Grades from Kansas State’s victory over UCF and a look ahead to Oklahoma State

Things are looking up again for the Kansas State football team.

The Wildcats bounced back from their first loss of the season with an impressive 44-31 victory over the UCF Knights on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and now they have an idle week to prepare for their final eight games.

K-State (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) might move back into the top 25 rankings after the way they played in this game.

No matter what happens, it will head into its next game at Oklahoma State on October 6 with a healthier roster and eyes on a strong start to conference play.

Now, it’s time to analyze the win over UCF (3-0, 0-1 Big 12).

Play of the game

You have to give Gus Malzahn credit for the touchdown that UCF scored on a flea-flicker pass from Timmy McClain to Kobe Hudson.

He completely fooled the K-State defense on that one, and the Knights scored an easy 69-yard touchdown.

Player of the game

This is a no-brainer.

DJ Giddens was quite possibly the best player in the Big 12 on Saturday, as he produced 293 yards of total offense and scored four touchdowns. He touched the football 38 times and kept making big plays no matter how much UCF tried to slow him down.

Darren Sproles is the only running back who has put up a better stat line in a K-State uniform.

Stat of the game

K-State gained 536 yards on 82 plays.

Giddens was responsible for 293 of those yards on 38 touches.

Quote to note

“We knew they had a really good team, defending champs and all that ... This shows us where we’re at. We’ve got to play really good. We have got to play disciplined. We didn’t do the things that it takes to get a quality win against a really good opponent on their home field.” — Gus Malzahn.

Grades

Offense: A. The Wildcats averaged 6.5 yards per play with an incredibly balanced attack that featured 281 rushing yards and 255 passing yards. DJ Giddens was phenomenal. Will Howard was solid. And the offensive line played its best game of the year with Christian Duffie back in the lineup.

Defense: B. K-State was solid against the run, allowing UCF to gain 143 yards on 34 attempts. But the Wildcats surrendered too many explosive plays. The Knights scored three different times on plays that went for 27 or more yards.

Special Teams: C. Chris Tennant missed a field goal from 26 yards away off the left upright. He also missed an extra point. That’s not good. But Jack Blumer had a 69-yard punt. That was a big play in the game.

Coaching: B+. The last six times K-State has suffered a loss it has responded immediately with a victory in its next game. Chris Klieman knows how to get his team ready in those situations. This game was no different.

Next up: at Oklahoma State

A road trip to Oklahoma State no longer looks like one of the most difficult games on the K-State football schedule.

The Cowboys have sputtered after a 2-0 start and are coming off consecutive losses against South Alabama and Iowa State. Oklahoma State lost at Iowa State 34-27 on Saturday.

Mike Gundy’s team gained 409 yards of offense against the Cyclones, but quarterback Alan Bowman only completed 23 of 48 passes and threw two interceptions.

Oklahoma State will try to get right during its off week and play much better at home on a Friday night against K-State.

Boone Pickens Stadium has traditionally been a difficult place for the Wildcats to win. Klieman is 0-2 there, but K-State did demolish Oklahoma State 48-0 last season in Manhattan.

The Wildcats figure to be road favorites in two weeks, based on their current form.

But anything could happen in Stillwater. Both teams will have plenty of time to come up with a unique game plan.