Kansas State University Athletics
SE: Mob Mentality – K-State Defense Strong Down the Stretch
Dec 01, 2021 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
In order to appreciate the efforts by this Kansas State defense during the 2021 regular season, you must go back to 2003. That's the last time the Wildcats were so staunch in keeping opponents off the scoreboard. K-State has allowed just 21.1 points per game this season. It's the fewest since the 2003 squad surrendered just 16.3 points per contest.
And that's saying something.
A noticeable trend began in late October and continued during the final month of the regular season:
Texas Tech averaged 35.7 points. It scored 24 against K-State.
TCU averaged 34.3 points. It scored 12 against K-State.
Kansas averaged 15.8 points — and scored 10.
West Virginia averaged 26.7 points — and scored 17.
Baylor averaged 35.4 points — and scored 20.
Texas averaged 36.5 points — and scored 22.
This is the first time in 18 years that K-State held six straight Big 12 Conference opponents to under 25 points. In all, K-State held 11 of 12 opponents under their scoring average at the time of their meeting (Oklahoma State averaged 25.8 points and scored 31 points against the Wildcats), and the Wildcats held six of 12 opponents to 20 or fewer points. The Big 12 averaged 30.4 points per game this season. That's only behind the Southeastern Conference (31.3) and the ACC (30.8) among Power 5 conferences.
As K-State head coach Chris Klieman said prior to the start of the Big 12 season: "I'm proud of our guys because they play with a lot of heart and a lot of passion. We have a long way to go but all of us have seen this is a different group on defense. It's exciting to watch. They're having fun."
In the eight months following the Wildcats' 4-6 campaign last fall, Klieman and defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, who have been together for seven years, sought to mend a defense that ranked 97th in allowing 444.7 total yards and 84th in giving up 32.2 points per game. They spent time consulting fellow defensive gurus and devised the 3-3-5 base defense to alternate with a 4-3 front. It gave linebackers the green light to pursue running backs while multiple rushers confused the quarterback in passing situations. It's a defense that's grown in popularity in college football and a look that the Kansas City Chiefs and a host of other NFL teams utilize each year.
K-State, 7-5, saw the fruits of its labor in 2021. It allowed 21.1 points (11.1 points better than 2020) and 347.8 total yards (96.9 yards better than 2020) per contest.
A sampling of more results in 2021:
- K-State has given up its fewest plays of 20-plus yards (46) since 2014 (43).
- K-State has allowed its fewest total passing yards (2,660) since 2006 (2,561).
- K-State has given up its fewest averaging rushing yards (126.1) since 2017 (117.7).
- K-State has surrendered its fewest first downs (219) since 2005 (197).
- K-State has posted its most sacks (30) since 2015 (38) and its most tackles for a loss (87) since 2006 (91).
"Everything comes down to situational football," Klanderman said. "That's the bottom line. It's situations and what personnel gives us the best chance in those situations. It's all a numbers game and we're trying to outnumber them at the point of attack with everything that we're doing — run game or pass game. Sometimes the presentation can look a little different with the three-down stuff and it gives you more flexibility to look different ways than the four-down stuff."
Overall, K-State held its 12 opponents to a total of 141.6 points below their scoring average, or an average of 11.8 points below their scoring average per game.
"We've got the mob mentality," linebacker Daniel Green said after a 31-12 win over TCU. "Everybody is flying around having fun. It goes to show the work we put in this offseason and how we rallied around each other and picked each other up every day and every week just to get better."
K-State went onto allow just 17.2 points over its final four games of the regular season.
There's more. In allowing 347.8 total yards per game, K-State enjoyed its best effort since it surrendered just 339.0 total yards in 2009. This regular season, K-State held its 12 opponents to a combined 1,008 yards below their season average, or 84.0 yards below their average per game. K-State held 11 of 12 opponents under their season total offense average at the time of their meeting. The Wildcats held 5 of 12 opponents to more than 100 yards below their total offense average. That included Nevada (minus-148 yards), Texas Tech (minus-137 yards) and TCU (minus-110 yards).
"You look at the great defenses in the past and see the history of the mob defense and that's something that we wanted to carry on as a legacy," linebacker Cody Fletcher said. "It was something so special to the fans who got to watch those teams back in the day. They were so good. They were just flying around. It's something we watch. It gives you goosebumps."
Defensive exploits weren't always discussed with regularity during the regular season, but it becomes paramount to recognize those efforts and the strides by the coaches and players to reach some defensive standards that we haven't seen in several years. For all K-State's ups and downs during this 2021 season, the Wildcats' staunch defense, and its ability to keep points off the scoreboard, should share center stage during bowl week. Many of the defensive statistics are staggering.
Some might even give you goosebumps.
In order to appreciate the efforts by this Kansas State defense during the 2021 regular season, you must go back to 2003. That's the last time the Wildcats were so staunch in keeping opponents off the scoreboard. K-State has allowed just 21.1 points per game this season. It's the fewest since the 2003 squad surrendered just 16.3 points per contest.
And that's saying something.
A noticeable trend began in late October and continued during the final month of the regular season:
Texas Tech averaged 35.7 points. It scored 24 against K-State.
TCU averaged 34.3 points. It scored 12 against K-State.
Kansas averaged 15.8 points — and scored 10.
West Virginia averaged 26.7 points — and scored 17.
Baylor averaged 35.4 points — and scored 20.
Texas averaged 36.5 points — and scored 22.
This is the first time in 18 years that K-State held six straight Big 12 Conference opponents to under 25 points. In all, K-State held 11 of 12 opponents under their scoring average at the time of their meeting (Oklahoma State averaged 25.8 points and scored 31 points against the Wildcats), and the Wildcats held six of 12 opponents to 20 or fewer points. The Big 12 averaged 30.4 points per game this season. That's only behind the Southeastern Conference (31.3) and the ACC (30.8) among Power 5 conferences.
As K-State head coach Chris Klieman said prior to the start of the Big 12 season: "I'm proud of our guys because they play with a lot of heart and a lot of passion. We have a long way to go but all of us have seen this is a different group on defense. It's exciting to watch. They're having fun."
In the eight months following the Wildcats' 4-6 campaign last fall, Klieman and defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, who have been together for seven years, sought to mend a defense that ranked 97th in allowing 444.7 total yards and 84th in giving up 32.2 points per game. They spent time consulting fellow defensive gurus and devised the 3-3-5 base defense to alternate with a 4-3 front. It gave linebackers the green light to pursue running backs while multiple rushers confused the quarterback in passing situations. It's a defense that's grown in popularity in college football and a look that the Kansas City Chiefs and a host of other NFL teams utilize each year.
K-State, 7-5, saw the fruits of its labor in 2021. It allowed 21.1 points (11.1 points better than 2020) and 347.8 total yards (96.9 yards better than 2020) per contest.
A sampling of more results in 2021:
- K-State has given up its fewest plays of 20-plus yards (46) since 2014 (43).
- K-State has allowed its fewest total passing yards (2,660) since 2006 (2,561).
- K-State has given up its fewest averaging rushing yards (126.1) since 2017 (117.7).
- K-State has surrendered its fewest first downs (219) since 2005 (197).
- K-State has posted its most sacks (30) since 2015 (38) and its most tackles for a loss (87) since 2006 (91).
"Everything comes down to situational football," Klanderman said. "That's the bottom line. It's situations and what personnel gives us the best chance in those situations. It's all a numbers game and we're trying to outnumber them at the point of attack with everything that we're doing — run game or pass game. Sometimes the presentation can look a little different with the three-down stuff and it gives you more flexibility to look different ways than the four-down stuff."
Overall, K-State held its 12 opponents to a total of 141.6 points below their scoring average, or an average of 11.8 points below their scoring average per game.
"We've got the mob mentality," linebacker Daniel Green said after a 31-12 win over TCU. "Everybody is flying around having fun. It goes to show the work we put in this offseason and how we rallied around each other and picked each other up every day and every week just to get better."
K-State went onto allow just 17.2 points over its final four games of the regular season.
There's more. In allowing 347.8 total yards per game, K-State enjoyed its best effort since it surrendered just 339.0 total yards in 2009. This regular season, K-State held its 12 opponents to a combined 1,008 yards below their season average, or 84.0 yards below their average per game. K-State held 11 of 12 opponents under their season total offense average at the time of their meeting. The Wildcats held 5 of 12 opponents to more than 100 yards below their total offense average. That included Nevada (minus-148 yards), Texas Tech (minus-137 yards) and TCU (minus-110 yards).
"You look at the great defenses in the past and see the history of the mob defense and that's something that we wanted to carry on as a legacy," linebacker Cody Fletcher said. "It was something so special to the fans who got to watch those teams back in the day. They were so good. They were just flying around. It's something we watch. It gives you goosebumps."
Defensive exploits weren't always discussed with regularity during the regular season, but it becomes paramount to recognize those efforts and the strides by the coaches and players to reach some defensive standards that we haven't seen in several years. For all K-State's ups and downs during this 2021 season, the Wildcats' staunch defense, and its ability to keep points off the scoreboard, should share center stage during bowl week. Many of the defensive statistics are staggering.
Some might even give you goosebumps.
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