Two top-10 teams went down this past week — and both by a wide margin. No. 10 Wake Forest was handled at Louisville 48-21, but that wasn’t the widest margin on Saturday.
In Manhattan, Kan., Kansas State walloped No. 9 Oklahoma State by epic proportions. The Wildcats scored early and often. The Cowboys did not in the 48-0 victory for Kansas State.
For Saturday’s efforts, Kansas State has earned the Week 9 distinction of Fifth Quarter/CFBHome Team of the Week:
Domination from the Start
Kansas State took the opening kickoff and marched 77 yards in nine plays for a touchdown and from there, the rout was on. The Wildcats possessed the ball for more than 35 minutes, played mistake-free, racked up 495 yards, went 3-for-3 on fourth down and had two of their four punts downed inside the Oklahoma State 20-yard-line.
Deuce Vaughn finished with 158 yards rushing, which included a 62-yard touchdown run midway through the opening quarter. He also caught a touchdown in the victory. Kansas State led 35-0 at halftime.
Behind center, Will Howard finished with 296 yards passing and four touchdowns. Two of those scoring tosses went to Kade Warner, who finished with 97 yards receiving. Malik Knowles led all receivers with eight catches for 113 yards. Phillip Brooks and DJ Giddens also each found the end zone in the victory.
As good as Kansas State was on offense, it may have been even better on defense. The Wildcats held Oklahoma State to just 217 yards of total offense and to less than five yards per pass attempt and less than two yards per rush. Oklahoma State entered the contest, averaging nearly 45 points per game — good for third in the country.
Nick Allen led the defense with eight tackles. Krew Jackson and Julius Brents each had interceptions for a defense that forced three turnovers.
A Win to Remember
For Oklahoma State, the 48-point trouncing was the worst loss under 18th-year head coach Mike Gundy. Prior to Saturday, the Cowboys had not been shut out since 2009 against Oklahoma. They had not been shut out by Kansas State since a 10-0 loss in 1992 — Bill Snyder’s fourth season.
The 48-point win is the largest for head coach Chris Klieman’s team this season as the Wildcats pitched their second shutout. It is the largest margin of victory for K-State since a 55-14 win over Kansas in October 2020.
There’s something about Manhattan that Oklahoma State just can’t seem to figure out. The shutout loss is the lowest point total for Oklahoma State since being held to 12 points in a 31-12 road loss to Kansas State in 2018. Prior to Saturday, the last time that the Cowboys trailed by 38 to any opponent came in a 48-14 loss at Kansas State in 2014.
Up Next
Following the victory, Kansas State rose nine spots to No. 13 in the AP Poll. Now 6-2, the Wildcats will play host to Texas on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
Also 6-2, Oklahoma State will remain in the “Sunflower State” as it takes on Kansas on Saturday. The Jayhawks will come into the contest as losers of three straight. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET — also on FOX Sports 1.
Featured image courtesy of Kansas State athletics
Mike Ferguson is the managing editor for Fifth Quarter. Be sure to follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeWFerguson. Follow all of Mike’s work by liking his Facebook page.