Collin Klein Has More Questions Than Answers After K-State's Loss to Houston

The honeymoon period is quickly coming to an end for Collin Klein at K-State.

After opening his coaching career with three dominating victories, Klein and the Wildcats have encountered a much different reality in Big 12 play.

The 35-16 loss to No. 22 Houston wasn't simply another disappointing result. The Cougars are an extremely talented team, but they dominated the game in every facet. The lack of preparation before the game, combined with a lack of fight and compete by the team raised questions about how quickly Klein and his staff will be able to get things turned around.

Following the 31-26 loss at Cincinnati in Week 4,K-State had an extra week to evaluate its mistakes, make adjustments and prepare for Houston.

Instead, many of the same concerns surfaced, and for the first time with Klein as the coach, there were boos directed toward the team.

The bye week failed to produce results

The timing of the bye week for K-State appeared to come at the perfect time. The Wildcats had just suffered their first loss of the season, and had an opportunity to addrss their weaknesses before returning home for an important Big 12 matchup.

What the Wildcats put on the field was the most disappointing performance of the season.

Houston controlled the game offensively, rushing for 233 yards and putting together five touchdown drives. Quarterback Conner Weigman threw four touchdown passes, with all of them going to Patrick Overmyer. He was open on all four scores, and the Wildcats had no answer for him.

On the first drive of the game, the Wildcats appeared to get a stop on a fourth-down play in the end zone. However, Klein was forced to use a timeout because there were only 10 players on the field. The Cougars scored on the next play and the route was on.

While Jordan Peterson is the guy who calls the defense, Klein is the guy that it falls on if his team isn't ready to play.

The offense has questions of its own

The defense had major issues on Saturday, but there are also a ton of questions about the K-State offense. Avery Johnson entered this season as one of the most experienced quarterbacks in college football, but he hasn't taken the next step through the first five games. On Saturday, he finished 16-of-30 for 182 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

A lot of those yards were after the Cougars were in control of the game, and had gone to a prevent defense.

Klein really showcased how good an offensive mind he is over the last two years at Texas A&M. The Aggies this year without Klein look like a shell of their team last year, but Klein hasn't been able to get the offense going in Manhattan.

One of the biggest issues is that the Wildcats can't manufacture big plays. Their scoring drives on Saturday were 10, 6, and 13 plays. That is coming after the Wildcats had two drives of 16 and 17 plays that ended with a field goal in Week 4. Asking your offense to consistently go on double-digit play drives is a lot, and Klein has to help the offense find big plays.

The pressure is beginning to build

Nobody should expect Klein to have all of the answers five games into his first season.

It takes time to implement everything that you want to do, and these two losses aren't going to define his coaching tenure. Those boos show how disappointed the fans were in this game, as there was a lack of fight from the players.

The body language of the players wasn't great in the second half, and the team didn't seem to have many leaders trying to rally the team to continue to fight.

Up next for the Wildcats is the annual rival game against Kansas, and that will only add to the urgency for Klein and his staff. K-State hasn't lost this game since 2008, and that is one foundational thing that would have the fans' anxiety level at an all-time high.

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