Kansas State is walking straight into the other end of the Big 12 spectrum this weekend.
After seeing the conference’s top offense last week, the Wildcats now have to deal with one of its toughest defenses when they travel to face TCU on Saturday at Amon G. Stadium in Dallas.
The Horned Frogs bring the No. 2 defense in the league, and they’ve built it on a front seven that can create problems fast, plus a pass rush that ranks among the best in the Big 12. They also mix up their looks, which makes the job even more complicated for Kansas State first-year coach Collin Klein.
Klein talked this week about the challenge of preparing for such a different kind of opponent after last week’s matchup. TCU is allowing just 304.7 total yards per game, a mark topped only by BYU’s 302.2, and the Horned Frogs also lead the conference in scoring defense at 15.8 points allowed per game.
That’s a rough draw for a Kansas State offense that has been stuck in neutral for three straight weeks during a three-game losing streak. The Wildcats have dropped games to Arizona State, Colorado and Oklahoma State, and the offense has had trouble finding any rhythm.
Against Arizona State, there wasn’t much going early. Against Colorado, the attack didn’t really wake up until the second half.
And in last week’s 66-28 loss to Oklahoma State, the production came mostly in garbage time.
The quarterback situation has only made things messier. Avery Johnson, who had started 32 straight games over the past three seasons, was injured after Kansas State’s win over Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown last month. He’ll miss his fourth straight game with an undisclosed injury, and the Wildcats are still searching for stability under center.
Kansas State has already used three different quarterbacks in its last three games. Jacob Knuth got the first shot and played solidly in the loss to Arizona State before leaving with an ankle injury. Sophomore Dillon Duff started the next game at Colorado, but after a rough first quarter, he was pulled for Blake Barnett.
In Other News...
Kansas State Faces A Strange New Disruption Before TCU Kickoff
Kansas States trip to Fort Worth turned into an unusual pregame wrinkle Friday when the Wildcats were unable to leave Manhattan Regional Airport because of a national FAA ground stop on all air travel. Instead of settling in the night before, the team will now travel Saturday morning for its Big 12 matchup with TCU, a game set for 1 p.m. CT at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
It is the kind of disruption no team wants on the eve of kickoff, especially with a conference road game waiting and a quick turnaround built into the schedule. The Wildcats will still have the game in front of them on ESPNU and ESPN+, but the logistics of getting there just became part of the story, and it leaves a little extra uncertainty around how smoothly their Saturday unfolds once they finally arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Loss Put TCUs Biggest Late-Season Question Under The Spotlight
TCUs 20-10 win over Kansas State did more than even the Horned Frogs at 5-5. It also put a familiar late-season question back in focus for the Wildcats, whose offense spent much of the afternoon fighting for space against a defense that was steady, physical and patient enough to make every drive feel longer than it should have.
The Horned Frogs did not need a flashy performance to come away with the result. They got contributions from several players, including Koron Hayward and Kari Ashley, and showed a more balanced attack with multiple options involved in both the rushing and passing game. For Kansas State, the loss was another reminder that the margin for error is shrinking, and the bigger concern now is whether there is enough time to answer the question this result put back in the spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas States Ugly Skid Just Put One Offensive Problem Back In Focus
Travel delays tied to an FAA ground stop were part of the backdrop Saturday, but Kansas States bigger issue was on the field. The Wildcats fell 20-10 to TCU, their fourth straight loss, and the defeat pushed them to last place in the Big 12 standings. A costly fumble by Rodney Fields helped tilt the game, and the offense never found enough rhythm to overcome a defense that kept getting pressured and put in tough spots.
Dillon Duff was sacked five times as TCUs defense controlled enough of the afternoon to make Kansas State chase the game from behind. For a team already trying to stop an ugly slide, the loss put the offense back under a harsh spotlight, with protection issues and ball security once again standing out as problems that have to be cleaned up fast. [Read more 🡒]