When No. 22 Houston comes to Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday, Collin Klein will be looking across the field at a quarterback he knows well.
Klein, now back at Kansas State after returning to his alma mater last December, coached Conner Weigman at Texas A&M last season as the Aggies’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Now Weigman is directing a Houston offense that has already shown plenty of punch through five games.
The Cougars are 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12 after last week’s 27-17 comeback win over UCF. Houston was staring at a 17-0 deficit late in the third quarter before ripping off 27 unanswered points, with Weigman punching in three rushing touchdowns in the second half.
“Conner is doing a nice job for them,” Klein said. “He has been very efficient. He threatens you with his legs and by throwing the football.”
Weigman has completed 67.4% of his passes for 1,186 yards, 11 touchdowns and one interception. Houston also leads the nation in third-down conversion percentage, turning 65.6% of those chances into first downs.
Willie Fritz said Klein’s background with Weigman gives Kansas State a useful lens on the Cougars’ quarterback.
“I’m sure (Klein) understands the different things (Weigman does),” Fritz said. “I called him before we brought Conner over here and he had nothing but great things to say about him.”
Kansas State comes in at 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12 after its 31-26 loss at Cincinnati on Sept. 26.
The Wildcats led 10-0 in the second quarter before the Bearcats clawed back and took control. Klein said the bye week gave his team time to process that first defeat and focus on handling adversity better when the game starts to swing.
“Our ability to collectively settle in and grind those situations together while minimizing the damage of whatever happens is a skill and something you have to practice at and experience,” Klein said. “(The Cincinnati game) was the first time we experienced that as a group, which compounded some of the schematic and technical things we were fighting.”
Avery Johnson remains the centerpiece of Kansas State’s offense. The senior quarterback has thrown for 910 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 66.2% of his passes.
He also leads the Wildcats with 291 rushing yards and three scores on the ground. Across 37 games for Kansas State, Johnson has piled up 25 rushing touchdowns.
Fritz knows Johnson brings a different kind of headache.
“He’s hard to corral and keep in the pocket and is also a great drop-back passer,” Fritz said. “That’s a lethal combination when a guy can also run as a quarterback.”
The Wildcats will also have to adjust without tight end Will Anciaux, who is out for the rest of the season with a lower-leg injury. The 6-foot-6, 241-pound senior had six catches for 84 yards before going down.
Klein said freshman backup Lawson McGraw used the bye week to make progress, and Kansas State has been working through how to replace what Anciaux gave the offense.
“We have some plans,” Klein said. “We will package things around that position group because we’ve been able to create an extra gap with an extra tight end and do a lot of good things.”
In Other News...
Iowa State Is Showing Promise But One Concern Could Change Everything
Five weeks into the Big 12 season, the unbeaten race has already taken on a layered look, with BYU, Utah, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Baylor still without a loss. Baylor has especially started to look like more than just a hot start, backed by a big win over Arizona State and noticeable strides on both defense and at quarterback, while Houston also gave itself a jolt with a key victory over UCF and Texas Tech has leaned on a stout defense even as its offense has been less steady.
Iowa State fits into that next tier of teams that can make noise, because the Cyclones have moved the ball well enough to stay dangerous. The problem is on the other side of the ball, where the defense has not matched the offenses productivity, and that imbalance is the kind of issue that can quickly reshape a season in a league this crowded. Colorados ongoing scoring and quarterback problems show how fragile the bottom can be, but for Iowa State, the concern is more about whether a promising start can survive if the defense never catches up. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Finally Gets A Rare Big 12 Home Spotlight
The Cougars are about to get the kind of showcase that has been hard to come by in their early Big 12 life. Houston will host No. 18 Oklahoma State on Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. CST at TDECU Stadium, with FOX carrying the game nationally, giving the program its first nationally televised primetime home slot of the season.
For a Houston team that is ranked No. 22, the setting only adds to the significance of the month ahead. The Cougars also go to Kansas State the week before, another FOX game, and this stretch could give them back-to-back chances to show they belong in the conference spotlight while possibly landing their first top-25 home matchup since 2015. [Read more 🡒]