Instant Reaction: Kansas State Survives Against Iowa State 27-21

Collin Klein faced adversity all day long, having bad communication with his offensive line thanks to a sold-out Jack Trice Stadium. It didn’t faze him. He delivers a clutch performance, going 7-10 on third down in the second half and picking up nearly 300 yards of total offense himself in the game.

Oct 13, 2012; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones running back Shontrelle Johnson (21) scores a touchdown against the Kansas State Wildcats during the first half at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE

Iowa State had opportunities to win the game late and despite a solid effort early, Jared Barnett looked a lot worse in the second half than his competition. Staying in the pocket, he kept going to his primary receivers over and over again. Aaron Horne was definitely his go-to guy, delivering with seven catches for 83 yards. Chris Young had three big catches for 24 yards but dropped the first pass on the final drive for Iowa State.

Barnett also threw some awful passes and didn’t look comfortable in the pocket. He should have rolled out more than he did, but it’s hard to do that when punter Ryan Doerr kept pinning the Cyclones deep. Iowa State had to start from the 99-yard line and 97-yard line in that second half. With quick drives Kansas State was able to dominate time of possession.

The stats are ugly for the Cyclones, but that second half definitely was on the offensive end when they couldn’t get the ball back. That defense tried so hard to stop Klein, but he was just spectacular all game long. It was a tough task to keep him contained and I thought Iowa State did a fairly good job when they got to the red zone to contain him most of the game.

Kansas State stays perfect and moves to 6-0 overall, 3-0 in the conference, and could reach the top five in the BCS when the rankings are released tomorrow. Iowa State falls to 4-2 and 1-2 in the conference, but fans shouldn’t give up hope. Klein was a beast, and Barnett is due for struggles. The defense is still great and should keep them in every game this season.

Brian Spaen is the lead editor for Clones Confidential. Keep up with the latest sports fails and disdain toward the Big Ten by following him on Twitter.

Read his other work on the Oregon Ducks blog, Autzen Zoo, and Lacrosse the Web.