From The Couch – Questionable Coaching Decisions Cost K-State In Loss To Texas
There are a lot of adjectives to describe K-State’s 33-30 overtime loss to Texas on Saturday. Frustrating, aggravating, maddening, painful, exasperating, stressful, infuriating, questionable, debatable, exciting, thrilling, and electrifying. I’m going to go with how I felt when the game ended. Dumbstruck.
Chris Klieman’s decision to go for the win in overtime on 4th down rather than kicking a chip shot field goal to tie the game and extend the game into a second overtime will go down as one of the most controversial decisions in K-State football history.
There is plenty of blame to go around in this game. The stubbornness of K-State’s offensive coaches to try to get the running game going in the first half against what might be the best rushing defense in college football is probably what cost them the game. The defense gave up some big plays in the first half but, to be fair, they were on the field for what seemed like the entire half because the offense couldn’t get anything going. K-State’s special teams didn’t convert on an extra point attempt after a touchdown in the fourth quarter due to the center snapping the ball to a holder that wasn’t expecting the snap. The extra point would have put K-State ahead by one point. Then Chris Tennant missed a 27 yard field goal on the next drive that would have tied the game. If K-State gets those four points, they may have won the game in regulation instead of having to try and win it in overtime.
There are a few different ways that K-State fans are reacting to this game:
1) The Wildcats got down early to the number six team in the country on the road 17-0 and eventually 27-7 before valiantly fighting back, not quitting, and tying the game in regulation to send the game to overtime. This is the “I’m proud of the kids for how they fought back and almost won the game” optimistic fan.
2) Coaching malpractice cost the Wildcats this game. The play calling was suspect all game long and was the reason K-State found themselves in a huge deficit that they couldn’t overcome.
3) Chris Klieman cost the team the game by going for it on fourth down in overtime instead of kicking the easy field goal to tie the game to go into a second overtime period. They were likely to come out on top in the second overtime.
I fall into the number two and three categories. I’m okay with going for it in that situation in overtime, but you have to call a play that you know will work. If you aren’t 100% you are going to score a touchdown, you HAVE to kick the field goal and extend the game. At this point in the game, the Texas offense was struggling and quarterback Maalik Murphy was flustered. He looked like he didn’t even want to be out there. K-State’s offense was humming and I believe they would have eventually won the game in overtime. Instead, they called a questionable play in which the receivers were blanketed and the Texas defensive pressure got to Howard almost instantly. The play had no chance. Howard fell in the pocket and threw up a prayer that fell incomplete and Texas won the game.
There is a lot to break down in this one. Here’s what the head coach and players were saying after the game.
“That’s a terrific Texas team that we played. They’re one of the best teams in the country. Everybody knows that and I knew that we had to catch some breaks. I knew we had to play our best football and we didn’t do that the first 25 minutes of the game.”…K-State head coach Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: That’s quite the understatement. In the first quarter alone, Texas had a 10-0 lead and they out-gained K-State 173 yards to 24 yards. K-State ran the ball 10 times for 16 yards in the quarter. Eight of those yards came on one run by DJ Giddens on the first drive of the game. They ran an additional nine times for eight yards. They couldn’t get anything going offensively and got in a big deficit.
“We flip the momentum with a big blocked punt and then get a touchdown and make it 17-7.”…Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: The blocked punt that Klieman referenced above absolutely changed the momentum in the game. K-State had nothing going up to this point. When they retained possession after the block, they scored their first touchdown of the game on a pass from Will Howard to Phillip Brooks.
JM: Here is the touchdown to Brooks..
JM: K-State got the ball to start the second half. Will Howard threw a fluke interception on the first drive and then the K-State defense forced Texas to punt. On the ensuing possession, Will Howard fumbled the ball on a sack and Texas recovered on the K-State five-yard line and scored a touchdown on the first play to go ahead 24 to seven. Texas added a field goal to their total before K-State’s offense was able to get going.
This 26-yard touchdown pass from Will Howard to Phillip Brooks was a thing of beauty. K-State cut the lead to 27-14 and they had some life…..
JM: K-State cornerback Jacob Parrish intercepted Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy on the next possession, giving K-State great field position at the Texas 12-yard line. Will Howard found Keegan Johnson on a 12-yard pass to cut the Texas lead to 27 to 21. We had a ballgame!
JM: Texas received the kickoff and on their second play from scrimmage Brendan Mott forced a fumble of Texas running back Jonathon Brooks that was recovered by Will Lee. One play later Will Howard found Jayce Brown across the middle for a 32-yard touchdown to tie the game.
Kicker Chris Tennant kicked the extra point, but a Texas defender was so offside that the officials blew the play dead. On the retry, K-State’s holder was not expecting the snap and K-State botched the extra-point try. The game remained tied at 27. This was a huge error in the game, as that one point could have cost K-State the game.
Texas kicked a 34-yard field goal on their next drive for a 30-27 lead. K-State got the ball back with 6:03 left in the game. They drove down the field and had a first and goal from the Texas 17-yard line. Then the K-State offense stalled. On first down, DJ Giddens ran for a one-yard gain. On second down, Will Howard completed an 8-yard pass to Keagan Johnson. It was third and one from the Texas eight-yard line. A touchdown likely wins the game. On 3rd and one, in what my podcast partner Reggie Blackwell called “the worst play call in the history of K-State football,” Will Howard lined up in the shotgun with an empty backfield. He took the snap and tried to run for the first down and got stuffed for a loss of one. Prior to the play, the television announcers were saying because of Will Howard’s size that K-State should just line him up under center and sneak it for the first down. The play that was called instead was coaching malpractice, in my opinion. K-State couldn’t run the ball all game against Texas and they called that play? Unconscionable.
K-State was forced to try a field goal and Chris Tennant missed the 27-yard chip shot. There was 1:45 left in the game at this point. It was a missed opportunity to win the game in regulation. K-State played it too conservatively here and played it too aggressively in the overtime period. It made no sense to me.
Luckily, K-State had some timeouts left, held Texas to a three-and-out, and got the ball back. They were able to get into field goal range and Tennant hit a 45-yard field goal to send the game to overtime.
Texas got the ball first in overtime and the K-State defense, which was playing stellar at this point in the game, held them to one yard on three plays and forced a field goal. K-State got the ball to try and answer or win the game. On the first play, Howard hit tight end Ben Sinnott on a 19-yard completion to the Texas six-yard line. Then things fell apart for K-State. Howard rushed for two yards on first down and then threw two straight incompletions. Kicking a field goal on fourth down would extend the game to a second overtime. Instead, Klieman decided to go for the win. Texas called timeout. There was plenty of time to think about it and call a play you knew would work. The play called may have been the second worst play call in K-State football history. Howard dropped back and every receiver was blanketed. Texas pressured and got to Howard and made him fall down and throw up a desperation pass that fell incomplete. Ballgame. Texas wins.
K-State ran the ball 29 times for 33 net yards in the game, a 1.1-yard per-carry average. Will Howard had a solid day, throwing for 327 yards and four touchdowns with an interception that wasn’t really his fault. I just wish K-State would have opened things up from the opening kickoff instead of waiting until late in the first half to do it. The coaches were stubborn trying to get the running game going early and it cost K-State the chance to win the game in regulation.
“The margin of error is so small…”…Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: I found it interesting that Klieman mentioned this in his post-game comments because it’s what I told a handful of my buddies after the game. K-State has a very small margin of error in these games where they are out-talented. They can’t afford mistakes like the ones I have pointed out and expect to win against the number six team in the country. It’s life as a K-State fan. We are all used to it, but it’s frustrating nonetheless.
“We didn’t come here to keep playing for ties. We came here to try and win the game.”…Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: In my opinion, your best chance to win the game was to tie the game and then win it in the second overtime.
“If I had it all over again I would do it again. We had to end that game when we had the chance.”…Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: He’s sticking to his guns. I just happen to disagree with him.
JM: I do not disagree.
“We ran a little rub concept to the boundary. They clouded both sides. Good for them. We were hoping they would go man coverage. It is what it is. They took away my first read and then did a good job of covering Keagan on my second read. Then I lost my footing a little bit.”…K-State quarterback Will Howard, post-game
JM: This was Howard’s evaluation of the final play. When you call a critical play like this, “hope” shouldn’t play into it.
“Collin (Klein) and Will loved what we had. It was at the 4-yard line, so it was 1 yard farther than a two-point play. Our guys were gassed a little bit. Their guy made a play. But I’m just telling you we were going to (try and) win that game in overtime.”…Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: Klieman seemed to add the “gassed” excuse to his decision to go for it and end the game. Hey, Texas looked gassed and out of sorts on offense, too. Just sayin’.
JM: Sinnott made some waves on social media yesterday with his comments in support of Will Howard. I don’t think he’s talking about me, as I wrote a piece a couple weeks ago saying Will Howard should be the starting quarterback going forward. While I’ve seen some criticism of Howard, and probably have been critical of his play from time to time, I am not seeing the Will Howard bashing that Sinnott is referring to. Maybe he is talking to and seeing stuff from people that I do not follow or talk to. Who knows. Howard had a great game and let’s hope it continues next week against Baylor. The game is at 2:00 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. See you there!
