Winners and Losers: The Kansas State defense is rolling

KSO covers the biggest winners and losers in the world of Kansas State and college athletics.

Winners

1.) Klanderman: Pitching two shutouts in one season is a rare feat, especially in this day and age of offensive football, but Kansas Sate has accomplished that. Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman has his unit rolling after a bit of a slower start due to inexperience. K-State has not allowed a touchdown in nine quarters and have not allowed a touchdown at Bill Snyder Family Stadium since September 23.
2.) Porter: One of the cooler moments of the game was when Kansas State super senior Seth Porter scored his first career touchdown. A funny note is that Avery Johnson was in eighth grade when Porter was a true freshman at K-State. Phillip Brooks called Porter the epitome of what it means to be a Wildcat.
3.) Recruiting: Kansas State is red hot on the recruiting trail. Football flipped both safety Callen Barta and linebacker Boone Morris. We expect K-State to add another commitment on the football side soon as well. Jerome Tang and company hosted Patrick Ngongba and David Castillo as well. Ngongba and Castillo were two popular people in the Wildcat student section.
4.) Howard: Quarterback Will Howard seems to have bounced back after a rough game and a half. The senior quarterback threw two touchdowns before he threw his first incompletion against Houston. Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman called it perhaps his best game.
5.) Kansas: The best win in the Big 12 this week belonged to the Kansas Jayhawks. In full transparency, I did not think the game would be close. I felt that Oklahoma would blast Kansas after the Sooners were caught sleepwalking a bit through the UCF game. I was wrong.

Losers

1.) Michigan: While Michigan is dominating on the field, they are more of a circus off the field. Not only is the sign stealing scandal in full swing, the FBI is also investigating former offensive coordinator Matt Weiss.
2.) Offense: Simply put, teams are struggling to score on K-State, especially in Manhattan as alluded to above. The third down and red zone numbers for the Wildcat defense are staggering.
3.) Cincinnati: Things are not going well for Cincinnati in their first season in the Big 12. The Bearcats have yet to win a conference game. In fact, they haven’t won a game since September 9. Year one for Scott Satterfield has not gone well.
4.) Dabo: The Clemson dynasty era appears to be over. After falling to NC State Saturday, the Tigers are just 4-4 and still have games remaining against Notre Dame and North Carolina.
5.) Desmond Howard: ESPN and College Game Day continues to complain about the death of the Pac-12. Desmond Howard was the latest to say the league is the best in the FBS this year and it’s a shame the league will not exist next season even though ESPN played a large hand in the destruction of the league. A key element to remember is no national figure on ESPN talked about the Big 12 like that when Oklahoma and Texas announced they were leaving for the SEC.