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K-State sending doubters back to drawing board

STARKVILLE - I was wrong.

Now, for some people that can be hard to admit, but when you have as much practice at it as I do, it's not so bad.

Beyond that, though, when it comes to the Kansas State football program I now know I have some thinking to do.

Malik Knowles returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to spark K-State to a win at Mississippi State.
Malik Knowles returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to spark K-State to a win at Mississippi State. (Associated Press)
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I thought K-State would win a competitive opener against Nicholls by about two touchdowns. The Wildcats, of course, won 49-14 in a game that felt a lot more like 62-7.

In game two I liked the Wildcats (42-13 was my prediction), but not anywhere near the dominating 52-0 fashion in which the Wildcats beat Bowling Green, which included forcing the Falcons to go 0-of-13 on third and fourth down tries.

My biggest miss yet, however, certainly came today.

I did not think Kansas State would win at Mississippi State, period, and that's exactly what the Wildcats walked into Starkville and did.

Clearly, I need to re-evaluate the Wildcats after three games as I try to decide what I think they can accomplish going forward.

To give myself a little bit of credit, I haven't doubted Chris Klieman's ability as a coach or builder of this program. I wasn't critical of the hire, his staff or the Wildcats' long-term chances for success.

I was wrong, though, about how long it would take for Klieman to truly make a mark.

The Wildcats also entered the season with a number of players I was excited about - Skylar Thompson, Wyatt Hubert (who was out today), Nick Lenners, A.J. Parker, etc. - but I had serious questions about the Wildcats' high-end talent and depth.

Sure, I could nitpick and argue a similar stance now, but why would I? K-State is 3-0, including a road win at No. 23 Mississippi State, and at some point you have to believe it's talented football players winning these games, not something else more magical.

I thought K-State entered the season with virtually zero depth, and now it feels like the Wildcats play more guys than anybody else in college football on a weekly basis.

Nothing I thought I knew about this team - based far too much of what happened last year - I feel very confident about anymore.

And, for K-State fans, that's a good thing.

The Bulldogs drilled K-State last year in Manhattan in a physical manner I'm not sure I'd really witnessed in person before, save maybe an embarrassing 2004 blowout loss at home to Fresno State.

On those two days it felt like K-State didn't belong and that something was broken.

Bluntly, I still think it was (in both instances, now that I think about it), but I didn't give the Wildcats enough credit for having the opportunity to flip the script in just 12 months.

And, here's the thing, I'm not even sure K-State played that well today. I mean that as a massive compliment, by the way.

The Wildcats muffed two punts at midfield, erasing two big-time scoring opportunities with great field position. They also fumbled an interception return by Parker, which took away a possession inside MSU's 30-yard-line.

That's three drives, all essentially starting in Bulldog territory, K-State gave away before the Wildcats even started.

And it didn't matter.

I worried K-State would struggle to make explosive plays. And, well, it was a struggle. Thompson threw for just 123 yards on 18 attempts, and James Gilbert led the way on the ground with 62 yards on 17 carries (3.5 yards a rush).

The longest completion went for 24 yards (Lenners), and the longest rush was 17 yards (Jordon Brown).

K-State, for the most part, couldn't make explosive plays today.

And it didn't matter.

The most explosive play came on special teams, the same unit that muffed those two potentially backbreaking punts, when Malik Knowles set sail for a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown that tied the game at 24 in the fourth quarter.

Then, the Wildcats, despite Thompson battling cramping and fatigue, put together one drive late, which was capped off with the game-winning touchdown pass to Dalton Schoen.

So, K-State struggled to make big plays, turned the ball over three times and battled serious injury issues - with Hubert and Walter Neil both unavailable after injuries last week - and the Wildcats won.

So, with K-State at 3-0 heading into a bye week, what happens now?

I still don't know. If I had a vote, I'd have the Wildcats in Top 25. At this point of the season hopefully voters are no longer making the mistake I finally figured out, which was putting too much stock into what K-State was a year ago. The Wildcats are a different team, and right now they're one of the best 25 in college football.

I don't know if they will be a week, a month, or a season from now, but they are right now.

In post-game Thompson spoke, with maturity, about being tired of K-State not getting any respect while also admitting they hadn't done anything to truly earn it.

Well, they absolutely have now. And it's time for doubters - and it's okay if you include me in that group - to take some time to re-asses what K-State's ceiling is in 2019.


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