Out of the two-minute timeout with Kansas State down by six , Arizona had a chance to make it a two-score game with a field goal, ending any chance of a miracle.
The kick was no good, giving Kansas State life, which quickly evaporated because, as we've come to know through the first four games of the season, the Wildcats aren't very good.
That was made ever so clear on Friday, Sept. 12's Week 3 matchup with Arizona, when Kansas State lost 23-17 in a game that felt far worse than what the final score indicated.
Kansas State is off to its first 1-3 start since 1989 , the program's first season under Bill Snyder, before he pulled off The Miracle in Manhattan. The Wildcats went 1-10 that year before continued growth resurrected the football program, but it's going to take another miracle to get this season turned around.
As bad as these first four weeks have been, the worst may still be yet to come.
The Wildcats haven't been good enough in the trenches , nor have they taken advantage of the opportunities that have been presented. The three losses have been by six points or fewer, but the last two losses haven't presented much to be hopeful about.
The first four weeks have featured a solid Iowa State team, an FCS opponent, a rebuilding Army team that lost to an FCS opponent, and an Arizona team that went 4-8 last year.
It only gets harder from here.
Thank goodness the Wildcats are getting this week off before playing a UCF program amid a rebuilding year, but Baylor and TCU await, looking like teams that may be capable of contending.
If you think Kansas State fans are angry or in pain now, wait until Oct. 25 when the Wildcats drive over to Lawrence, when the 16-game win streak over the Jayhawks appears to be in real jeopardy. With the way Kansas is investing in football, this could be the Jayhawks' chance to claim the momentum they haven't had in a long time within the state.
Lance Leipold has to win this game.
After that? Texas Tech should be as strong as anyone when it visits Manhattan. There better not be a world in which K-State is as bad as Oklahoma State this season, but there's a chance we're living in it. Utah looks like a contender, while Deion Sanders appears to be rebuilding this year in Colorado.
That doesn't look like a path to bowl eligibility, something Kansas State has been for the last five years. Rather, it's trending in the direction of something like 3-8, which would be the worst record since that same 1989 season in which Snyder took over the program.
If you thought these first four weeks were painful, there's potential for a lot more torment over the next few weeks.
Thank goodness Kansas State is off this upcoming week. The Wildcats have a lot to figure out.
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_ , contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football painful season could get a lot worse
