Players of the game: Kansas State dominates Oklahoma State

OFFENSIVE MVP: Will Howard

Even in a game where Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn ran for over 150 yards and a score, Will Howard was undoubtedly the best player for the K-State offense by a large margin. He passed for four touchdowns in just the first half and was money on nearly every throw on the day.

He is the first Kansas State quarterback to pass for four touchdowns in a conference game since Jake Waters threw for four scores in 2014. Howard was simply incredible, and he proved a lot of people wrong (including me) that thought there was no way he was cut out to be a Power Five starting quarterback.

No K-State quarterback has ever passed for five scores in one game. Had it not been for a blowout, Howard probably reaches that feat. His final stat line for the day read 21 completions on 37 attempts for 296 yards and four touchdowns.

Vaughn was great on the ground and also made an impact as a receiver. He made a spectacular touchdown grab for one of his four receptions.

It was a day where the Kansas State wide receivers feasted. Malik Knowles led the way with eight catches for 113 yards. He had a sick side-step near the line of scrimmage where he picked up the first down and more with his elusiveness and speed. He finished with 47 yards after the catch.

K-State wideout Kade Warner actually topped that yards after catch category and was probably the most impressive weapon for Howard on the day. He finished with five catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns. The first was a perfect throw from Howard down the sideline.

The second was a short pass that Warner found a way to take to the end zone for a 41-yard score. Phillip Brooks was only targeted twice but he caught both and one went for a touchdown.

The four touchdown passes by Will Howard in the first half marked the third time in school history a player had 4 in a half… The other two players were Michael Bishop (1997 vs. Northern Illinois) and Paul Watson (1988 vs. Louisiana Tech).#KStateFB

— Ryan Lackey 🌾 (@rlackey84) October 29, 2022

Defensive MVP: Austin Moore

As good as the offense was, the defense was just as fantastic. Kansas State shut out a tough Oklahoma State offense and a lot of guys played very well. Austin Moore receives the nod for being one of the top tacklers and also forcing what was a key fumble early in the game when the score was tight.

Cornerbacks Julius Brents and Ekow Boye-Doe were both incredible. Brents playing dinged up and still produced an interception off of a Jake Clifton deflection and Boye-Doe was great in coverage throughout the contest.

Speaking of the true freshman linebacker, Clifton was also very impressive and saw a lot of time in the absence of Daniel Green and Khalid Duke. Also, kudos to K-State linebacker Nick Allen. There’s been a lot of criticism thrown his way and he stepped up today by leading the team in tackles. He was not a liability and was actually a positive in the shutout.

Defensive ends Brendan Mott and Felix Anudike-Uzomah each sacked Spencer Sanders once. Mott was super productive in the first half and scooped up the fumble that Moore created.

All three starting safeties were good, but Drake Cheatum was in a lot of the right spots on Saturday and forced a fumble. Josh Hayes accounted for a tackle for loss and a pass break-up for Kansas State. There were no holes for Oklahoma State to exploit.

SPECIAL TEAMS MVP: Ty Zentner

Ty Zentner stepped in as the new starting kicker for K-State. Chris Tennant had struggled a lot this season, and Chris Klieman decided to make the change. Zentner didn’t have to make any difficult kicks, but he knocked in both of his short ones and struck them right down the middle.

He also punted four balls and pinned the Cowboys deep a couple of times.

I will point out that Brooks had one really impressive punt return of 33 yards that set up Kansas State in great field position.