Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, October 5
Manhattan, Kan.
2:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
vs
Baylor
K-State Begins Three-Game Homestand with Baylor
Sep 30, 2019 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Kansas State will look to regroup from its first loss the season, a 26-13 setback at Oklahoma State, as the Wildcats open their Big 12 home schedule and first of three-straight home games on Saturday against Baylor inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game will kick at 2:30 p.m., and be televised nationally by ESPN2 with Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Anthony Becht (booth analyst) and Rocky Boiman (field analyst) on the call. The game can be heard across the 39-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. The game can also be heard on SiriusXM (S: 111; XM: 200; Internet: 954) in addition to the TuneIn app.
A LOOK AT K-STATE
• K-State opened the Chris Klieman era with three impressive victories as the Wildcats defeated Nicholls and Bowling Green by a combined score of 101-14, and it followed that up with a win at No. 23 Mississippi State.
• The victory at MSU marked the first time in program history that K-State won a road game against an SEC team that was in the league at the time of the game. K-State had previously been 0-11 in such games.
• The Wildcats went from being not ranked to then as high No. 22 in the Amway Coaches Poll last week before the tough 26-13 loss at Oklahoma State last week.
• K-State's offense has been propelled by a rushing attack that has averaged 241.5 yards per game to rank 17th in the nation. The Wildcats also have 13 rushing touchdowns after tallying only 20 rushing scores a year ago.
• The rushing attack has been anchored by a pair of graduate transfers in seniors James Gilbert (321 yards) and Jordon Brown (166 yards), in addition to junior Harry Trotter (122 yards). K-State backs have accounted for 11 rushing touchdowns after the group only had 13 a year ago.
• The backs have an experienced offensive line in front of them as there are five senior starters, led by 42-game starter Scott Frantz (left tackle), 34-game starter Tyler Mitchell (right guard) and 29-game starter Adam Holtorf (center).
• Skylar Thompson has thrown for 604 yards and four touchdowns. Both he and Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer are among the top 15 QBs nationally in terms of consecutive pass attempts without throwing an interception.
• The K-State defense has been one of the nation's best through five weeks as the Wildcats rank second in passing defense (127.3 yds/gm) third in third down defense (20.5%), seventh in pass efficiency defense (92.93) and 17th in scoring defense (16.0 points/gm).
• Linebacker Da'Quan Patton (21 tackles) and safety Denzel Goolsby (20 tackles), the latter who earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors following the MSU game, lead the team in tackles.
• Cornerback AJ Parker has a team-high two interceptions, while Wyatt Hubert has a team-best 2.0 sacks, both coming last week at Oklahoma State.
A LOOK AT BAYLOR
• The Bears head into the weekend with a 4-0 record after holding on for a 23-21 victory over Iowa State in their Big 12 opener.
• The offense is dynamic with quarterback Charlie Brewer throwing for 972 yards and 10 touchdowns with no interceptions, while three receivers have over 150 yards this year, led by Denzel Mims' 355 yards and five touchdowns.
• On the ground, John Lovett leads the Bears with 238 yards and has averaged 7.0 yards per carry.
• Baylor is averaging 216.0 yards per game on the ground and 259.5 through the air. The Bears rank fourth in the league in scoring offensive by averaging 40.8 points per game.
• On defense, Baylor ranks second in the Big 12 by allowing 16.2 points per game, just 0.2 points per game behind conference-leader K-State.
• Linebacker Clay Johnston leads the way with 37 tackles – 17 more than the next closest teammate – while he has 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
• Johnston is a half sack behind team leader James Lynch, while two Bears – Jordan Williams and Blake Lynch – each have an interception.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
• K-State leads the all-time series, 9-7, with eight of the nine wins coming since the Big 12's inception in 1996.
• The Wildcats won the first five games against the Bears, which stands as the longest winning streak by either program in the series. Baylor's longest winning streak was four games between 2012 and 2015.
• K-State is 2-1 in the last three games, which includes a 33-20 home victory over the Bears in 2017.
• Last season, there were three ties and eight lead changes in an eventual 37-34 Baylor win. With the game tied at 34, Baylor drove 76 yards in 12 plays and won the game on a 29-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining.
CONFERENCE HOME OPENERS
• K-State holds a 14-9 all-time record in Big 12 home openers, including a 2-1 mark against Baylor.
• The Wildcats had won two-straight Big 12 home openers until last season's close 19-14 to 18th-ranked Texas.
• Two years ago, the Wildcats opened the home portion of their Big 12 schedule with a 33-20 victory over Baylor.
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ONE OF THE BIG 12'S BEST
• Kansas State ranks third all-time in Big 12 wins since the league's inception in 1996 with 113, trailing only Oklahoma and Texas.
• The Wildcats also rank third in the conference in winning percentage since round-robin play began in 2011. They sit at .608 (44-29), trailing only Oklahoma (.821; 60-13) and Oklahoma State (.657; 48-26).
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A NEW ERA
• The new era of K-State Football under Chris Klieman has opened with a 3-1 record through four games.
• Klieman, who was named the 35th head coach in school history on December 10, 2018, is just the fourth head coach in K-State history to start 3-0.
• Additionally, Klieman-led teams had won 24-straight games prior to last week's loss at Oklahoma State.
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A WINNING HISTORY
• A proven winner with a championship history, Chris Klieman came to Manhattan after capping his five-year stint as head coach at North Dakota State by winning his fourth national championship in 2018.
• Klieman guided the 2018 Bison to a perfect 15-0 record, making NDSU just the fifth team in FCS history to go undefeated and untied on the way to a national championship.
• A native of Waterloo, Iowa, Klieman has a career record of 75-14 (.843), as he went 69-6 in his five seasons at North Dakota State, 3-7 in one year as the head coach at Division III Loras College in 2005 and 3-1 so far at K-State.
• Klieman's overall winning percentage ranks fourth among all active NCAA coaches – regardless of division – and tops among active FBS coaches.
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NO PICKS
• Saturday's game features two quarterbacks that have not made mistakes in the passing game as K-State and Baylor are two of just nine teams in the nation to have yet to throw an interception this season.
• The other seven teams that have yet to throw a pick this year include Georgia Southern, Iowa, Kent State, Miami, Ohio State, Oregon and Utah.
• K-State's Skylar Thompson and Baylor's Charlie Brewer both rank in the top 15 nationally in active interception-less streaks. Brewer has gone 121 pass attempts without an interception, while Thompson has gone 112.
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BUILDING DEPTH
• K-State used 88 players against Bowling Green, which are the most for the Wildcats in a single game since at least 2003. The next closest was 75 against FAU in 2016.
• K-State showed from the beginning that it will play multiple players as 20 Wildcats played on the season-opening offensive drive against Nicholls. However, six of those remained constant with the offensive line and quarterback Skylar Thompson staying in the entire drive.
• Of the other five offensive positions, 14 Wildcats rotated into the game for an average of 2.8 players per spot on the 12-play drive.
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CONTROLLING THE TEMPO
• K-State has showcased a balanced offense in the opening four games, highlighted by a 241.5-yard average on the ground to rank 17th in the country.
• The Wildcats had 573 yards of total offense against Nicholls, which tied for the seventh most in school history and were the most ever in a season opener.
• With 521 yards against Bowling Green, K-State eclipsed the 500-yard total offense mark in the first two games of a season for the first time ever.
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RUN TO WIN
• The Wildcats have shown that they will establish the run from the outset of 2019 as they rank 17th nationally by averaging 245.1 rushing yards per game.
• K-State carded over 300 yards rushing in each of the first two games, marking the first time since at least 1965 that the Wildcats went over the 300-yard mark twice to open a season.
• Kansas State's 966 total rushing yards in the first four games are the most since 2012 (968 yards).
• Six different Wildcats have tallied rushing touchdowns this year for a team total of 13. Last year K-State had 20 total rushing touchdowns in 12 games.
• The Wildcats' 3.25 rushing touchdowns per game this year ranks 10th in the nation.
• K-State running backs have accounted for 11 rushing touchdowns this season after the position group only had 13 in 2018.
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GOOD START ON DEFENSE
• K-State currently leads the Big 12 and ranks 17th nationally in scoring defense (16.0 pts/gm), while the Wildcats are also tops in the league and second nationally in passing yards allowed (127.3 yd/gm).
• Additionally, the Wildcats rank third in the Big 12 in total defense (323.5 yd/gm).
• The Cats held Bowling Green to 140 total yards, marking the first time since the 2011 Eastern Kentucky game (129) that an opponent under had fewer than 150 yards.
• Bowling Green was also 0-for-11 on third downs, marking the first time since the 2003 KU game that the Wildcats have held an opponent to zero first downs (0-11). It was also the first time since 2011 that a Big 12 team did not allow a third down conversion.
• K-State held Bowling Green to just five first downs, the fewest it allowed since North Texas also had five in 2005.
GETTING OFF THE FIELD
• The K-State defense has excelled on getting off the field on third down during the first four games of the year as the Wildcats rank third in the nation in third down defense (20.5%) behind Wisconsin (15.5%) and Oklahoma (19.6%).
• The Wildcats are allowing only 2.25 third down conversions per game, a mark that is tied for first in the nation with Wisconsin.
• K-State has already forced opponents to 15 three-and-out possessions after just 19 such occurrences all of last season.
• The Cats forced eight 3-and-outs against Bowling Green, the most since forcing nine against North Texas in 2005.
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LIMITED SNAPS
• Thanks to its efficiency on third downs, the K-State defense is one of the nation's leaders in fewest defensive snaps played.
• K-State has defended against just 225 plays in its four games as its 56.25 defensive snaps per game rank third in the nation behind Navy (50.33) and Iowa (51.50).
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SCORING IN THE THIRD PHASE
• Kansas State has been far and away the best team among FBS programs over the last 15 years when it comes to scoring via a kickoff or punt return.
• The Wildcats have a combined 49 kickoff- and punt-return touchdowns since 2005, 20 more than any other FBS school during that stretch.
• After only having one in 2018 – a punt-return score in the season opener – Malik Knowles got things going in 2019 with a 100-yard return at Mississippi State.
A LOOK AT K-STATE
• K-State opened the Chris Klieman era with three impressive victories as the Wildcats defeated Nicholls and Bowling Green by a combined score of 101-14, and it followed that up with a win at No. 23 Mississippi State.
• The victory at MSU marked the first time in program history that K-State won a road game against an SEC team that was in the league at the time of the game. K-State had previously been 0-11 in such games.
• The Wildcats went from being not ranked to then as high No. 22 in the Amway Coaches Poll last week before the tough 26-13 loss at Oklahoma State last week.
• K-State's offense has been propelled by a rushing attack that has averaged 241.5 yards per game to rank 17th in the nation. The Wildcats also have 13 rushing touchdowns after tallying only 20 rushing scores a year ago.
• The rushing attack has been anchored by a pair of graduate transfers in seniors James Gilbert (321 yards) and Jordon Brown (166 yards), in addition to junior Harry Trotter (122 yards). K-State backs have accounted for 11 rushing touchdowns after the group only had 13 a year ago.
• The backs have an experienced offensive line in front of them as there are five senior starters, led by 42-game starter Scott Frantz (left tackle), 34-game starter Tyler Mitchell (right guard) and 29-game starter Adam Holtorf (center).
• Skylar Thompson has thrown for 604 yards and four touchdowns. Both he and Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer are among the top 15 QBs nationally in terms of consecutive pass attempts without throwing an interception.
• The K-State defense has been one of the nation's best through five weeks as the Wildcats rank second in passing defense (127.3 yds/gm) third in third down defense (20.5%), seventh in pass efficiency defense (92.93) and 17th in scoring defense (16.0 points/gm).
• Linebacker Da'Quan Patton (21 tackles) and safety Denzel Goolsby (20 tackles), the latter who earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors following the MSU game, lead the team in tackles.
• Cornerback AJ Parker has a team-high two interceptions, while Wyatt Hubert has a team-best 2.0 sacks, both coming last week at Oklahoma State.
A LOOK AT BAYLOR
• The Bears head into the weekend with a 4-0 record after holding on for a 23-21 victory over Iowa State in their Big 12 opener.
• The offense is dynamic with quarterback Charlie Brewer throwing for 972 yards and 10 touchdowns with no interceptions, while three receivers have over 150 yards this year, led by Denzel Mims' 355 yards and five touchdowns.
• On the ground, John Lovett leads the Bears with 238 yards and has averaged 7.0 yards per carry.
• Baylor is averaging 216.0 yards per game on the ground and 259.5 through the air. The Bears rank fourth in the league in scoring offensive by averaging 40.8 points per game.
• On defense, Baylor ranks second in the Big 12 by allowing 16.2 points per game, just 0.2 points per game behind conference-leader K-State.
• Linebacker Clay Johnston leads the way with 37 tackles – 17 more than the next closest teammate – while he has 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
• Johnston is a half sack behind team leader James Lynch, while two Bears – Jordan Williams and Blake Lynch – each have an interception.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
• K-State leads the all-time series, 9-7, with eight of the nine wins coming since the Big 12's inception in 1996.
• The Wildcats won the first five games against the Bears, which stands as the longest winning streak by either program in the series. Baylor's longest winning streak was four games between 2012 and 2015.
• K-State is 2-1 in the last three games, which includes a 33-20 home victory over the Bears in 2017.
• Last season, there were three ties and eight lead changes in an eventual 37-34 Baylor win. With the game tied at 34, Baylor drove 76 yards in 12 plays and won the game on a 29-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining.
CONFERENCE HOME OPENERS
• K-State holds a 14-9 all-time record in Big 12 home openers, including a 2-1 mark against Baylor.
• The Wildcats had won two-straight Big 12 home openers until last season's close 19-14 to 18th-ranked Texas.
• Two years ago, the Wildcats opened the home portion of their Big 12 schedule with a 33-20 victory over Baylor.
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ONE OF THE BIG 12'S BEST
• Kansas State ranks third all-time in Big 12 wins since the league's inception in 1996 with 113, trailing only Oklahoma and Texas.
• The Wildcats also rank third in the conference in winning percentage since round-robin play began in 2011. They sit at .608 (44-29), trailing only Oklahoma (.821; 60-13) and Oklahoma State (.657; 48-26).
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A NEW ERA
• The new era of K-State Football under Chris Klieman has opened with a 3-1 record through four games.
• Klieman, who was named the 35th head coach in school history on December 10, 2018, is just the fourth head coach in K-State history to start 3-0.
• Additionally, Klieman-led teams had won 24-straight games prior to last week's loss at Oklahoma State.
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A WINNING HISTORY
• A proven winner with a championship history, Chris Klieman came to Manhattan after capping his five-year stint as head coach at North Dakota State by winning his fourth national championship in 2018.
• Klieman guided the 2018 Bison to a perfect 15-0 record, making NDSU just the fifth team in FCS history to go undefeated and untied on the way to a national championship.
• A native of Waterloo, Iowa, Klieman has a career record of 75-14 (.843), as he went 69-6 in his five seasons at North Dakota State, 3-7 in one year as the head coach at Division III Loras College in 2005 and 3-1 so far at K-State.
• Klieman's overall winning percentage ranks fourth among all active NCAA coaches – regardless of division – and tops among active FBS coaches.
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NO PICKS
• Saturday's game features two quarterbacks that have not made mistakes in the passing game as K-State and Baylor are two of just nine teams in the nation to have yet to throw an interception this season.
• The other seven teams that have yet to throw a pick this year include Georgia Southern, Iowa, Kent State, Miami, Ohio State, Oregon and Utah.
• K-State's Skylar Thompson and Baylor's Charlie Brewer both rank in the top 15 nationally in active interception-less streaks. Brewer has gone 121 pass attempts without an interception, while Thompson has gone 112.
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BUILDING DEPTH
• K-State used 88 players against Bowling Green, which are the most for the Wildcats in a single game since at least 2003. The next closest was 75 against FAU in 2016.
• K-State showed from the beginning that it will play multiple players as 20 Wildcats played on the season-opening offensive drive against Nicholls. However, six of those remained constant with the offensive line and quarterback Skylar Thompson staying in the entire drive.
• Of the other five offensive positions, 14 Wildcats rotated into the game for an average of 2.8 players per spot on the 12-play drive.
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CONTROLLING THE TEMPO
• K-State has showcased a balanced offense in the opening four games, highlighted by a 241.5-yard average on the ground to rank 17th in the country.
• The Wildcats had 573 yards of total offense against Nicholls, which tied for the seventh most in school history and were the most ever in a season opener.
• With 521 yards against Bowling Green, K-State eclipsed the 500-yard total offense mark in the first two games of a season for the first time ever.
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RUN TO WIN
• The Wildcats have shown that they will establish the run from the outset of 2019 as they rank 17th nationally by averaging 245.1 rushing yards per game.
• K-State carded over 300 yards rushing in each of the first two games, marking the first time since at least 1965 that the Wildcats went over the 300-yard mark twice to open a season.
• Kansas State's 966 total rushing yards in the first four games are the most since 2012 (968 yards).
• Six different Wildcats have tallied rushing touchdowns this year for a team total of 13. Last year K-State had 20 total rushing touchdowns in 12 games.
• The Wildcats' 3.25 rushing touchdowns per game this year ranks 10th in the nation.
• K-State running backs have accounted for 11 rushing touchdowns this season after the position group only had 13 in 2018.
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GOOD START ON DEFENSE
• K-State currently leads the Big 12 and ranks 17th nationally in scoring defense (16.0 pts/gm), while the Wildcats are also tops in the league and second nationally in passing yards allowed (127.3 yd/gm).
• Additionally, the Wildcats rank third in the Big 12 in total defense (323.5 yd/gm).
• The Cats held Bowling Green to 140 total yards, marking the first time since the 2011 Eastern Kentucky game (129) that an opponent under had fewer than 150 yards.
• Bowling Green was also 0-for-11 on third downs, marking the first time since the 2003 KU game that the Wildcats have held an opponent to zero first downs (0-11). It was also the first time since 2011 that a Big 12 team did not allow a third down conversion.
• K-State held Bowling Green to just five first downs, the fewest it allowed since North Texas also had five in 2005.
GETTING OFF THE FIELD
• The K-State defense has excelled on getting off the field on third down during the first four games of the year as the Wildcats rank third in the nation in third down defense (20.5%) behind Wisconsin (15.5%) and Oklahoma (19.6%).
• The Wildcats are allowing only 2.25 third down conversions per game, a mark that is tied for first in the nation with Wisconsin.
• K-State has already forced opponents to 15 three-and-out possessions after just 19 such occurrences all of last season.
• The Cats forced eight 3-and-outs against Bowling Green, the most since forcing nine against North Texas in 2005.
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LIMITED SNAPS
• Thanks to its efficiency on third downs, the K-State defense is one of the nation's leaders in fewest defensive snaps played.
• K-State has defended against just 225 plays in its four games as its 56.25 defensive snaps per game rank third in the nation behind Navy (50.33) and Iowa (51.50).
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SCORING IN THE THIRD PHASE
• Kansas State has been far and away the best team among FBS programs over the last 15 years when it comes to scoring via a kickoff or punt return.
• The Wildcats have a combined 49 kickoff- and punt-return touchdowns since 2005, 20 more than any other FBS school during that stretch.
• After only having one in 2018 – a punt-return score in the season opener – Malik Knowles got things going in 2019 with a 100-yard return at Mississippi State.
Players Mentioned
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