Another Fast and Physical Matchup on Tap in Fort Worth
Oct 19, 2022 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
You can feel the excitement in the air for No. 17 Kansas State this week.
"The lights are bright for sure," K-State defensive tackle Eli Huggins said.
Two weeks have passed since the Wildcats outlasted Iowa State to keep their perfect start to the Big 12 Conference season intact. Now K-State, 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12, prepares to face No. 8 TCU, 6-0 and 3-0, in Saturday's 7 p.m. kickoff (FS1) at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
It marks the first time since the 2015 Alamo Bowl that K-State will play in a game in which both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll.
"You can see it in the landscape of the Big 12 that anybody can beat anybody," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said in his news conference Tuesday. "It comes down to a handful of plays that ultimately get made in the fourth quarter, and if you make it more than that, you're probably missing the boat, and not preparing for what you have to face for four quarters one play at a time.
"Our guys are excited about the challenge of going to TCU. We know it's going to be a great environment. We're playing a team that has a lot of confidence. We have to weather the storm, so to speak, and get this game into the fourth quarter with a chance."
K-State comes off a much-needed bye week, which helped the Wildcats to recoup from six weeks of battle and heal some injuries across the board.
"There were a number of guys who didn't participate yesterday that we anticipate practicing some today or tomorrow," Klieman said, "but everybody that played against Iowa State is right now on target to play this Saturday."
K-State is seven points from a perfect record. Its lone blemish was a 17-10 defeat to Tulane, which is No. 25 in the AP Top 25 rankings.
"We're continuing to grow and buy into this process realizing we're not a complete product yet," K-State quarterback Adrian Martinez said. "Shoot, as good as we've been we can be so much better, because we haven't played a complete game yet to this point."
The Horned Frogs beat No. 8 Oklahoma State 43-40 in double overtime last Saturday to move up five spots in the rankings.
Ten Big 12 league games have already been decided by single digits this season.
"It's a dogfight, especially because it's wide open," K-State wide receiver Kade Warner said. "There are so many good teams in there. It's really exciting going forward."
K-State has won its last three over TCU, tied for the longest winning streak by either team in the series, as TCU also won three-straight from 1984 to 1986.
The Wildcats have found success by limiting the Horned Frogs on the scoreboard. TCU, which currently ranks No. 3 with 46.7 points per game, hasn't scored more than 26 points against the Wildcats since 2015.
K-State has held every FBS opponent under its scoring average so far this season.
K-State safety Drake Cheatham credits it to playing with a "mob mentality."
Exactly what does that mean?
"We're fast and physical and don't give up anything," Cheatham said.
Klieman is eager to see how the Wildcats fare the rest of the way.
"We've got six left," he said. "The stakes keep getting higher."
K-State's scoring defense features some impressive trends
It sounds simple enough: Keep teams from scoring. But in the high-powered Big 12 Conference, it becomes a weekly chore to limit offenses on the scoreboard.
K-State, which ranks 14th in the FBS in allowing just 16.7 points per game — on pace for giving up its fewest point in a season since 2003 — has done a phenomenal job this year.
"We take a lot of pride in that, just trusting Coach (Joe) Klanderman's plan and everything that he puts into place, and really believing we're the Mob," K-State safety Kobe Savage said. "The Mob means the world. That's a defense that's going to come and hit you every play."
K-State held every FBS team under its season scoring average during the first half of the season.
The Wildcats also carry some trends into TCU on Saturday.
Since 2019, K-State has held 23 of 30 Big 12 opponents under their season scoring average at the time of their meeting.
Of those 23 times that K-State has held Big 12 foes below their scoring average, the Wildcat have won 16 games and have lost seven.
More specifically as it pertains to Saturday's matchup, K-State is 8-3 on the road when preventing Big 12 opponents from reaching their scoring average. In five such victories, K-State held their opponent to at least 10 points under their average.
In fact, when K-State beat TCU 21-14 in 2020, the Wildcats held the Horned Frogs 19.5 points under their average.
TCU is No. 3 in the FBS, averaging 45.8 points this season.
K-State has allowed three touchdowns in the last eight quarters.
"We were very successful a couple weeks ago in not allowing Iowa State to get into the end zone and force them into field goals," Klieman said. "Typically, field goals don't get you beat, and touchdowns in the red zone do. Our coaching staff on defense has done a great job keeping the guys focused and realizing that every offense in this league is going to be able to move the football. You just have to find a way to get stops in the red zone."
K-State is the only FBS team not to throw an interception this season
You read right — knock on wood — K-State is the only team in the FBS not to throw an interception in 2022.
Adrian Martinez (138 passing attempts), Jake Rubley (four) and wide receiver Malik Knowles (one) have accounted for 143 total passing attempts.
For Martinez, it's the most consecutive passing attempts without an interception in his five-year collegiate career.
"It's something I've continued to want to work on," Martinez said, "and that stems from preparation and Coach (Collin) Klein and what we're doing offensively."
Martinez entered his first and only season at K-State with 45 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in 39 career games at Nebraska. He had 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season.
Things have vastly changed this year.
Martinez is averaging 22 passing attempts and 101.3 passing yards in the non-conference. He's opened things up in the Big 12 season, averaged 24 passing attempts and 198.7 passing yards in the first three games.
"I've said it a million times, but it's a fine line," Martinez said. "I'm just playing within our offense. In practice, it's a big deal for me to make sure we're getting those things right, and hitting those passes, and big plays, and whatever it is, making sure we get those things solidified. I think we've done a lot better job of that as far as quarterbacks and wide receivers hammering those fine details and making sure that helps us in the passing game in the real game."
From a historical perspective, K-State set the school record for fewest interceptions in a season when the Wildcats recorded just three picks during a 10-game season in 1953.
"(No interceptions) is something we emphasize and something (Martinez) is conscious of," Klieman said. "In close ballgames maybe it's a turnover here or there that could flip the tide of a game. It's understanding that sometimes I've got to check the ball down or tuck it away and maybe a punt isn't a bad thing rather than forcing a throw. That's part of it.
"Part of it is his maturity and the fact he's played so much football. I think Coach Collin Klein is putting him in good situations and calls to be successful, and us trying to stay ahead of the chains, and not being in a bunch of third-and-8 plus where you might typically force the ball, and being in a lot more third-and-shorts. It opens up the playbook a little bit more.
"He's making good decisions."
TCU quarterback Max Duggan will present some challenges for the Wildcats
Fifth-year senior Max Duggan ranks sixth in the FBS in passing efficiency (179.9) and has 16 touchdowns to just one interception in TCU's first six games.
Most recently, he completed 23 of 40 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns and added 11 carries for 57 yards in the double-overtime win against No. 8 Oklahoma State.
He's a threat all over the field.
"I've always been a big fan of his," Klieman said. "I think he's an unbelievable competitor."
Duggan began the season on the bench before starter Chandler Morris suffered a left knee sprain in the second half of TCU's season opener against Colorado. Duggan impressed coaches so much that he's remained the starter. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 302 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 116 yards and two scores in a 55-24 win over Oklahoma on October 1.
Duggan has faced K-State three times but has yet to throw a touchdown or interception against the Wildcats.
As a freshman Duggan completed 16 of 29 passes for 132 yards. As a sophomore, he completed 19 of 31 passes for 154 yards. Last season, he completed 9 of 13 passes for 73 yards.
"I remember him playing as a true freshman in 2019 and he had some really good plays against us here," Klieman said. "I know he's had some ups and downs as a lot of players have and he's always come back.
"I met him at the Big 12 media days and thought he was a first-class kid. He deserves the success he's having because it hasn't been easy, but you can tell that the players trust him and the players rally around him. He's been impressive."
Felix Anudike-Uzomah earns midseason All-American honors ahead of TCU showdown
Felix Anudike-Uzomah was named to midseason All-American squads by The Athletic, Sporting News and CBS Sports on Tuesday as the 6-foot-4, 255-pound junior defensive end ranks No. 1 in the FBS in sacks (1.08 per game), ninth nationally and tied for first in the Big 12 in forced fumbles (0.33), and 21st nationally in tackles for a loss (1.3). So far, he has 21 tackles, including eight for a loss and 6.5 sacks with two forced fumbles.
Anudike-Uzomah is tied for 10th in K-State history with 18.5 career sacks. However, he could easily have more.
Take last season's meeting against TCU, for example.
Anudike-Uzomah initially had a Big 12-record six sacks against the Horned Frogs, but the NCAA ruled that two of his strip-sacks did not count due to fumbles that were recovered on K-State's side of the original line of scrimmage. That gave him four sacks, which is tied for most in K-State single-game history.
Anudike-Uzomah will be ready to eat on Saturday.
"Felix is motivated to play anybody," Klieman said. "He just loves to play the game. I forgot that (TCU) was the game where he had that, but Felix has a big challenge on his hands. They're really good up front, and they get rid of the ball, and they have a kid back there that's very elusive. It's a big challenge for us on defense in general."
Quiet and reserved linebacker Austin Moore continues to be a machine for the Wildcats
They call junior weakside linebacker Austin Moore "The Machine," and he has developed into a whale of a story for the Wildcats in 2022. Moore, a former walk-on from Louisburg, Kansas, a town of about 5,000 people, arrived at K-State in 2018 without any recruiting stars.
He earned a scholarship last spring, earned his second-career start against South Dakota, and is now the 6-foot-1, 217-pounder is one of the Wildcats' most dangerous defensive weapons.
"Last year, I gained a lot of confidence at the end of the year and felt like I could play at this level," said Moore, who has appeared in 26 games. "I still have a long ways to go. But I haven't been too surprised (with the success)."
Moore leads the team with 41 tackles and ranks second on the team with seven tackles for a loss. He enters this week ranked 11th in the Big 12 in tackles. He had a career-high eight tackles and recorded his first-career sack against Tulane. He recorded his first-career interception against Texas Tech.
"He's made a lot of growth in every aspect of the game," Kleiman said, "but that's the expectation that I have for Austin, and the expectation that Austin has for himself. He's a very humble, confident kid in his ability as well as in knowing how he fits within the defense. For any of us to say we're surprised by Austin Moore — it doesn't happen by accident.
"He's a warrior and playing with a lot of confidence and playing fast. He's without question one of our best defensive players right now. You'd ask any of our 'marquee' guys that you talk about, and they'd point to Austin Moore as a guy who's having an all-conference year."
You can feel the excitement in the air for No. 17 Kansas State this week.
"The lights are bright for sure," K-State defensive tackle Eli Huggins said.
Two weeks have passed since the Wildcats outlasted Iowa State to keep their perfect start to the Big 12 Conference season intact. Now K-State, 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12, prepares to face No. 8 TCU, 6-0 and 3-0, in Saturday's 7 p.m. kickoff (FS1) at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
It marks the first time since the 2015 Alamo Bowl that K-State will play in a game in which both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll.
"You can see it in the landscape of the Big 12 that anybody can beat anybody," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said in his news conference Tuesday. "It comes down to a handful of plays that ultimately get made in the fourth quarter, and if you make it more than that, you're probably missing the boat, and not preparing for what you have to face for four quarters one play at a time.
"Our guys are excited about the challenge of going to TCU. We know it's going to be a great environment. We're playing a team that has a lot of confidence. We have to weather the storm, so to speak, and get this game into the fourth quarter with a chance."
K-State comes off a much-needed bye week, which helped the Wildcats to recoup from six weeks of battle and heal some injuries across the board.
"There were a number of guys who didn't participate yesterday that we anticipate practicing some today or tomorrow," Klieman said, "but everybody that played against Iowa State is right now on target to play this Saturday."
K-State is seven points from a perfect record. Its lone blemish was a 17-10 defeat to Tulane, which is No. 25 in the AP Top 25 rankings.
"We're continuing to grow and buy into this process realizing we're not a complete product yet," K-State quarterback Adrian Martinez said. "Shoot, as good as we've been we can be so much better, because we haven't played a complete game yet to this point."
The Horned Frogs beat No. 8 Oklahoma State 43-40 in double overtime last Saturday to move up five spots in the rankings.
Ten Big 12 league games have already been decided by single digits this season.
"It's a dogfight, especially because it's wide open," K-State wide receiver Kade Warner said. "There are so many good teams in there. It's really exciting going forward."
K-State has won its last three over TCU, tied for the longest winning streak by either team in the series, as TCU also won three-straight from 1984 to 1986.
The Wildcats have found success by limiting the Horned Frogs on the scoreboard. TCU, which currently ranks No. 3 with 46.7 points per game, hasn't scored more than 26 points against the Wildcats since 2015.
K-State has held every FBS opponent under its scoring average so far this season.
K-State safety Drake Cheatham credits it to playing with a "mob mentality."
Exactly what does that mean?
"We're fast and physical and don't give up anything," Cheatham said.
Klieman is eager to see how the Wildcats fare the rest of the way.
"We've got six left," he said. "The stakes keep getting higher."
K-State's scoring defense features some impressive trends
It sounds simple enough: Keep teams from scoring. But in the high-powered Big 12 Conference, it becomes a weekly chore to limit offenses on the scoreboard.
K-State, which ranks 14th in the FBS in allowing just 16.7 points per game — on pace for giving up its fewest point in a season since 2003 — has done a phenomenal job this year.
"We take a lot of pride in that, just trusting Coach (Joe) Klanderman's plan and everything that he puts into place, and really believing we're the Mob," K-State safety Kobe Savage said. "The Mob means the world. That's a defense that's going to come and hit you every play."
K-State held every FBS team under its season scoring average during the first half of the season.
The Wildcats also carry some trends into TCU on Saturday.
Since 2019, K-State has held 23 of 30 Big 12 opponents under their season scoring average at the time of their meeting.
Of those 23 times that K-State has held Big 12 foes below their scoring average, the Wildcat have won 16 games and have lost seven.
More specifically as it pertains to Saturday's matchup, K-State is 8-3 on the road when preventing Big 12 opponents from reaching their scoring average. In five such victories, K-State held their opponent to at least 10 points under their average.
In fact, when K-State beat TCU 21-14 in 2020, the Wildcats held the Horned Frogs 19.5 points under their average.
TCU is No. 3 in the FBS, averaging 45.8 points this season.
K-State has allowed three touchdowns in the last eight quarters.
"We were very successful a couple weeks ago in not allowing Iowa State to get into the end zone and force them into field goals," Klieman said. "Typically, field goals don't get you beat, and touchdowns in the red zone do. Our coaching staff on defense has done a great job keeping the guys focused and realizing that every offense in this league is going to be able to move the football. You just have to find a way to get stops in the red zone."
K-State is the only FBS team not to throw an interception this season
You read right — knock on wood — K-State is the only team in the FBS not to throw an interception in 2022.
Adrian Martinez (138 passing attempts), Jake Rubley (four) and wide receiver Malik Knowles (one) have accounted for 143 total passing attempts.
For Martinez, it's the most consecutive passing attempts without an interception in his five-year collegiate career.
"It's something I've continued to want to work on," Martinez said, "and that stems from preparation and Coach (Collin) Klein and what we're doing offensively."
Martinez entered his first and only season at K-State with 45 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in 39 career games at Nebraska. He had 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season.
Things have vastly changed this year.
Martinez is averaging 22 passing attempts and 101.3 passing yards in the non-conference. He's opened things up in the Big 12 season, averaged 24 passing attempts and 198.7 passing yards in the first three games.
"I've said it a million times, but it's a fine line," Martinez said. "I'm just playing within our offense. In practice, it's a big deal for me to make sure we're getting those things right, and hitting those passes, and big plays, and whatever it is, making sure we get those things solidified. I think we've done a lot better job of that as far as quarterbacks and wide receivers hammering those fine details and making sure that helps us in the passing game in the real game."
From a historical perspective, K-State set the school record for fewest interceptions in a season when the Wildcats recorded just three picks during a 10-game season in 1953.
"(No interceptions) is something we emphasize and something (Martinez) is conscious of," Klieman said. "In close ballgames maybe it's a turnover here or there that could flip the tide of a game. It's understanding that sometimes I've got to check the ball down or tuck it away and maybe a punt isn't a bad thing rather than forcing a throw. That's part of it.
"Part of it is his maturity and the fact he's played so much football. I think Coach Collin Klein is putting him in good situations and calls to be successful, and us trying to stay ahead of the chains, and not being in a bunch of third-and-8 plus where you might typically force the ball, and being in a lot more third-and-shorts. It opens up the playbook a little bit more.
"He's making good decisions."
TCU quarterback Max Duggan will present some challenges for the Wildcats
Fifth-year senior Max Duggan ranks sixth in the FBS in passing efficiency (179.9) and has 16 touchdowns to just one interception in TCU's first six games.
Most recently, he completed 23 of 40 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns and added 11 carries for 57 yards in the double-overtime win against No. 8 Oklahoma State.
He's a threat all over the field.
"I've always been a big fan of his," Klieman said. "I think he's an unbelievable competitor."
Duggan began the season on the bench before starter Chandler Morris suffered a left knee sprain in the second half of TCU's season opener against Colorado. Duggan impressed coaches so much that he's remained the starter. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 302 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 116 yards and two scores in a 55-24 win over Oklahoma on October 1.
Duggan has faced K-State three times but has yet to throw a touchdown or interception against the Wildcats.
As a freshman Duggan completed 16 of 29 passes for 132 yards. As a sophomore, he completed 19 of 31 passes for 154 yards. Last season, he completed 9 of 13 passes for 73 yards.
"I remember him playing as a true freshman in 2019 and he had some really good plays against us here," Klieman said. "I know he's had some ups and downs as a lot of players have and he's always come back.
"I met him at the Big 12 media days and thought he was a first-class kid. He deserves the success he's having because it hasn't been easy, but you can tell that the players trust him and the players rally around him. He's been impressive."
Felix Anudike-Uzomah earns midseason All-American honors ahead of TCU showdown
Felix Anudike-Uzomah was named to midseason All-American squads by The Athletic, Sporting News and CBS Sports on Tuesday as the 6-foot-4, 255-pound junior defensive end ranks No. 1 in the FBS in sacks (1.08 per game), ninth nationally and tied for first in the Big 12 in forced fumbles (0.33), and 21st nationally in tackles for a loss (1.3). So far, he has 21 tackles, including eight for a loss and 6.5 sacks with two forced fumbles.
Anudike-Uzomah is tied for 10th in K-State history with 18.5 career sacks. However, he could easily have more.
Take last season's meeting against TCU, for example.
Anudike-Uzomah initially had a Big 12-record six sacks against the Horned Frogs, but the NCAA ruled that two of his strip-sacks did not count due to fumbles that were recovered on K-State's side of the original line of scrimmage. That gave him four sacks, which is tied for most in K-State single-game history.
Anudike-Uzomah will be ready to eat on Saturday.
"Felix is motivated to play anybody," Klieman said. "He just loves to play the game. I forgot that (TCU) was the game where he had that, but Felix has a big challenge on his hands. They're really good up front, and they get rid of the ball, and they have a kid back there that's very elusive. It's a big challenge for us on defense in general."
Quiet and reserved linebacker Austin Moore continues to be a machine for the Wildcats
They call junior weakside linebacker Austin Moore "The Machine," and he has developed into a whale of a story for the Wildcats in 2022. Moore, a former walk-on from Louisburg, Kansas, a town of about 5,000 people, arrived at K-State in 2018 without any recruiting stars.
He earned a scholarship last spring, earned his second-career start against South Dakota, and is now the 6-foot-1, 217-pounder is one of the Wildcats' most dangerous defensive weapons.
"Last year, I gained a lot of confidence at the end of the year and felt like I could play at this level," said Moore, who has appeared in 26 games. "I still have a long ways to go. But I haven't been too surprised (with the success)."
Moore leads the team with 41 tackles and ranks second on the team with seven tackles for a loss. He enters this week ranked 11th in the Big 12 in tackles. He had a career-high eight tackles and recorded his first-career sack against Tulane. He recorded his first-career interception against Texas Tech.
"He's made a lot of growth in every aspect of the game," Kleiman said, "but that's the expectation that I have for Austin, and the expectation that Austin has for himself. He's a very humble, confident kid in his ability as well as in knowing how he fits within the defense. For any of us to say we're surprised by Austin Moore — it doesn't happen by accident.
"He's a warrior and playing with a lot of confidence and playing fast. He's without question one of our best defensive players right now. You'd ask any of our 'marquee' guys that you talk about, and they'd point to Austin Moore as a guy who's having an all-conference year."
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