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I'm not going to lie. I'm still upset that Mike Gundy's Cowboys pretty much were sleepwalking through the first three quarters, making it nearly impossible to come back and win.

The defense surrendered 45 points to a (now) 6-5 team, while Mason Rudolph uncharacteristically overthrew his receivers and two were interceptions. There’s no excuse for the poor showing through three quarters on either side of the ball.

It’s almost like someone warned everyone about sleeping on K-State...

(Un)Fortunately, I still have to pick the winners of the MVP draft — win or loss. Here’s the standings as we head into the second-to-last game of the season.

1 - Micah: 14
T2 - Joel: 10
T2 - “Pete”: 10
T3 - Dustin: 9
T3 - Cade: 9

Let’s see how everyone did.

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Oklahoma State Cowboys

Offense

Rudolph was 32-of-53 for 425 yards, three TDs and two INTs. Rudolph’s 53 pass attempts were 40 more than KSU’s backup QB Skyler Thompson. Rudolph also fumbled the ball, but he quickly fell on it.

Justice Hill was a workhorse out of the backfield again, taking 23 handoffs for 91 yards and a score. His 91 yards was the second time in eight contests that the shifty sophomore failed to reach 100 yards, and the fourth time overall this season. You have to go back to the Texas game to find the last time Hill didn’t find the end zone.

James Washington hauled in eight receptions for 159 yards and two scores.

On a bad day, Washington was a bright spot, despite his drop on the last drive. The Biletnikoff front-runner has eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the seventh time this season and found the end zone in the eighth game this season.

Defense

Justin Phillips had a decent game at the LB position, accumulating five tackles, including 1.5 TFL and one of three sacks on the day.

With all the success that the young OSU corners have had this season, Saturday was not one of them. A.J. Green and Rodarius Williams were getting beat by the K-State receivers all day. The pair combined for five tackles, one TFL and one pass defended.

Calvin Bundage was the statistical leader yet again for the Cowboys. He had nine tackles (five solo) and 2.5 TFL, including this impressive stop early in the fourth quarter.

Bundage had five of his nine tackles in the fourth quarter. His five TFL on the season have him tied for fourth on the team with Darrion Daniels.

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Kansas State Wildcats

Offense

This one was easy.

Backup QB Skyler Thompson was impressive to a point, throwing for 204 yards and three touchdowns. He only threw 13 passes, completing 10 of them. He added 93 rushing yards on 17 carries and another touchdown, but he didn’t get the point. (No one picked him anyway, so I don’t think I’m going to catch any flak for this.)

Byron Pringle was a monster Saturday. The junior WR had - by far - the best game of his season, grabbing four catches for 166 yards and three scores - all of which were over 45 yards (46, 47, 60).

He also added a kickoff return to drive the dagger deeper into the hearts of Oklahoma State fans as they watched their Big 12 Championship dreams die in Stillwater.

Pringle’s 280 all-purpose yards and four total TDs makes him the K-State MVP this week.

Defense

Jayd Kirby was outstanding Saturday, totaling 11 solo tackles and 12 total tackles. Will Geary had six total tackles, including 1.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks.

It’s going to be Trent Tanking that earns the point this week. The senior linebacker showed up to play in the final road game of his career, recording nine tackles, seven of which were solo. They key reason I picked him is the two pass break ups. Rudolph was less than stellar Saturday, so Tanking being able to break up the passes that were on target were huge for the Wildcats in their upset victory Saturday.

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Let’s tally up the points!

Cade - 2 points

OSU: O - James Washington | D - Chad Whitener
KSU: O - Byron Pringle | D - Kendall Adams

“Pete” - 0 points

OSU: O - Dillon Stoner | D - Trey Carter
KSU: O - Isaiah Zuber | D – Jayd Kirby

Dustin - 0 points

OSU: O - Justice Hill | D - Jordan Brailford
KSU: O - Winston Dimel | D - Will Geary

Joel - 2 points

OSU: O - Marcell Ateman | D - Calvin Bundage
KSU: O - Alex Barnes | D - Trent Tanking

Micah - 0 points

OSU: O - Mason Rudolph | D - Ramon Richards
KSU: O - Dalton Schoen | D - D.J. Reed

1 - Micah: 14
2 - Joel: 12
3 - Cade: 11
4 - “Pete”: 10
5 - Dustin: 9

With two weeks left (KU and bowl game), things are really interesting. Congratulations to Cade for finally making it out of the cellar!

Tune in Friday for our Kansas picks.