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Kansas State Wildcats Have To Show Precaution With QBs Vs. Oklahoma State
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- Kansas State Wildcats Have To Show Precaution With QBs Vs. Oklahoma State
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
It has been revealed the Kansas State Wildcats will only have two quarterbacks available for Saturday's game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Seniors Avery Johnson and Jacob Knuth are both dealing with injuries. That leaves starter Blake Barnett and backup Dillon Duff as the only healthy quarterbacks on the roster. With a limited unit, first-year Kansas State coach Collin now has the task of how to protect his signal-callers.
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Klein addressed it during his weekly press conference.
"We've been walking that razor's edge all season," Klein said. "I don't want to put him in a box. We've got to play to make him his best and who he is, just like everyone on our team. We've got two this week, so I think that's quite a lot, to be quite honest with you."
It seems like Klein isn't going to let a limited number of quarterbacks dictate how he plays football this week. He refuses to play defense on offense, especially at this point of the season.
The Wildcats are on a two-game losing streak after losing to the Arizona State Sun Devils and Colorado Buffaloes. Both were winnable games. They may have been more winnable if Johnson were in the lineup. He's been the starter the past three seasons, including making 32 starts before getting injured at some point after the victory against the Kansas Jayhawks last month.
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The setback started a series of issues for the Wildcats quarterback room. They started following like leaves in the fall. After Johnson, it was his replacement, Jacob Knuth. After Knuth played solid against the Sun Devils, he sustained an ankle injury. With him unavailable, the Wildcats turned to sophomore Dillon Duff. He had never taken a college snap, so he struggled for one quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes before being replaced by Blake Barnett.
Klein has already tabbed Barnett as the starter for this week's game against Oklahoma State. Barnett is a similar dual-threat as Johnson, so it's good that Klein is willing to play this game full-speed.
This isn't about switching the offense with hopes of injury prevention. Like they say, when players worry about injuries is when they get injured the most. Fans should view this as a positive because Klein is trying to win instead of just maintaining.
It's almost the complete opposite of him playing for the tie at the end of the Colorado game. After playing from behind most of the way, they pulled to within one point on a touchdown pass with two seconds left. They had the chance to go for the win with a two-point conversion. Instead, they played it safe with an extra point to go into overtime.
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The Wildcats did score a field goal on the first possession of the extra session but the Buffaloes won with a touchdown on the next series.
So it's nice to see Klein showing some aggression with quarterback play this week. At least we hope so.
