind of sputtered after that.”…Chris Klieman, post game

JM:  K-State had the ball inside Iowa State’s five-yard line and was unsuccessful on 3rd and 4th down.  If they could have scored there the game would have been tied 7-7.  Instead, Iowa State took over on their own three yard-line and drove the ball downfield for a touchdown to go up 14-0.  They never looked back.

“I thought Will took a pretty good shot early in the second quarter and kind of got rattled a little bit and then after he threw the interception I thought let’s give Nick an opportunity.”…Chris Klieman, post-game

JM:  Klieman pulled Will Howard from the game with 55 seconds left in the first half. Nick Ast played the rest of the way at quarterback.  Pulling Will Howard from the game didn’t make a difference at this point since they were already down 35-0.  Ast’s numbers weren’t great.  He was 6 of 10 passing for 44 yards.

“Saturday was the first time K-State has been shut out since 2015, when it lost 55-0 to Oklahoma. It’s the first time the Wildcats didn’t score a point in a road game since 1996, when they lost 12-0 at Colorado.”…Ryan Black, Manhattan Mercury

JM:  This one sure felt a lot like that 55-0 loss to Oklahoma.

“The 45-point margin of defeat was the largest of Klieman’s career — by far. Before Saturday, his worst loss had been less than a month ago, when K-State lost by 27 points, 37-10, at West Virginia on Oct. 31.”…Ryan Black, Manhattan Mercury

JM:  Does Chris Klieman get a mulligan on games like this during the pandemic?  I say yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about losing a game 45-0.  I’m not going to get too worked up about it.  I’m going to erase it from my memory and move on.  Next week’s game is Baylor in Waco.  Hope K-State is closer to 100% than they were yesterday. They’ll need every body they can to rebound from this one and get a victory.