#22 K-State (5-2, 3-1) lost against a top-ten TCU team on the road last week 38-28 with their backup quarterback Will Howard playing most of the game.

Nobody in the locker room is panicking just yet, but they suffered a significant number of injuries throughout the course of the game. The biggest name, of course, was quarterback Adrian Martinez, who was injured on the final play of their first drive.

Howard also left the game after a big hit that should have been flagged for a penalty, but he was able to come back into the game. Tight end Ben Sinnott got dinged up in the game as well.

The defensive unit had even more injuries with two of their best players, cornerback Julius Brents and safety Josh Hayes both leaving. Linebacker Deuce Green has had many issues with injuries throughout his K-State career. His poor luck continued as he left the game as well.

During head coach Chris Klieman’s press conference on Tuesday, he said that none of their injuries would keep them out for the rest of the season. 

Howard had his best game since their Sunflower Showdown victory in 2020 as the junior threw for 225 yards with two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. It was the best Howard has looked in his entire career so far, and they may need him to replicate his success this week.

Offensive coordinator Collin Klein trusted and relied on his arm to make plays in the first half, but in the second half, for whatever reason, Klein hesitated to have him throw and had him run even after he left with an injury.

They will try to move forward this week with what they have and make the necessary adjustments for another top-ten game versus #9 Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-1).

Klieman is looking for his first win against Oklahoma State. He is also hoping to have a healthy first-string quarterback play a full game against the Pokes for the first time while at K-State. The Cats have been either ranked or had receiving votes in each of the matchups.

Former quarterback Skylar Thompson started the game in 2019 but left with an injury. That was the last time Thompson got to face Oklahoma State with him missing both games in 2020 and 2021.

Klieman is also looking for their first win against a ranked opponent while being ranked themselves.

K-State will once again need to get off to a fast start this weekend, which is something they have done well all year long. They have had a halftime lead in every single game so far.

However, it’s the third quarter that has historically determined the outcome of games for them. During the Klieman era, in games where they led or tied at halftime and they score any points in the third quarter, they are a perfect 13-0. In games where they led or tied at halftime but were unable to score in the third quarter, they are just 6-5. This year’s two losses are a part of that statistic. This season, K-State is being outscored 43-39 in the third quarter.

Oklahoma State is playing their third consecutive game against a ranked opponent. They are coming off an emotional 41-34 win vs. Texas on Homecoming week.

Their offense is led by redshirt senior quarterback Spencer Sanders whose tenure with the Pokes can best be described as inconsistent. In previous seasons, he has made many boneheaded mistakes and thrown a heavy dose of interceptions, including a couple of crucial picks in last year’s Big 12 Championship game.

This year, however, he has 15 touchdowns to just four interceptions. Sanders has also cemented himself as a threat in the redzone to get scores with his legs totaling eight rushing touchdowns already. That’s second behind Martinez among all Big 12 quarterbacks and fifth in the entire conference among all ball carriers.

His accuracy with his throws, though, have not been as good as in the past. His completion percentage is at a career-low 58.8% and they haven’t exactly been against great defenses either.

Their running game goes through junior running back Dominic Richardson. He is coming off a game where he ran for three rushing touchdowns, but just 24 rushing yards.

Richardson hasn’t been very explosive or efficient this year, averaging just 3.7 yards per carry. In total, he has 451 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. He does a good deal of damage in the passing game, though, with 218 receiving yards on the year. Richardson averages around 95 scrimmage yards per game.

Oklahoma State has a pair of talented wide receivers in junior Brennan Presley and sophomore Bryson Green. Green is currently leading the team in receiving yards (417) and receiving touchdowns (5), but Presley leads the team in receptions (36). Presley has just four fewer yards than Green.

As for the defense, the question going into the Pokes’ season has been, “How will the defense do with Jim Knowles taking the defensive coordinator role at Ohio State?” The answer to that has been a mix of good and bad.

They have been winning games, but the defense has gotten back to their early 2010s defenses of just being able to outscore their opponents.

The Cowboys’ defense has surrendered 33.3 points in the last four games. They also gave up 44 points in their opening game against Central Michigan.

Redshirt senior defensive end Brock Martin hasn’t quite lived up to his high expectations this year, but he still has three sacks, 5.0 tackles for loss and is tied for the second-most quarterback hurries with seven.

Junior linebacker Mason Cobb and redshirt senior defensive end Tyler Lacy both have 8.5 TFL which is tied for the most on Oklahoma State’s defense. Cobb leads the team in tackles with 61, and Lacy has three sacks.

Redshirt senior safety Jason Taylor II has been flying all over the field this season and has a team-high three interceptions. Redshirt freshman safety Kendal Daniels has stepped up in a major way with two interceptions and four TFLs.

Prediction: Like last week, the outcome will likely be determined on how healthy K-State is. The Wildcats will, at the very least, be competitive even if they can’t get their injured players back.

If K-State’s offense can keep up with the Cowboys’ offense, the defense will need to make some stops late in the game, which was something they weren’t able to do last week.

It’s hard to predict this one considering all the injuries, but I suppose I will give it a go. I personally don’t know if Howard is going to be able close out a game against a top-ten opponent and get a big-time score late in the fourth quarter which I think will be necessary to win this game. He might be able to do it someday, but I will have to believe it when I see it.

Oklahoma State 34, K-State 28