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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Kansas State coach Bill Snyder has been on the sidelines for enough spring games to know the difference between a crisp showing and a sloppy one.
The Wildcat's game Saturday, which was moved to Sporting Park in suburban Kansas City due to renovations at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, fell into the latter category.
''When the fans leave early,'' Snyder said, ''that tells you that we were not very good.''
The first-team purple squad came away with a 55-24 win, but the Wildcats collectively turned the ball over four times and had several miscues on special teams that led to easy scores.
''We'll somehow, someway become as good as we can,'' Snyder said. ''We just didn't play well.''
Snyder's displeasure was the most obvious takeaway Saturday. Here are some more:
QB QUESTIONS: Kansas State entered spring practice with a major question mark at quarterback position after the departure of Davey O'Brien Award semifinalist Jake Waters. If Saturday proved anything, it's that the job is still wide open.
Experienced options Joe Hubener and Jesse Ertz struggled in the first half, with Ertz tossing a pick-six. Hubener also was picked off, though his attempt was tipped at the line.
Alex Delton, a freshman who joined the program at the semester, made things interesting with his arm and legs after coming on in the second quarter. Delton ran 39 yards up the sideline on one read option. He later wowed the crowd with a 60-yard laser just out of reach of his target.
''I'm always looking for all them to step up,'' Snyder said of his quarterbacks. ''I want all of them to improve, but we were only 33 percent with that today.''
BURTON MAKES PLAYS: As a sophomore last season playing behind All-American wide receiver Tyler Lockett, Deante Burton finished with just 17 receptions for 171 yards.
This season, Burton is the player who could be responsible to replace Lockett's production, and he got off to a good start Saturday. He had four catches for a team-high 107 yards, including a 46-yard catch in the first quarter.
''You can never replace a guy like that,'' Burton said of Lockett. ''My thing is that I push myself to be the best I can be and use him as a benchmark.''
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Prior to the game, Kansas State announced its list of captains for the 2015 season: Dante Barnett, Cody Whitehair, Travis Britz, Morgan Burns and Stanton Weber.
Barnett, the lone returning captain, has started 28 games at safety. Whitehair, Britz and Burns have combined for 61 starts, while Weber has played in 34 games mostly on special teams.
