Kansas State beat Texas Tech on Saturday to send the Red Raiders to 5-6 on the season after a promising 5-2 start.

Yes, four of the losses were to top 20 teams, but the Kansas State Wildcats are not in the top 25. The loss was a gut punch to fans who had high expectations after a solid start.

Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury took most of the fan whiplash on social media, but the players got their share of splash back, too.

Freshman running back Tazhawn Henry commented after the loss:

#TTVE is a hashtag that sprung up last season. It means 'Texas Tech vs Everybody.' The mantra is in response to the negative energy engulfing the team after every loss. There's a growing percentage of the fanbase that puts the blame solely on the shoulders of Kingsbury's coaching acumen. But defensive end Eli Howard said coach just shoulders the load of the blame to protect the players.

"Coach Kingsbury can't catch a snap or block for a punt," Howard said. "At the end of the day the players need to look in the mirror and we got to be better for him and the community."

Eli Howard responded directly to the media, but other players vented some frustrations on Twitter -- like this since-deleted tweet from Houston Miller.

twitter.com/houston miller
Twitter via Houston Miller
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It has to be frustrating for the players to be in the midst of a losing streak, but to compound that with the social media storm around Kingsbury's job security and people on Twitter talking directly to players, it has to take a toll. Especially when there's such a direct line between the player and the frustrated fan.

I get the frustration of the fanbase, but is there ever a reason to go after a player directly? No. That's ridiculous. Kliff Kingsbury is a state-paid employee and makes millions of dollars to be able to take all of the blame, and he owns up to his mistakes weekly.

The players have made enormous sacrifices for a scholarship and an opportunity to represent Texas Tech University, and they don't need to know what Jim Bob feels about their performance.

I know it's frustrating, but take a minute next time before you fire off that tweet or Facebook post that doesn't serve any purpose but to further beat down a team that is doing plenty of that themselves.

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Watch: Texas Tech Home Game Highlights

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