Drew Mestemaker threw for 313 yards on 22-28 passing, including 4 touchdowns passing (plus one rushing and one receiving), and Caleb Hawkins had 175 yards rushing with three touchdowns and 71 yards receiving with a score too, racking up 246 yards of offense on a defenseless Wildcat defense as Oklahoma State rolled to a 66-28 win over Kansas State this afternoon at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas.
K-State (4-5, 1-5 Big 12) was wildly overmatched on the day. Nothing went right, and the Cats
were already in a 28-7 hole after 15 minutes, a deficit they had no hope of erasing in the face of the Oklahoma State (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) offense.
Things appeared to start with a bang as Monterrio Elston returned the opening kickoff 72 yards, but a holding call erased it. But the offense went 3-and-out, and then things did start with a bang for the Cowboys, who got a 31-yard run from Caleb Hawkins and a 32-yard touchdown pass from Drew Mestemaker to Justin Bowick.
Staring at a second 3-and-out, Barnett found Salley for a 73-yard touchdown pass as Oklahoma State badly blew the coverage, leaving Salley open with nobody within ten yards of him. But the Wildcat defense was again helpless on the return drive, and Oklahoma State marched right back downfield, scoring on a 21-yard run by Hawkins.
The Cats managed to move the ball on the following drive, but facing 4th-and-1 at the Cowboy 36, Barnett was stopped short. Hawkins scored again on a 37-yard run a few plays later, and the Cowboys were up 21-7 with five minutes still left in the opening frame. Then Garrett Oakley didn’t catch a pass he should have, the ball bouncing into the hands of Quinton Hammonds, and Oklahoma State had the ball on the 11-yard line. Three plays later, Mestemaker found Morgan McPhaul for a 3-yard score.
The Cats then couldn’t move the chains, but Wyatt Young fumbled after catching a Mestemaker pass, and Rex Van Wyhe recovered. But the Cats went 3-and-out; however, after the punt Mestemaker was picked off by Logan Bartley for an 18-yard return score, and the Cats closed the gap to 28-14.
An onside kick attempt failed, giving Oklahoma State a short field. A pass interference call on a throw to the end zone and plus yardage on the next four plays left the Cats defending 1st-and-goal at the one. They did not; Mestemaker carried it in himself, and it was 35-14.
The Cats then went three-and-out, and Oklahoma State had to put after Bartley almost intercepted another pass, but then Barnett was intercepted by LaDanian Fields, Rodney’s cousin and former teammate. Three plays later, Hawkins scored on a 9-yard run. The Cats had to punt again, and the Cowboys scored again, a 19-yard catch by Miles Coleman which staked Oklahoma State to a 49-14 halftime lead.
The Wildcat defense forced a 3-and-out after the break, and Dillon Duff started the second half at quarterback. He led the Cats downfield, striking Salley with an 18-yard touchdown pass, but the defense gave it right back on a 5-yard pass to Hawkins. Then LaDainian Fields picked off Duff for his second interception of the day, and three plays later Wyatt Young took a jet sweep then threw back to Mestemaker for a 5-yard score, giving the Cowboy quarterback passing, rushing, and receiving touchdowns in the same game and a 63-21 lead for Oklahoma State — the most points they have ever scored against the Wildcats.
With the game far out of reach, K-State did finally manage a drive — a 15-play march covering 66 yards which took half a quarter, blessed relief for everyone watching the game on both sides. Rodney Fields finally scored on a 1-yard run to make the score 63-28. Sam Keltner later added a 23-yard field goal to cap off the scoring.
As it happened, Duff was the more effective quarterback than Barnett today. Both threw 17 passes and had one touchdown; Duff completed 10 for 94 yards and a pick and had two yards on the ground, Barnett completed only 7 for 106 and two interceptions, adding 23 yards on 10 carries. Field had 87 yards and a score on 20 carries (plus one catch for 12 yards), and the entire rest of the team only managed 15 yards.
Salley caught 3 balls for 100 yards and two scores. Jaron Tibbs caught 6 for 42, and Linkon Cure had 5 for 33. Josh Manning and Oakley each had a short catch.
The Cowboys outgained K-State 565-327, 342-200 in the air, 22-3127 on the ground. There really aren’t any ancillary stats that matter in the face of that; K-State simply got railed.
WHAT WE LEARNED
1) We could’ve just slept in
Really, that’s it. This game was an absolute disaster, the defense is a disaster, the offense is a disaster, and we’ve all learned all of this over the last month. There’s nothing new and interesting to say after this trainwreck that hasn’t already been said.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
There isn’t even a decision here. Derrick Salley had 100 yards receiving, which was 30% of K-State’s entire offense. Logan Bartley had a pick, almost another one, two pass breakups on top of that, and five tackles.
NEXT
K-State visits TCU next week, game time and network to be determined.
