A Lethal Defensive Duo
Oct 06, 2022 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Moments after Kansas State staged a sack party against Texas Tech and quarterback Donovan Smith last Saturday, junior hybrid linebacker/defensive end Khalid Duke credited defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman and recognized his teammates for lending a hand in his standout performance.
But it was Duke's career-high three sacks, coupled with a three-sack performance by junior defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, the Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, that established a school record and stole the show on defense during the Wildcats' 37-28 win over the Red Raiders.
"Klanderman came up with a great scheme so I just played fast, read my keys, and that was it," Duke said. "We worked on it all week. It's great to help the team and help the defense. When I finally started making these plays, it just felt good."
Duke and Anudike-Uzomah were feeling pretty good after playing the Red Raiders.
They became the first duo in school history to each record three sacks in the same game for the Wildcats, whose six-sack total against the Red Raiders marked their most in a Big 12 game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium since posting six sacks against former Big 12 member Texas A&M on October 17, 2009.
"We basically knew ourselves that we were capable of doing stuff like that," said Anudike-Uzomah, who leads the Big 12 with 1.10 sacks per game and ranks 10th in the FBS with 0.40 forced fumbles per contest. "Before the season, we were telling us how lethal both of us could be on the field."
On Monday, the Big 12 Conference recognized the 6-foot-4, 246-pound Duke as its Defensive Player of the Week — for now the pinnacle achievement of a long road back following a gruesome knee injury in Game 3 against Nevada last season that required nearly a year of recovery.
"I definitely needed this game," he said, "to bring back my confidence."
No. 20 K-State, 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12, appears to have stellar confidence in its ability to sack the quarterback in 2022. The Wildcats are tied for 20th in the FBS with 14 total sacks and 2.80 sacks per game. They are on pace to match or surpass last season's sack total of 30.
"I knew we'd had a number of negative plays against (Texas Tech)," Klieman said, "but that's what we hoped for, maybe not six (sacks), but we hoped for a few sacks, and a lot of pressure with the game plan that we had for Texas Tech."
Duke's mile-marker performance came 378 days after he went down with a season-ending knee injury against Nevada. Klanderman moved athletic and speedy Duke to outside linebacker prior to the season. Klanderman altered the defensive package against Texas Tech in moving Duke to the line of scrimmage, which paid off handsomely.
"How about that?" Klieman said of Duke's weekly conference honor. "The kid didn't even participate in fall camp and he's on Week 5 and gets player-of-the-week in the league. He just continues to show the growth that he has and the strength coming back from his injury, and I'm excited to see Khalid playing at the level I knew he could play at.
"We all knew it was in him, and knew he was playing a different position, but when he's going a million miles per hour like he was on Saturday, he's hard to block."
Teammates were impressed in watching Anudike-Uzomah and Duke plow through the Red Raiders' offensive line and send Smith to the turf in record-setting fashion.
"That was fun to watch, wasn't it?" said running back Deuce Vaughn, Anudike-Uzomah's roommate. "Every single time that you're on the sideline and see Khalid on one side and Felix on the other getting one-on-one opportunities, you know something good is going to happen."
They struck fast and early.
On Texas Tech's first possession, Duke sacked Smith for a seven-yard loss to force a third-and-long and eventual punt. At the start of the second quarter, Anudike-Uzomah and Duke each sacked Smith on back-to-back plays.
K-State led 13-10 but Texas Tech was driving and faced a third-and-4 at its own 43 when Anudike-Uzomah made a critical sack to get the Red Raiders off the field. Anudike-Uzomah lined up on the outside and used a single swim move to jet past 6-foot-5, 305-pound Caleb Rogers and grab unsuspecting Smith from his blind side.
Anudike-Uzomah – who was named the Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week – emerged from his sack and performed his trademark robot dance and flexed his muscles to the cheers of 50,782 fans in the stadium.
Asked if he believed that he and Duke could become the best pass-rushing tandem in the Big 12, Anudike-Uzomah replied, "I personally think we are," adding that he and Duke watched hours of Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby this summer. "We were just saying how we could implement this onto the field."
K-State should get its opportunities for more sacks when it travels to face Iowa State, 3-2 and 0-2, in Saturday's 6:30 p.m. kickoff (ESPNU) at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones rank ninth in the Big 12 in allowing 14 total sacks and an average of 2.40 sacks per game.
"We knew it was going to be like this," Anudike-Uzomah said of the Wildcats' success in sacking the quarterback. "We knew we were going to cause ruckus on the offensive line because of how much work we put in. Klanderman is going to give us a good game plan against their offensive line.
"We'll be prepared for it."
Moments after Kansas State staged a sack party against Texas Tech and quarterback Donovan Smith last Saturday, junior hybrid linebacker/defensive end Khalid Duke credited defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman and recognized his teammates for lending a hand in his standout performance.
But it was Duke's career-high three sacks, coupled with a three-sack performance by junior defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, the Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, that established a school record and stole the show on defense during the Wildcats' 37-28 win over the Red Raiders.
"Klanderman came up with a great scheme so I just played fast, read my keys, and that was it," Duke said. "We worked on it all week. It's great to help the team and help the defense. When I finally started making these plays, it just felt good."
Duke and Anudike-Uzomah were feeling pretty good after playing the Red Raiders.
They became the first duo in school history to each record three sacks in the same game for the Wildcats, whose six-sack total against the Red Raiders marked their most in a Big 12 game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium since posting six sacks against former Big 12 member Texas A&M on October 17, 2009.
"We basically knew ourselves that we were capable of doing stuff like that," said Anudike-Uzomah, who leads the Big 12 with 1.10 sacks per game and ranks 10th in the FBS with 0.40 forced fumbles per contest. "Before the season, we were telling us how lethal both of us could be on the field."
On Monday, the Big 12 Conference recognized the 6-foot-4, 246-pound Duke as its Defensive Player of the Week — for now the pinnacle achievement of a long road back following a gruesome knee injury in Game 3 against Nevada last season that required nearly a year of recovery.
"I definitely needed this game," he said, "to bring back my confidence."
No. 20 K-State, 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12, appears to have stellar confidence in its ability to sack the quarterback in 2022. The Wildcats are tied for 20th in the FBS with 14 total sacks and 2.80 sacks per game. They are on pace to match or surpass last season's sack total of 30.
"I knew we'd had a number of negative plays against (Texas Tech)," Klieman said, "but that's what we hoped for, maybe not six (sacks), but we hoped for a few sacks, and a lot of pressure with the game plan that we had for Texas Tech."
Duke's mile-marker performance came 378 days after he went down with a season-ending knee injury against Nevada. Klanderman moved athletic and speedy Duke to outside linebacker prior to the season. Klanderman altered the defensive package against Texas Tech in moving Duke to the line of scrimmage, which paid off handsomely.
"How about that?" Klieman said of Duke's weekly conference honor. "The kid didn't even participate in fall camp and he's on Week 5 and gets player-of-the-week in the league. He just continues to show the growth that he has and the strength coming back from his injury, and I'm excited to see Khalid playing at the level I knew he could play at.
"We all knew it was in him, and knew he was playing a different position, but when he's going a million miles per hour like he was on Saturday, he's hard to block."
Teammates were impressed in watching Anudike-Uzomah and Duke plow through the Red Raiders' offensive line and send Smith to the turf in record-setting fashion.
"That was fun to watch, wasn't it?" said running back Deuce Vaughn, Anudike-Uzomah's roommate. "Every single time that you're on the sideline and see Khalid on one side and Felix on the other getting one-on-one opportunities, you know something good is going to happen."
They struck fast and early.
On Texas Tech's first possession, Duke sacked Smith for a seven-yard loss to force a third-and-long and eventual punt. At the start of the second quarter, Anudike-Uzomah and Duke each sacked Smith on back-to-back plays.
K-State led 13-10 but Texas Tech was driving and faced a third-and-4 at its own 43 when Anudike-Uzomah made a critical sack to get the Red Raiders off the field. Anudike-Uzomah lined up on the outside and used a single swim move to jet past 6-foot-5, 305-pound Caleb Rogers and grab unsuspecting Smith from his blind side.
Anudike-Uzomah – who was named the Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week – emerged from his sack and performed his trademark robot dance and flexed his muscles to the cheers of 50,782 fans in the stadium.
Asked if he believed that he and Duke could become the best pass-rushing tandem in the Big 12, Anudike-Uzomah replied, "I personally think we are," adding that he and Duke watched hours of Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby this summer. "We were just saying how we could implement this onto the field."
K-State should get its opportunities for more sacks when it travels to face Iowa State, 3-2 and 0-2, in Saturday's 6:30 p.m. kickoff (ESPNU) at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones rank ninth in the Big 12 in allowing 14 total sacks and an average of 2.40 sacks per game.
"We knew it was going to be like this," Anudike-Uzomah said of the Wildcats' success in sacking the quarterback. "We knew we were going to cause ruckus on the offensive line because of how much work we put in. Klanderman is going to give us a good game plan against their offensive line.
"We'll be prepared for it."
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