MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State saw its chances of beating high-flying Oklahoma State end swiftly as the Cowboys raced to a 49-14 halftime lead on their way to a 66-28 win at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
For a second straight game, K-State used two quarterbacks, as Blake Barnett completed 10-of-17 passes for 94 yards and one touchdown and one interception in the first half before Dillon Duff went 7-of-17 for 106 yards and one touchdown and two interceptions in the final two quarters.
However, K-State, 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12 Conference, simply couldn’t keep pace with Oklahoma State, 6-3 and 4-2, and its onslaught behind star quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins, who amassed 175 rushing yards and three touchdowns and had 71 receiving yards and one score.
“When you’re a part of a loss like this, they do stick with you,” K-State head coach Collin Klein said. “There were a handful as a player and a coach that through these times you really get to figure out where ground zero is and where you are individually where you are collectively, and if you’re able to capitalize on that and understand that and approach it the correct way. You have a chance to learn from it. You have a chance to build something that’s real and that while being very painful and not fun to go through. “Growing pains are not fun.”
One week after Duff earned his first career start, he came off the sideline to throw his first career touchdown — an 18-yard completion to wide receiver Derrick Salley Jr., which made it a 49-21 deficit.
“I was ready when my number was called and did the best I could,” Duff said. “Obviously, not the result we wanted. We learned a lot, did some good things, but also have to learn a lot from that second half. So, we’ll get back to the drawing board and get better.”
Salley, who entered the game with one receiving touchdown at K-State, pulled in a pair of scores, including K-State’s opening score — a brilliant 73-yard pass play from Barnett that made it a 7-7 tie less than four minutes into the contest.
It was K-State’s first passing touchdown of more than 50 yards this season, as Salley got behind the Oklahoma State defense to catch the ball, then turned with nobody within 15 yards of him, and raced the final 41 yards into the end zone.
“It was just a good play by everybody,” said Salley, who had three catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns. “Everybody was doing their part to help me get open.”
However, K-State was unable to close the door on an Oklahoma State offense that found the end zone again and again while scoring its most points ever in the 73-game history of the series between the two schools. It was the most points allowed by K-State since Texas scored 69 in 2020 and just the fourth time K-State has given up at least 60 points in Big 12 history.
Mestemaker, considered to be a top-10 pick in the next NFL Draft, completed 22-of-28 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns. He has thrown for at least 300 yards with multiple touchdown passes in eight straight games for the longest single-season streak in Big 12 history.Oklahoma State scored touchdowns on five of its first seven drives and on nine of its 14 possessions overall and outgained K-State 565 to 327 in total offensive yards.
The Cowboys did so with explosive power with pass plays covering 32, 26 and 38 yards, and rushes covering 31, 21 and 37 yards en route to their most points against a league opponent since score 70 against Kansas on October 8, 2011.
“I was proud of our players and how they were into the game early and throughout the entirety of the game, from a competitive standpoint, and a competitive nature,” Klein said. “We have to do a better job as coaches to give them a chance to be successful.”
One bright spot for the K-State defense came when it forced Oklahoma State to turn the ball over twice in the second quarter with a Logan Bartley 18-yard interception return making it 28-14 with 10:37 left until halftime. The Wildcats entered the game with five takeaways this season, third fewest in the FBS.
“I wanted to go fit the run, saw the disconnect, and he threw it right at me, so I grabbed it,” Bartley said. “They’re good in every spot. They don’t really have a weak point in their offense, and we just got to be better at fitting stuff and fixing missed assignments. I got to be better, and we got to be better as a team.”
As K-State has encountered its share of injuries and struggles during Klein’s first year as head coach, Klein remains optimistic as the Wildcats continue to work their way toward the future.
“We got to put our head down these last three weeks, make some adjustments, and to be able to help ourselves continue to develop and improve in all three phases,” Klein said. “I know the character of our team and our players along with our leaders will be able to do that, no question, and keep moving this forward and keep building for the future.
“It was a very frustrating, and tough day.”
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