Chris Klieman wants new mentality from K-State QB Adrian Martinez after Tulane loss

By now, it’s clear that Adrian Martinez wasn’t the only thing holding back Nebraska football. But time is running out for him to prove he is capable of leading Kansas State to new heights.

The Wildcats suffered a stunning 17-10 loss against Tulane on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium that was so frustrating for the fan base that boos could be heard every time the K-State offense turned the ball over on downs. And that happened quite a bit, four times to be exact.

Martinez was at the center of the loss, because K-State’s offense failed miserably on a day when the defense made plays and needed only a C- performance on the other side of the ball for victory.

K-State gained 336 yards but needed 73 plays to get them. Martinez threw for a season-high 150 yards and didn’t commit a turnover, but he also played far too conservatively and only averaged 4.8 yards per attempt. Worst of all, the Wildcats went 2 for 15 on third downs and 1 for 5 on fourth downs.

Perhaps punting would have been a better option.

K-State football coach Chris Klieman summed up the frustrating day best when he suggested that Martinez needs to change his mentality as the team’s starting quarterback.

“We gotta get him to cut it loose, without question,” Klieman said. “We gotta get him to cut it loose and be free. If he makes a mistake, he makes a mistake.”

That is the way Martinez played when he was the face of Nebraska football.

He was a gunslinger during his four seasons with the Huskers. Yes, he turned the ball over more often than any coach would like. But he also made highlight plays and amassed nearly 11,000 total yards against Big Ten opponents.

K-State fans hoped they were getting a dialed-back version of that quarterback when Martinez transferred in last spring. If he could continue making big plays while cutting his turnovers in half, he could elevate his new offense during his lone season in Manhattan.

That hasn’t happened yet. Martinez has done an excellent job of limiting turnovers in a purple uniform. He hasn’t lost a single one in three games. But his highlight plays are also way down. He gave fans a touchdown run in each of his first two games and recorded his first touchdown pass as a Wildcat on Saturday. But that’s where his list of superlatives ends.

Martinez threw for a grand total of 154 yards in his first two games with the Wildcats and then followed it up with 150 against Tulane. There were times at Nebraska when he put up better numbers than that in a single game, like the time he threw for 384 yards and two touchdowns against Wisconsin.

“We stalled out offensively, and we made a multitude of errors, starting with myself,” Martinez said. “There were a lot of things that we could have done better out there, and Tulane played a solid game. But we weren’t ourselves today, for sure.”

Martinez hasn’t seemed like himself all season.

He rarely fights for extra yardage on running plays. He seldom takes chances down field. He has become a captain of the check-down pass. Even when he is trying to convert on third-and-long he mostly throws short of the sticks and hopes his receiver can move the chains with a broken tackle. He opted mostly for check-downs on Saturday, and few of them resulted in meaningful yardage.

Martinez even occasionally looked hesitant to get the ball to playmakers when they were open. He had Malik Knowles open in the end zone at the end of the first half and opted to throw the ball away. K-State running back Deuce Vaughn could have picked up a first down on an option pitch in the fourth quarter, but Martinez decided to keep the ball himself and lost 4 yards.

Tulane sold out against the run and bottled up Vaughn for a season-low 81 rushing yards. The Green Wave dared Martinez to beat them with his arm, and he was unable to do so.

After the game, Martinez said he is not hesitant to throw down field. But he understands the Wildcats need to establish more of a vertical passing game if they hope to bounce back from this defeat.

“That’s something we’re definitely going to have to work on and something we will look at on film,” Martinez said. “It’s not something we’re afraid to do. It’s nothing that I’m afraid to do, to send it down field. We’re just going to have to work on it. Today, I think we missed that element, and it was something that we needed.”

The Wildcats need more from their offense, and that starts with Martinez cutting it loose.

“It did not perform the way it needs to,” Klieman said. “Stats are our stats, but we need to be more explosive and have more explosive plays in the passing game. I thought they did a really nice job of tackling, especially on Deuce ... We have to be more explosive and push the ball downfield or run after the catch. That eluded us today.”