Kansas State Football: 3 takeaways from the Wildcats’ loss at Vanderbilt

1. Ertz can’t carry this team himself

After discussing the flaws in Ertz’s game, it’s time to look into his supporting cast. Outside of his defense and some push from his offensive line, there wasn’t much going on around him that would instill much confidence.

Running backs Justin Silmon and Alex Barnes recorded 41 and 34 yards, respectively. While they weren’t given many opportunities in the first place, Kansas State needs a back who can take the pressure off of Ertz. The Wildcats are going to need more out of Ertz’s arm if they want to go far, but that will be difficult if he has to make all of the plays with his feet.

Additionally, Ertz’s receivers didn’t give him very much to work with. No receiver caught more than four passes and the leading receiver in Isaiah Zuber only brought in 37 yards. There was little separation from the receivers as Vanderbilt suffocated essentially every aspect of Kansas State’s offensive attack outside of Ertz’s rushing onslaught.

It will be interesting to see if this Kansas State offense can rebound from this poor performance or if they will continue to skid until their contest against TCU. Regardless, Kansas State will likely have to win out in order to find themselves considered in the playoff talk, making these games against top 20 competition all the more important.

This offense feeds off the dual-threat abilities of their quarterback, but they’ll have to give him more than this if they want to fight their way back into playoff relevancy. If not, this could be a very long season for Bill Snyder and his Wildcats.

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The Kansas State Wildcats now face an uphill battle for the rest of the season if they want a chance at a coveted bowl game. It’s early and there’s no counting them out just yet, but there is plenty that they need to sort out before their battles with some of the nation’s best.