Kansas State vs. Oklahoma State Football: Grading Cowboys in Win over Wildcats

When the smoke cleared in Stillwater Saturday night, the Oklahoma State Cowboys had beaten the Kansas State Wildcats by a margin as narrow as a last-second, incomplete pass into the end zone.

The Cowboys beat the Wildcats in a game that was so wild the Earth literally shook a few minutes after it had ended.

Even though it was a great win, it was by no means a perfect one. Here is a grade for each facet of the Cowboys' game on Saturday.

Pass Offense

Oklahoma State's passing game was its typical self on Saturday night.

Quarterback Brandon Weeden went 36-for-46 for 502 yards (a school record) and threw four touchdown passes. Seven different receivers caught passes and star wideout Justin Blackmon caught 13 balls for 205 yards.

Weeden did throw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, which does bring down the grade in this area a bit. However, he made up for it with a clutch touchdown throw with a few minutes left and a clutch two-point conversion pass.

Grade: B+

Running Game

Running back Joseph Randle ran for all of the Cowboys rushing yards (73 yards) and rushed for two touchdowns.

The Wildcats did a good job of bottling up the Cowboys rushing attempts for the most part, holding them to 4.3 yards per rush.

That is, until the very end of the game, when Randle broke loose for a 23-yard run that would end up being the winning touchdown.

Grade: B-

Rushing Defense

Brace yourselves.

The Cowboys gave up 5.4 yards per rush to a team that basically wanted to do nothing but run the ball. Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns all by himself.

There were times when the Wildcats just spread everyone out and let Klein find a hole. The Cowboys must do a better job of stopping the run if they want to continue their magical season.

Grade: D-

Passing Defense

Watching the game Saturday night, one would have thought that the Cowboys did a fairly good job overall against the pass. Kansas State isn't a good passing offense, so it seems like an opportunistic defense like Oklahoma State would do well.

Klein ended up throwing for 231 yards on 22-of-38. He did throw one touchdown and interception.

The Cowboys did a good job, but not great; Klein isn't a great passer by Big 12 standards, and the Cowboys should have done a better job against him though the air.

It does help their grade that they kept him from completing the game-tying touchdown a couple of times (even if the last one was more his fault).

Grade: C

Special Teams

One phase that the Cowboys have excelled in historically is special teams.

Saturday night was mixed on that front. While Justin Gilbert did average 20 yards per kickoff return despite Kansas State continually pooch-kicking, Justin Blackmon also muffed a punt that was a real turning point in the game.

Quinn Sharp continued his impressive play, hitting all three of his field-goal attempts and averaging 51 yards per punt. He even got one punt downed at the 1-yard line.

Grade: B+

Overall

This game is one that the Cowboys should have mixed feelings about.

It was an impressive win for Oklahoma State, but it probably should not have been such a close game. The four turnovers for OSU were not good, but they were able to check those when crunch time came around.

The Cowboys also came back from a double-digit deficit to lead at halftime and drove down the field for a score after Kansas State went ahead by one point in the fourth quarter.

It wasn't the prettiest win, but the Cowboys outlasted their opponent which is, of course, always the ultimate goal.

This game will teach the Cowboys lessons they'll need later on.

Grade: B-