Questions piling up following ugly loss

There were plenty of questions after the worst home loss in Kansas State history, one that left just about everyone wondering about the state of the program.

There was one thing coach Bill Snyder didn’t have to wonder about.

“Our coaches haven’t forgotten how to coach,” Snyder said this week in the aftermath of a 55-0 loss to Oklahoma. “They’ve been around too long, virtually all of them. Our coordinators on both sides of the ball are well experienced in the jobs they do, so contrary to popular belief, they haven’t forgotten how to do it.”

Kansas State (3-3, 0-3 Big 12) provided scares in the first two games of its front-loaded conference schedule before being blown out by the Sooners (5-1, 2-1).

The common theme? Questionable play-calling.

The Wildcats, who play at Texas today, built sizable leads against Oklahoma State and TCU by rushing for more than 100 yards in the first half of each game. But on both occasions, they elected to go with a heavy dose of passing in the second half. The Cowboys and Horned Frogs came from behind to win.

There was never such an advantage against the Sooners. Kansas State fell behind 21-0 early in the second quarter after opening the game with six straight drop-back pass attempts, which produced two completions for 1 yard, plus an interception.

“There was that criticism about throwing the ball at the outset of the ballgame instead of running it, but you look at the first plays of the ballgame, and if we don’t overthrow the ball, we have seven

points on the board,” Snyder said. “That happened to us six times over the course of that ballgame.”

Still, the plan seemed odd given the fact that Oklahoma had allowed 313 yards on the ground the week before to Texas, the

Wildcats’ opponent Saturday. Kansas State finished with just 65 yards rushing on 31 attempts, most of which came in the second half while trailing big.

“I want us to be a balanced football team, meaning we can be equally adept at the run and the pass,” Snyder said. “We’re working toward that as we speak. But I can’t just say that and expect it to happen. We have to work on the things that allow us to throw and run the ball better.”

Kansas State quarterbacks have completed just 45.6 percent of their passes, which in large part can be attributed to throwing deep to challenge single coverage.

On the ground, the Wildcats rank 82nd nationally at 161 yards per game.