Cowboys Will Bounce Back Against Wildcats

Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State, 12:00 ET

At the beginning of the year, I mentioned how I was going to be a bit annoyed about the constant conversation around the College Football Playoffs and talking about who was on the bubble when we are early in the year. The reality is, I actually enjoy it. It is fun to see how the teams move up and down in the standings and take on different roles in the year. We have some teams that are virtually certain to make the playoffs and others that look like they've already blown their shot. Still, I'm excited to see what happens with this season, and we get two teams here that are ranked and looking to move up in the standings and rankings as Oklahoma State takes on the Kansas State Wildcats.

Some losses look better than others, right? There isn't much of a surprise with that statement. Even in my daughter's basketball team for sixth grade, sometimes you can understand losing 20-4 against a good team, but can't comprehend when you lose 12-8 against a team you can beat. The same can be said about football. I understand Oklahoma State losing to Utah last week, but I won't say it was a great loss, considering that the Cowboys were at home, and they played a team's backup quarterback. The problem can't solely be blamed on Alan Bowman, Oklahoma State's quarterback, but with two interceptions, he certainly didn't help them. Utah's defense made things difficult on the Cowboys, allowing them just three points through three quarters. Finally, the team broke it open a bit in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough. Ollie Gordon, a really good running back, could only muster 42 yards on 11 carries. Kansas State's defense isn't quite as good, but you also can't turn the ball over the way that Bowman has this season. The two interceptions in the last game put him at four for the season. It isn't a hard thing to comprehend - if you protect the ball, you limit the extra opportunities of your opponent. For the most part I like the Oklahoma State defense, but I do have some concerns about how effective they will be against the run. Last week Utah got whatever they wanted on the ground. Maybe the Cowboys didn't prepare well enough because they were concerned about the quarterback situation, but they should've loaded the box when they saw Cam Rising was out.

Sep 21, 2024; Provo, Utah, USA; Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson (2) drops back to pass against the Brigham Young Cougars during the first quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Kansas State also lost last week and it was an ugly one. I suppose you can try and make an excuse for the Wildcats in this one, but the reality is they were embarrassed against a team that is probably inferior. BYU did move to 4-0 with the win, but it seemed like this was a result of bad play from Kansas State more than anything else. Still, they lost on defense, allowing BYU to score a rushing touchdown and two passing touchdowns while allowing about a 66% completion percentage to Jake Retzlaff. On offense, Kansas State did very little to help their defense as they turned the ball over twice via interception, once via fumble, and couldn't get much going otherwise. They also turned the ball over on downs three times in the second half when they had to keep going for it in order to try and come back in the game. To make matters even worse, the special teams also allowed a punt return touchdown, so BYU beat them in all three facets of the game. It was a complete embarrassment as I mentioned earlier. Oklahoma State doesn't have the best defense I've ever seen, but if Kansas State continues to beat themselves, they won't have to be.

I like the Cowboys with the points in this game. Look, Kansas State looked about as bad as possible in their last game and I do expect them to play much better, but that's a lot of things that need to be corrected very quickly. Oklahoma State probably wins the game against Utah if they turn the ball over one fewer times. Give me the points and take Oklahoma State in this one. 

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