Players of the game: Adrian Martinez leads Kansas State in the upset of Oklahoma
OFFENSIVE MVP: Adrian Martinez
Kansas State quarterback Adrian Martinez came out of his shell in Norman. He had both phases of the game cooking. He scored five touchdowns, four of which came on the ground. The K-State signal-caller finally cut it loose and produced almost 250 yards passing.
However, it was his running ability that really shined. He carried the ball 20 times and added 150 yards on the ground. In total, he logged almost 400 yards of offense by himself. 380 yards and five touchdowns is pretty damn good. The Nebraska transfer needed this game.
The Kansas State receivers that benefited from the rise in aggressiveness were Malik Knowles, Ben Sinnott and Phillip Brooks. Knowles had the single touchdown catch, Sinnott led with 80 yards receiving and Brooks caught seven of his 11 targets.
Deuce Vaughn was also special. His 116 yards on the ground aren’t a surprise at this point of his career. His footwork and elusiveness is unreal sometimes.
DEFENSIVE MVP: Kobe Savage
Oklahoma and Dillon Gabriel exposed a few blown coverages downfield, something we haven’t seen burn the K-State defense much this year. But the Wildcats didn’t break. They held a potent offense from unscrewing their cap.
No one Wildcat was perfect on the defensive side of the ball, but I felt Kobe Savage was in the right place a lot. Him leading the way with 11 total tackles speaks to that. He stopped a few would-be first downs by himself.
Austin Moore, Josh Hayes, Julius Brents, Drake Cheatum, Jaylen Pickle, Khalid Duke and of course Felix Anudike-Uzomah also all deserve shoutouts for great play.
SPECIAL TEAMS MVP: Malik Knowles
It was another uneventful day for the Kansas State special teams, but Malik Knowles did have one big kick return that set the Wildcats up for one of their touchdowns early in the contest. Chris Tennant knocked in both of his short field goals. Ty Zentner punted the ball well, but it wasn’t his best game.
