Cats Hit the Road for Big 12 Primetime Tilt with Texas

Kansas State opened up Big 12 play with a win over Baylor and will now head back on the road to face the Texas Longhorns on Saturday at Texas Memorial Stadium. The contest, which kicks at 6 p.m., will be shown nationally on FS1 with Justin Kutcher (play-by-play), Mark Helfrich (analyst) and Petros Papadakis (analyst) on the call. The game can also be heard across the 40-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst) and Matt Walters (sidelines) calling the action. Coverage will also be available on Sirius channel 132, XM Channel 199 in addition to the TuneIn app. Live stats are available at kstatesports.com, while Twitter updates (@ kstate_gameday, @KStateFB) will all be a part of the coverage.

A LOOK AT K-STATE
• Guided by College Football Hall of Famer Bill Snyder, who is in his 26th year at the helm, the Wildcats are looking to start 2-0 in Big 12 play for the first time since 2014.
• Senior Jesse Ertz set a new school record for passer rating (319.8) in the season opener and has rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns in his last two games.
• Ertz carded his fourth-career 100-yard rushing game at VU and added 95 yards against Baylor. He now has 1,395 career rushing yards as he passed Michael Bishop (1997-98) for third place in school history in career rushing yards by signal callers.
• Ertz leads five different Wildcats with at least one rushing touchdown this year, while four different receivers have carded at least five catches and scored one touchdown.
• K-State's defense continues to put in solid work as the Wildcats held Baylor to 84 net yards rushing and head into the weekend with the league's top-rated unit in total defense, pass defense and pass efficiency defense.
• K-State has held its first four opponents to under 21 points for the sixth time under Snyder, joining the 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 teams.
• K-State also enters the Texas game ranked ninth nationally in turnover margin (+6), 15th in scoring defense (15.0 points per game) and 21st in total defense (308.5).
• The Wildcats are led by linebacker Trent Tanking, who is tied for 15th in the Big 12 with 26 tackles, while defensive tackle Will Geary has a team-best 4.5 TFLs and three sacks, which ranks third in the Big 12.
• Reed recorded a 96-yard return on the opening kickoff vs. UCA, a 62-yard punt return for a score and an interception to earn Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
• Kendall Adams answered the bell against Charlotte by becoming just the third Big 12 player ever to return an interception for a TD and a fumble for a score in the same game as he earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.
• Adams had another solid outing against Baylor with eight tackles, one for a loss, a pass breakup and an interception, giving him three picks over his last five games.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES
• The Wildcats lead the all-time series against Texas, 10-7 – including a 9-4 mark in Big 12 play – but are 3-6 in Austin.
• The home team has won each of the last five contests.
• The last visiting team to win the series was K-State, a 17-13 triumph in 2011.
• The longest winning streak in the series belongs to the Wildcats, who won five-straight (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012).

CATS VS THE LONE STAR STATE
• K-State is riding a recent streak of success against teams from the state of Texas.
• The Cats have won their last six games against teams from Texas, including all five major FBS programs in the state last season (Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas Tech, Baylor).

TEXAS CATS
• The Wildcats boast 23 players from the state of Texas on their current roster, nearly 20-percent of the roster.
• Of the 56 players on K-State's two-deep, nine are from the Lone Star State, including starters Abdul Beecham (OL; Judson), Jayd Kirby (LB; Blooming Grove) and Matthew McCrane (PK; Brownwood).

CONFERENCE CALL
• With the conference play now underway for the 22nd season, Kansas State is one of just three Big 12 teams with 100 league wins as the Wildcats picked up their 106th Big 12 league win last week against Baylor.
• K-State has won 42 Big 12 road games since the league was formed, which ranks third among all Big 12 institutions.
• Since 2011, K-State is 16-11 in Big 12 play on the road.

THE HALL OF FAMER
• The architect of the "greatest turnaround in the history of college football," Bill Snyder was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
• Snyder is just the fourth person in the history of college football to be inducted as an active coach.
• Snyder has compiled an amazing 205-106-1 (.659) record in 25-plus seasons at K-State as he is one of just six coaches to reach the 200-win mark and coach at only one school.
• Holding 166 more victories than any other coach in K-State history, Snyder ranks first in the FBS in wins among coaches at their current schools and second in total wins among active coaches.
• Additionally, Snyder has 119 conference wins to stand as one of four coaches with 100 Big 8/12 victories (Tom Osborne [153], Bob Stoops [121], Barry Switzer [100]).

TURNOVER TURNAROUND
• A year after finishing minus-3 in the turnover battle, K-State tied for fourth in the nation with a plus-13 turnover margin in 2016.
• It was the Wildcats' best national finish in turnover margin since ranking third in 2012, while it marked an 84-spot jump from a tie for 88th from the 2015 season.
• K-State enters this week ranked ninth nationally in turnover margin at plus-6.
• The Wildcats have gained nine turnovers, including five fumbles to tie for 11th in the nation, while only committing three of their own.

DRAWING FIRST BLOOD
• Since 1990, K-State is 163-31 (.840) when scoring first.
• K-State finished the 2016 season with a 5-2 mark when scoring first and is 18-4 in that department over the last four seasons.
• Under Bill Snyder, K-State is 150-24 (.863) when scoring first, including a 3-0 mark this season.

QUICK OUT OF THE GATE
• Kansas State started games on the right side of the scoreboard in 2016, outscoring opponents 95-54 in the opening 15 minutes.
• That mark improved to 248-137 through the first half and 336-184 after three quarters.
•Through four games in 2017, K-State has outscored opponents 103-33 in the first half, including a 65-6 margin in the second quarter alone.

LEADING AT THE HALF
• K-State earned an 8-1 record in 2016 when taking a lead into the locker room with its only blemish being a loss at West Virginia.
• Under Bill Snyder, the Wildcats are 175-10 (.948) when leading at halftime, including a 56-3 (.950) mark in Snyder's second tenure, which began in 2009.
• The Wildcats are 3-0 this season when leading at halftime and are riding a nine-game winning streak when leading at the break.

CATS TOPS IN NON-OFFENSIVE TDs
• K-State is the nation's best in non-offensive touchdowns over the last 18-plus seasons as it has 109 since 1999, including D.J. Reed's punt return score in the 2017 season opener and two by Kendall Adams against Charlotte via a 30-yard interception return and a 46-yard fumble return.
• K-State two defensive touchdowns are currently tied for ninth in the nation.
• Since 1990, the Wildcats are 60-17 when scoring on special teams and 20-1 when scoring on special teams and defense, including an 18-0 mark under Bill Snyder.
• The Cats have had at least five non-offensive touchdowns in five of the last six years and in 16 of the 18 seasons since 1999.

NON-OFFENSIVE TD RECORDS
• Under head coach Bill Snyder, K-State is 72-21 (.774) when scoring a non-offensive touchdown, while the Cats are 53-14 (.789) since 1999 in that department.
• Since Snyder returned to the sideline in 2009, K-State is 28-7 (.800) in this same category.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
GROUND ATTACK
• K-State leaned heavily on its running game throughout 2016, particularly during the second half of the year.
• The Cats broke the school record in yards per carry (5.27) and ranked third in rushing yards per game (231.8).
• K-State hit those marks due to rushing for at least 200 yards in nine games, including each of the final seven contests. The Wildcats also hit the 300-yard mark four times.
• K-State's four 300-yard games in 2016 were the most by the Wildcats since 2003, while they hit that mark three times in a four-game stretch for the first time since 2001 (vs. Kansas, Iowa State and Louisiana Tech).
• After rushing for 304 yards against Charlotte, another 201 yards at Vanderbilt and 225 yards against Baylor, the Wildcats have now reached the 200-yard rushing mark 11 times in the last 13 games.
• It marks the most 200-yard rushing games in a 13-game stretch since also doing so in 11 contests between Oct. 27, 2001 (vs. Kansas) and Oct. 22, 2002 (vs. Oklahoma State).
• K-State enters the weekend third in the conference and 27th nationally in rushing offense.

AERIAL ASSAULT
• While the Cats are known to have a powerful rushing attack, the 2017 squad has some weapons through the air as the unit works to achieve balance.
• In the 2017 opener, Jesse Ertz threw for a career-high 333 yards and tied the school record with four passing touchdowns against UCA.
• His passer rating of 319.8 was a new school record and the highest in the nation in week one, while he also became the first player under Bill Snyder to throw three 50-plus yard touchdown passes in the same game.

PROECTING THE FOOTBALL
• Kansas State tied for fifth in the country last season in turnovers lost (12), while the Wildcats only threw five interceptions to rank fifth in the country.
• A year after tossing 13 picks, K-State's minus-8 interception differential from 2015 to 2016 ranked third nationally among Power 5 teams behind Maryland (minus-21) and Nebraska (minus-12).
• The Wildcats have only lost three turnovers this year, one of which came on a punt return, which is tied for sixth nationally entering play this week.

LONG DRIVES
• In the era of quick-strike offenses in college football, K-State remains a team that likes to possess the ball.
• Of K-State's 64 scoring drives in 2016, 39 were seven plays or longer (60.9 percent), including 19 (29.7 percent) of 10-plus plays.
• Nineteen scoring drives a year ago lasted at least five minutes with a 17-play, 8:32 drive at Oklahoma being the longest.
• K-State had three scoring drives of 10 plays or more against Charlotte.
• Contrary, in week one, K-State tallied three touchdown drives of three plays or less against UCA.

RED ZONE EFFICIENCY
• K-State has been one of the best red zone teams over the past few years as the Wildcats are the only team to finish in the top-15 nationally in red zone offense in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
• The Cats finished the 2016 campaign 10th in the nation and second in the Big 12 by converting on 91.9-percent (57-of-62) of red zone trips.
• Since the beginning of 2014, K-State has converted on 182-of-197 red zone attempts (.924) with 132 touchdowns. Included in that stretch was a nation-leading scoring streak of 56-straight trips that was snapped in 2016.
• In their last 56 wins since 2011, the Cats are 258-for-282 (.915) in red zone chances with 190 touchdowns, while four of their non-scoring trips have come via kneel downs to close out victories.

IN ELITE COMPANY
• Quarterback Jesse Ertz is one of four quarterbacks in school history to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a career, joining Michael Bishop (1997-98), Ell Roberson (2000-03) and Collin Klein (2009-12).
• Ertz, who has 1,395 career rushing yards, ranks third in school history in rushing yards among quarterbacks. He is also tied for third in career 100-yard rushing games by quarterbacks behind Klein (10) and Roberson (8).
• Ertz ranks second in school history among all players in career rushing yards per attempt at 5.65, only trailing legendary running back Darren Sproles (6.11; 2001-04).

AIRING IT OUT
• Although he used his feet for a majority of 2016, Jesse Ertz is out to prove that he can sling it around the field in 2017.
• In the season opener against UCA, Ertz broke the school record for single-game passing efficiency at 319.8, bettering the previous mark of 300.9 by Allen Webb against North Texas in 2005.
• Ertz also tied the single-game school record for passing touchdowns with four, while his 333 yards were the most by a Wildcat in a season opener in school history.
• The Mediapolis, Iowa, native is 15th in school history in career passing yards and only 45 away from ranking 14th.
• Additionally, Ertz is tied for 10th in K-State history in career passing efficiency (125.99).
• Ertz enters play this week ranked third nationally in pass yards per completion (16.42) and 26th in yards per attempt (24.33).

LOADED BACKFIELD
• Although there are only five career starts among the K-State running backs, the Wildcats have a pair of players who can shoulder the load in the backfield in junior Justin Silmon and sophomore Alex Barnes.
• Thanks to their play late in 2016, both were named to the 2017 Doak Walker Award watch list as K-State was one of only six teams in the nation with multiple honorees.
• Add in Dalvin Warmack, who rushed has for 84 yards and a pair of touchdowns this year, and two redshirt freshmen in Tyler Burns and Mike McCoy – the latter who scored a touchdown against Charlotte – the Wildcats have one of their deepest backfields in recent history.

CLOSE TO 1,000
• A trio of Wildcats are closing in on hitting 1,000 career yards.
• Running back Justin Silmon has 876 career rushing yards as he is 124 yards shy of becoming the 29th player in school history to reach the 1,000-yard mark for a career.
• Wide receivers Byron Pringle and Dominique Heath have 777 and 775 career receiving yards, respectively. They are looking to join a list of 30 other 1,000-yard career receivers.
• Pringle is trying to join a list of six other former community-college receivers to hit the 1,000-yard mark for a career at K-State. The last to accomplish the feat was Brandon Banks, who had 1,754 yards between 2008 and 2009.

DIMEL DOES IT ALL
• Although he plays fullback, Winston Dimel has turned into an offensive threat for the Wildcats.
• Dimel has 20 career rushing touchdowns, just three shy of entering K-State's top-10 list. He is one of only 15 players in school history with at least 20 rushing touchdowns.
• Additionally, he has 22 touchdowns overall in his career to sit four away from the top-10 in that category.
• The Manhattan product has also averaged 20.9 yards on his 17 career receptions, the fourth-highest mark in school history among players with 17 or more catches.

DEFENSIVE NOTES
STOUT SCORING DEFENSE
• Kansas State enters the week allowing only 15.0 points per game, which is tops in the Big 12 and ranks 15th in the nation.
• The Wildcats have held each of their first four opponents under 21 points, marking the first time they have accomplished the feat in 15 years and just the sixth time since 1990.
• The other five times the Wildcats allowed 21 or less points in each of the first four games were 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002.
• This year's team is trying to join the 1994, 1998 and 2000 squads that held its first five foes at 21 points or less.

LIMITING THE PASSING GAME
• The Wildcats enter the Texas game leading the conference and ranking 34th nationally in passing defense (188.0 ypg).
• Additionally, K-State is tops in the league and 30th nationally in pass efficiency defense (111.9).
• Kansas State surrendered only 58 passing yards against Charlotte, the fewest since Nebraska could only muster 39 yards on Nov. 18, 2000.

TOUGH AGAINST THE RUN
• Kansas State was stout in rushing defense in 2016, ranking 11th nationally and leading the Big 12 by allowing only 115.0 yards per game.
• The Wildcats finished in the top 15 in the country in run defense for the first time since 2002. That year, K-State was second by allowing 69.5 yards per game.
• K-State limited opponents to less than 125 yards on eight occasions last year, including five times in Big 12 play.
• The Wildcats have surrendered less than 125 rushing yards in each of the last three games, including 65 yards to a Vanderbilt team that was averaging 122.5 rushing yards per game entering the contest.

PICKING THEM APART
• After recording only five interceptions in 2015, K-State reversed the trend last year with a Big 12-leading 16 picks, a mark that tied for 14th in the nation.
• K-State's plus-11 up-tick in interceptions from 2015 to 2016 was the highest turnaround among Power 5 teams.
• The Wildcats, who have notched at least one interception in 31 of the last 42 games, made the turnaround despite starting three sophomores in the secondary for a majority of last season.
• Additionally, 11 of K-State's 16 picks in 2016 came from defensive backs after only one in 2015.
• Among the 16 picks last year, three were returned for touchdowns, including pick-sixes from current Wildcats D.J. Reed (TTU) and Duke Shelley (OSU).
• The three interception-return touchdowns by the Wildcats led the Big 12 and tied for 10th nationally.
• Reed picked up where he left off a year ago by snagging the team's first interception of 2017 against UCA, while Kendall Adams added a pick-six against Charlotte and also had an interception to close out the Baylor.

LBs STEPPING UP
• Although it is a group that is deep with playmakers that shined on special teams in their careers, K-State did not return any starts at linebacker in 2016.
• The Wildcats were one of three teams in the nation – but the only one from a Power 5 school – to not return a single start at linebacker this year. The next closest among Power 5 schools was Florida, which returned 12 total starts.
• Although lacking experience, the linebackers have risen to the occasion as Trent Tanking leads the Wildcats and is tied for 15th in the Big 12 with 26 tackles, while Jayd Kirby is tied for second on the team with 25.
• Tanking, a team captain and former in-state walk-on, entered the year with the most experience as he ended the 2016 regular season with five tackles at TCU, a game that also included an interception on the final play of the game.

BECOMING A LEADER
• Safety Kendall Adams has helped lead the stout Wildcat defense early this season as he is tied for second on the team in tackles (25), ranks first in interceptions (2) and is tied for first in passes defended (3).
• A product of Fort Worth, Texas, Adams' two interceptions are tied for second in the Big 12 and 22nd nationally, while he already equaled his total from last year in just four games.

ADAMS WITH A RARE FEAT
• Kendall Adams recorded a 30-yard interception return touchdown and a 46-yard fumble return touchdown against Charlotte, a feat that hadn't been accomplished by a Wildcat in nearly 18 years.
• Adams was the first K-State player with touchdowns of both varieties in the same game since Dyshod Carter did so against Missouri in 1999.
• Additionally, he is just the third player in Big 12 history to accomplish the feat, joining Carter and Texas Tech's Paul McClendon, who did so against North Texas in 2001.
• For his effort against the 49ers, Adams picked up Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.

GEARY LEADS THE LINE
• A former in-state walk-on, Will Geary has recorded a team-best 34 career starts, which includes 29 of the last 30 games.
• Geary also has the most career tackles among active Wildcats with 132, a mark that ranks 17th in program history among interior defensive linemen.
• A native of Topeka, Kansas, Geary has recorded 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks over the last two games.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
SCORING IN THE THIRD PHASE
• Kansas State has been far and away the best team among FBS programs over the last decade when it comes to scoring via a kickoff or punt return, and thus ranked as the top collective special teams unit in the nation entering the 2017 season according to Phil Steele.
• The Wildcats have a combined 43 kickoff- and punt-return touchdowns since 2005, 15 more than any other FBS school over the last 13 seasons.

DEFENSE IN THE THIRD PHASE
• On the flip side, K-State has been just as consistent in terms of kickoff and punt coverage as the Cats have not allowed a kickoff-return touchdown in the last 54 games (LAST: vs. Louisiana, 9/7/13) or a punt-return score in 41 games (LAST: at Iowa State, 9/6/14).
• Kansas State finished the 2016 season in the top 25 nationally in both punt-return defense (17th; 4.14) and kickoff-return defense (23rd; 18.4).
• The Wildcats have yielded just one punt-return attempt this season and are tied for 27th nationally after Baylor had one return for three yards.

KICKOFF-RETURN STREAKS
• Kansas State is currently riding a pair of streaks in terms of kickoff returns as the Wildcats have returned a kick for a touchdown in each of the last 12 seasons – the longest streak in the nation by five years.
• Byron Pringle extended the streak in 2016 when he returned a kickoff to paydirt 99 yards against Texas Tech.
• Since head coach Bill Snyder's return in 2009, K-State has returned 17 kickoffs for touchdowns as opposed to only four in his first tenure, which lasted 17 years.
• For his effort last season, Pringle earned First Team All-Big 12 honors as a kick returner, marking the 11th-straight year a Wildcat returner has earned all-conference accolades. Additionally, a K-State kick returner has earned first team honors six times in the last eight years.

A CAREER DAY
• Place kicker Matthew McCrane had one of the best games of his career against Baylor, connecting on all four field-goal attempts.
• McCrane's four field goals tied a career high, were the second most in school history and tied for the third most nationally this season. It was also the second-best perfect kicking day in school history.
• The senior collected 15 points in the game, one shy of the single-game school record by a kicker.
• McCrane's effort against the Bears earned him Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week accolades in addition to being named a Lou Groza Award "Star of the Week."

McCRANE IN THE RECORD BOOK
• Matthew McCrane will finish his career highly on many of K-State's career kicking lists.
• McCrane current ranks first in school history and third nationally by making 88.0-percent (44-of-50) of his career field goals.
•The two-time All-Big 12 place kicker also ranks first in school history in career field-goal percentage (99.1-percent) and is in K-State's top-10 in career field goals made (2nd; 44), extra points made (6th; 102), extra points attempted (6th; 103) and field goals attempted (t5th; 50).
• McCrane also entered K-State's top-10 list for career points scored this year, a mark that stands at 234 to rank eighth but fourth among kickers.

WALSH A DEPENDABLE PUNTER
• Just as important as a veteran place kicker, the Wildcats also have an experienced punter in Nick Walsh.
• A 2015 All-Big 12 punter and two-time member of the Ray Guy Award watch list, Walsh has booted to a career 41.72-yard average to rank sixth in K-State history, while he is also sixth in career attempts (171) and seventh in yards (7,134).

Cats Hit the Road for Big 12 Primetime Tilt with Texas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kendall Adams

Alex Barnes

Abdul Beecham

Tyler Burns

Winston Dimel

Jesse Ertz

Will Geary

Dominique Heath

Jayd Kirby

Mike McCoy

Matthew McCrane

Byron Pringle

D.J. Reed

Duke Shelley

Justin Silmon

Trent Tanking

Nick Walsh

Dalvin Warmack

Kansas State University Athletics