Count on K-StateOnline recruiting analyst Derek Young to offer his fresh, unique and informed observations following every game this fall.

Kansas State left Nashville with a blemish on its record but, as is tradition, I’m still handing out three game balls for performances that stood out to me.

Denzel Goolsby was outstanding, and he’s been pretty good all along there despite calls for more playing time for Eli Walker. He has been “lights out” in coverage and has also provided support from time to time in the running game, even though he’s probably not as well-versed in that area as Walker is. He’s just been mistake-free for the most part and he popped out to me frequently last night as someone that was particularly impressive.

D.J. Reed earns one for the second time. Technically, he should probably have gotten one for every game so far. He’s been the best player and the most talented player on the field in every game so far. That will likely be the case in just about every contest this year. He can shut down an entire side of the field and he can give you six on the scoreboard.

The last game ball goes to the fans. It may have not been the outcome you wanted, but you showed up and exceeded the expectations that folks had regarding the number of Wildcat fans that would make it to Tennessee’s capital city.You literally painted Nashville purple all weekend. The fan support and following Kansas State has and that reputation was only bolstered by this trip.

Bill Snyder had glowing remarks for his stable of running backs at his Tuesday news conference before facing Vanderbilt, but Saturday did not seem to be a great representation of that. He openly shared his concern of being too dependency-prone when it came to how they would rotate in and out, but he was very pleased with the depth.

There was not an issue of leaning too heavily on strengths Saturday because depth wasn’t exactly on display. I know there’s only a certain amount of snaps and it can be hard to divvy any number up. But Justin Silmon only had three carries while Dalvin Warmack didn’t touch the ball once.

You can’t play them all and you have to ride your best horses, but Alex Barnes getting all but three of the touches was quite the surprise

Call me crazy, but I don’t have any true concerns that the passing game will be stuck in mud again like it was against Vanderbilt. I wasn’t basing my opinions off of numbers or inferior competition. I based my evaluations on wideouts like Isaiah Harris, Byron Pringle, Isaiah Zuber, Dominique Heath and the rest off what I saw out of them from a talent standpoint. That talent did not disappear in a week.

That talent did, however, make mistake after mistake on Saturday which stalled drives, turned the ball over, gave Vanderbilt strong field position and threw off any rhythm or flow that the offense needed. I see that performance as more of the exception, not reality or a trend. I would be stunned if they didn’t play much better the rest of the year.

Also, the quarterback change discussion is off base at this point. Jesse Ertz was still responsible for a large share of the offense. And while he was not without flaws or poor play at times, I’m not sure the offense looks any different on Saturday with someone different under center.

The defense almost made me look brilliant after I shared on the KSO Show earlier in the week that it could end up winning the game for the Wildcats. The unit played good enough to do that. It likely would have been the narrative had the officials not overturned Kendall Adams’ touchdown. But enough of my excellent prognostication skills.

Kansas State’s defense showed up and was the headliner Saturday. Denzel Goolsby and D.J. Reed were already recognized as a few of the standouts. Trent Tanking, Trey Dishon and Will Geary also are worthy of being called out for tremendous play.

However, playing the Vanderbilt offense is probably not the best indicator of where this defense is at - for two reasons. The first is that I was not particularly impressed with the Commodores on the offensive side of the ball regardless of the buzz and statistics surrounding them before the game.

It’s also a style of offense that is easier for the Wildcat defense to defend. Vandy doesn’t get horizontal a whole lot, or stretch the field sideline to sideline, using the edges and perimeter game. The Commodores like to play in a box and not challenge the range of every single defensive player. That’s conducive to the K-State’s defensive personnel as a whole.

I disagree with the notion that the bye week comes at a good time. Folks always say this following a loss, and I think perhaps they’re correct at times. I just don’t think this is one of those.

First off, the bye week is after the third game. K-State has nine consecutive games to play within the Big 12 afterwards without a break. That’s not optimal. If I’m a coach, I’d prefer my bye week to cut the season in half or close to it.

Second, as a player, I think this is a loss that just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Vanderbilt wasn’t more talented than K-State. The Commodores didn’t outplay the Wildcats. K-State was clearly the better team throughout the game but still managed to beat itself.

They didn’t fool you. They didn’t out-coach you. The Commodores just made less mistakes.

Of course, there are things that need to be fixed and coached up. But more than anything, the Wildcats just need to get back on the field, playing mistake-free again, and clean someone’s clock.

That means you, Baylor.