SE: Almost Perfection – Inside the Plays that Made K-State’s Win over TCU
Oct 12, 2020 | Football, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Saturday was not K-State Football's biggest upset of the season.
Taking down No. 3 Oklahoma as 28-point underdogs on the road is going to be tough to beat.
It wasn't their most exciting - Deuce Vaughn's 70-yard touchdown catch with two minutes left against Texas Tech is the team's latest touchdown this season in a one-score game.
But if you need to explain to someone how the Wildcats are winning football games in 2020, show them the TCU game.
"Are we going to be perfect every day? No," Chris Klieman said. "But it's hard to beat a team that refuses to lose. Those guys, right now, believe they have an opportunity to win every game."
Start with K-State's third play from scrimmage in Fort Worth, an 80-yard run from quarterback Will Howard.
This wasn't the true freshman rolling out of the pocket and doing the kind of improvising where you end up yelling at your TV "No, No, No, YES."
It was a quarterback draw on 3rd & 7, with the Wildcats backed up to their own five-yard line. That's a conservative play call and it resulted in the seventh-longest run in K-State history.
"He was amazing," tight end Briley Moore said. "I was talking to Coach (Collin) Klein, a true freshman in his first start to have that composure…is an amazing thing and gives the team confidence that no matter what the situation, we are going to have a chance to win every game."
Everything came together on that run from Howard, from the true freshman's ability to run the football to a play call that caught the Horned Frogs expecting the pass on third down.
Plenty of coaches talk about the importance of "explosive plays" in a college football game but understanding that statistic remains a bit of a moving target.
One of the more accepted definitions, by everyone from ESPN stats guru Bill Connelly to Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, is a run that goes for at least 12 yards or a pass that goes for at least 16 yards.
But what if you start thinking even bigger? Way bigger.
K-State currently leads the nation in plays of at least 60 yards, with five game-breaking moments this season.
No other team in the country has more than four. Not the Air Raid disciples at Texas Tech or Mississippi State. The Wildcats have more of these plays than Alabama and Clemson combined.
Howard's run was the latest "atomic" play that has powered the Wildcats this season. Deuce Vaughn has two. Keyon Mozee, Briley Moore and Will Howard have the other three.
"Guys were making plays, making routine plays and getting more out of them," Moore said.
When the Wildcats didn't have the football against TCU, the K-State defense continued to shine.
If those 60+ plays are about one moment that can change a game, the impressive strides from the K-State defense have been about a bunch of moments that can change a season.
Given the unpredictable scheduling of college football in 2020, comparing the K-State defense to every team in the country that's played at least four games seems like a good place to start.
Among those programs, the Wildcats currently have the No. 11 defense in the country, with K-State limiting opponents to 26.3 points per game.
That's also good for the fourth-best defense in the Big 12 – behind only No. 7 Oklahoma State and Baylor and West Virginia teams that played just two games each against FBS opponents.
"We just have a team full of guys who really want to win," defensive back Justin Gardner said. "I just think that is the biggest difference. We never give up. Ever. Even when we are down, even when we are getting big plays made on us, we just always have that mindset that the game isn't over."
The Wildcats held TCU to 14 points on Saturday, getting to quarterback Max Duggan three times. K-State also ranks among the top five teams in the Big 12 with 10 sacks this season.
Against the Horned Frogs, Bronson Massie led the defensive front with seven tackles and a sack – that's as many tackles as the senior had all of last season. It's a big leap the Wildcats needed.
Playing with the lead down the stretch in Fort Worth, the K-State secondary kept everything in front of them. The play that defined the day for the K-State defense was a pick six from AJ Parker, the only second half offense K-State would need to put away the Horned Frogs.
"We said we were going to play zone, try to keep the ball in front of us, try to come up and tackle, and I thought we did a nice job," Klieman said. "Our guys on defense, it's a credit to Coach (Joe) Klanderman and the defensive staff. It was a phenomenal game plan. Almost executed to perfection."
The Wildcats have proven they can beat you with fireworks or grinding out games this season.
On Saturday, "almost perfection" looked like a little bit of both.
"They played relentless," Klieman said. "I couldn't be happier with the resolve on a bunch of guys that came in here when nobody expected us to be successful except for the guys in that locker room."
Saturday was not K-State Football's biggest upset of the season.
Taking down No. 3 Oklahoma as 28-point underdogs on the road is going to be tough to beat.
It wasn't their most exciting - Deuce Vaughn's 70-yard touchdown catch with two minutes left against Texas Tech is the team's latest touchdown this season in a one-score game.
But if you need to explain to someone how the Wildcats are winning football games in 2020, show them the TCU game.
"Are we going to be perfect every day? No," Chris Klieman said. "But it's hard to beat a team that refuses to lose. Those guys, right now, believe they have an opportunity to win every game."
Start with K-State's third play from scrimmage in Fort Worth, an 80-yard run from quarterback Will Howard.
This wasn't the true freshman rolling out of the pocket and doing the kind of improvising where you end up yelling at your TV "No, No, No, YES."
It was a quarterback draw on 3rd & 7, with the Wildcats backed up to their own five-yard line. That's a conservative play call and it resulted in the seventh-longest run in K-State history.
"He was amazing," tight end Briley Moore said. "I was talking to Coach (Collin) Klein, a true freshman in his first start to have that composure…is an amazing thing and gives the team confidence that no matter what the situation, we are going to have a chance to win every game."
Got the dub#KStateFB ⚒ Pound The Stone pic.twitter.com/cXJKNcxcHM
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) October 11, 2020
Everything came together on that run from Howard, from the true freshman's ability to run the football to a play call that caught the Horned Frogs expecting the pass on third down.
Plenty of coaches talk about the importance of "explosive plays" in a college football game but understanding that statistic remains a bit of a moving target.
One of the more accepted definitions, by everyone from ESPN stats guru Bill Connelly to Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, is a run that goes for at least 12 yards or a pass that goes for at least 16 yards.
But what if you start thinking even bigger? Way bigger.
K-State currently leads the nation in plays of at least 60 yards, with five game-breaking moments this season.
No other team in the country has more than four. Not the Air Raid disciples at Texas Tech or Mississippi State. The Wildcats have more of these plays than Alabama and Clemson combined.
Howard's run was the latest "atomic" play that has powered the Wildcats this season. Deuce Vaughn has two. Keyon Mozee, Briley Moore and Will Howard have the other three.
"Guys were making plays, making routine plays and getting more out of them," Moore said.
When the Wildcats didn't have the football against TCU, the K-State defense continued to shine.
If those 60+ plays are about one moment that can change a game, the impressive strides from the K-State defense have been about a bunch of moments that can change a season.
Given the unpredictable scheduling of college football in 2020, comparing the K-State defense to every team in the country that's played at least four games seems like a good place to start.
Among those programs, the Wildcats currently have the No. 11 defense in the country, with K-State limiting opponents to 26.3 points per game.
That's also good for the fourth-best defense in the Big 12 – behind only No. 7 Oklahoma State and Baylor and West Virginia teams that played just two games each against FBS opponents.
"We just have a team full of guys who really want to win," defensive back Justin Gardner said. "I just think that is the biggest difference. We never give up. Ever. Even when we are down, even when we are getting big plays made on us, we just always have that mindset that the game isn't over."
The Wildcats held TCU to 14 points on Saturday, getting to quarterback Max Duggan three times. K-State also ranks among the top five teams in the Big 12 with 10 sacks this season.
Against the Horned Frogs, Bronson Massie led the defensive front with seven tackles and a sack – that's as many tackles as the senior had all of last season. It's a big leap the Wildcats needed.
Playing with the lead down the stretch in Fort Worth, the K-State secondary kept everything in front of them. The play that defined the day for the K-State defense was a pick six from AJ Parker, the only second half offense K-State would need to put away the Horned Frogs.
AJ says 👋 #KStateFB x @parkersisland pic.twitter.com/NeW3FZlNt9
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) October 10, 2020
"We said we were going to play zone, try to keep the ball in front of us, try to come up and tackle, and I thought we did a nice job," Klieman said. "Our guys on defense, it's a credit to Coach (Joe) Klanderman and the defensive staff. It was a phenomenal game plan. Almost executed to perfection."
The Wildcats have proven they can beat you with fireworks or grinding out games this season.
On Saturday, "almost perfection" looked like a little bit of both.
"They played relentless," Klieman said. "I couldn't be happier with the resolve on a bunch of guys that came in here when nobody expected us to be successful except for the guys in that locker room."
Players Mentioned
DB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
TE
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ FootballK-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference at Colorado
Thursday, February 26
K-State Rowing | Media Day
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Rowing | Weights Practice
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Tennis | Weekend Recap vs Old Dominion & Minnesota
Tuesday, February 24
