Bowl Week Stats and Notes

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Although No. 9 Kansas State (10-3) and No. 5 Alabama (10-2) have never met on the gridiron, that's about to change as the Big 12 Champions face the SEC powerhouse in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Saturday.

In the first-ever meeting between K-State head coach Chris Klieman and Alabama head coach Nick Saban, two of the top FBS head coaches in winning percentage prepare for what is expected to be one of the top matchups of the 2022 bowl season.

A proven winner with a championship history, Klieman holds a 102-32 career record, as his 76.1% career winning percentage ranks third among current FBS coaches that are in at least their 10^th season. He is also one of just 16 current Power 5 coaches with at least 100 victories.

K-State looks to tie its school record by reaching 11 wins this season.

Saban is 284-69-1 overall for an 80.4% winning percentage and seeks his 100^th victory over teams in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll — best among any coach in FBS history.

The Sugar Bowl marks the 24^th bowl game for the Wildcats, who are advancing to postseason play for a third time in four years under Klieman, whose team is making its first New Year's Six appearance in school history outside of appearances in the Cotton and Fiesta Bowls under the previous BCS format.

K-State is looking to post back-to-back bowl victories in consecutive seasons for the third time in school history and the first since it won the 2016 Texas Bowl and 2017 Cactus Bowl. K-State is 10-13 in bowl games and comes off a 42-20 win over LSU in the 2021 Texas Bowl.

The Wildcats are 3-2 all-time against SEC teams in bowl games. That includes a 35-21 win over Tennessee (2000), a 29-16 loss to Arkansas (2011) and a 45-23 loss to Arkansas (2015), a 33-28 win over Texas A&M (2016) and last year's victory over LSU.

Here are 10 storylines to follow as the Wildcats and Crimson Tide prepare to square off in Saturday's 11 a.m. kickoff on ESPN:

K-State is famous for bringing fans to bowl games

It remains to be seen exactly how many K-State fans pack Caesars Superdome for the 89^thAnnual Sugar Bowl, but the Wildcats are famous for bringing big crowds to bowl games — particularly bowl games of this magnitude. A purple wave of approximately 40,000 K-State fans attended the Wildcats' last New Year's Six bowl, as the 2012 Big 12 Champions met Oregon in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl. It tied for the second-highest bowl attendance in school history — only the 1997 Fiesta Bowl (45,000) had more. K-State has never played in the Sugar Bowl, so it's likely that a purple flood will invade the Big Easy.

A list of the top K-State crowds at bowls:

1997 Fiesta Bowl — 45,000
2013 Fiesta Bowl — 40,000
1997 Cotton Bowl — 40,000
2004 Fiesta Bowl — 37,000
2012 Cotton Bowl — 35,000
2001 Cotton Bowl — 35,000
1998 Alamo Bowl — 35,000

K-State has beaten three top-10 teams in the same season for the first time in history

While K-State attempts to tie a school record by winning 11 games in a season, the Wildcats will look to add to another school record against No. 5 Alabama. Already K-State has defeated three top-10 opponents for the first time in history, including the 31-28 overtime win against No. 3 TCU for the Big 12 Championship title. K-State's run against top-10 opponents began with a 41-34 win at No. 6 Oklahoma on September 24. Then the Wildcats shut out No. 9 Oklahoma State 48-0 in what was the most lopsided win by a lower-ranked team against a higher-ranked squad in FBS history. The Wildcats are now 6-3 in their last nine games against top-10 teams dating to a 45-40 win at No. 10 Oklahoma State on November 18, 2017. Under Chris Klieman, the Wildcats have defeated five teams ranked in the top 10 by the Associated Press.

Will Howard is one of the most effective quarterbacks in the FBS

Although Will Howard hasn't appeared in enough games to officially qualify for NCAA statistics (Howard has played in six contests), he would rank near the top of the FBS in passing efficiency rating. Howard owns a passing efficiency rating of 162.2, which would rank 10^th in the nation. Still, Howard's passing efficiency rating is currently a school record with at least 100 passing attempts. Michael Bishop had a 159.6 passing efficiency rating in 1998.

Here's where Howard would fit into the FBS standings in passing efficiency rating:

1. CJ Stroud (Ohio State) — 176.25
2. Hendon Hooker (Tennessee) — 175.51
3. Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina) — 173.12
4. Todd Centeio (James Madison) — 169.03
5. Caleb Williams (USC) — 167.94
6. Kurtis Rourke (Ohio) — 167.70
7. Bo Nix (Oregon) — 166.93
8. Max Duggan (TCU) — 165.48
9. KJ Jefferson (Arkansas) — 165.29
10. Will Howard (K-State) — 162.20

K-State will look to slow Bryce Young, who is stellar against ranked opponents

K-State is no stranger to facing efficient passers as No. 8 Max Duggan (TCU), No. 13 Michael Pratt (Tulane) and No. 25 Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma) each ranked among the top 25 in passing efficiency this season. Alabama junior Bryce Young ranks 18^th in passing efficiency, but he plays his best against the best competition. Since stepping into the starting quarterback role in 2021, Young has a NCAA passer rating of 152.79 in 12 games against top-25 opponents. He has thrown for 3,769 yards in 12 games for an average of 314.1 yards per contest with 30 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has averaged 8.3 yards and has completed 63.5 percent of his passes against top-25 opponents.

Consensus All-American Deuce Vaughn and Jahmyr Gibbs are two of the best all-purpose players in the FBS

Deuce Vaughn currently ranks fifth among all active players in the FBS with 4,896 all-purpose yards and needs 104 all-purpose yards to reach 5,000 all-purpose yards in his career. He has 3,471 rushing yards and 1,280 receiving yards over his last 36 games. Vaughn has five career games in which he has reached 70 rushing yards and 70 receiving yards in a game, including games against Texas and Kansas this season. In the Big 12 era, no other player has more than three such games in a career. Vaughn currently ranks 13^th nationally in averaging 138.7 all-purpose yards this season. Meanwhile, junior transfer Jahmyr Gibbs has been key to the Crimson Tide's success this season as his 1,455 all-purpose yards through his 11 games played leads the team. Gibbs' 132.3 all-purpose yards per game ranks 20^th nationally.

The K-State offense will be challenged by Consensus All-American linebacker Will Anderson Jr.

Alabama junior linebacker Will Anderson Jr. spent the week of December 5-12 attending four separate awards shows and walked away with the Nagurski Trophy, Lombardi Award, Bednarik Award and Lott IMPACT Trophy. The only Alabama player in history to be named unanimous All-American twice in a career, Anderson Jr. has 17.0 tackles for a loss and 10.0 sacks one year after leading the nation with 34.5 tackles for a loss and 17.5 sacks. In 40 games, Anderson Jr. has 34.5 sacks, or 0.86 sacks per game. According to Pro Football Focus, Anderson Jr. leads all Power 5 players in being a part of 14 sacks and is second among Power 5 players with 57 quarterback pressures and third with 36 quarterback hurries.

K-State and Alabama are two of the best in ball protection

The Wildcats rank second among Power 5 teams in committing 164 turnovers since 2012 (LSU has 160). Alabama ranks third with 166 turnovers. The Wildcats currently rank fifth nationally with a +1.08 turnover margin. They are plus-14 this year with 24 takeaways and 10 turnovers. In the last 206 games dating to the start of the 2008 season, Alabama has turned the ball over 222 times (120 fumbles, 102 interceptions) for an average of 1.08 turnovers per game.

K-State has held every FBS opponent under its scoring average this season

Since Chris Klieman's first year in 2019, K-State has held 30 of its 37 Big 12 opponents under their scoring average. This year, K-State has held every FBS opponent under its scoring average at the time the teams played. No. 3 TCU averaged 41.3 points per game and the Wildcats held the Horned Frogs to 28 points, which was 13.3 points below their average. K-State will be tested again against an Alabama offense that is tied for fourth in the FBS by averaging 40.8 points per game. Alabama's offense has scored 30 or more points in 59 of its last 68 games, including a FBS record 34 consecutive games. The Crimson Tide has reached 40 points a nation-leading 46 times since the start of the 2018 season. Alabama most recently beat Auburn, 49-27, on November 26, and has reached 40 points six times this season.

Malik Knowles and Phillip Brooks are two of the best active return specialists in the nation while Kool-Aid McKinstry is the second best in the FBS this season

When it comes to return specialists, it doesn't get much better than kickoff returner Malik Knowles and punt returner Phillip Brooks. Knowles' average of 27.9 yards per kickoff return leads all active FBS players with at least 50 kickoff returns in a career. Knowles averages 27.9 yards on 60 returns and has scored three touchdowns. Brooks' average of 14.9 yards per punt return leads all active FBS players with at least 40 punt returns in a career. Brooks averages 14.9 yards on 43 returns and has scored four touchdowns. Alabama sophomore Kool-Aid McKinstry has totaled 317 yards on 20 punts to average 15.8 yards per return. His yardage total and average per return each rank second among all Division I returners.

Ty Zentner is key in the clutch

Ty Zentner has been one of the MVPs for the Wildcats this season. The Topeka native is the only player at a Power 5 school to handle punting, kickoff and place-kicker duties this season. The sixth-year senior ranks second in school history in averaging 44.7 yards per punt this season. His 72-yard punt against Kansas marked the longest in the Big 12 this season and the longest by a K-State player since James Garcia hit a 78-yarder at Texas in 1998. Zentner has 49 touchbacks on 82 kickoffs (59.8%). Since taking over place-kicking duties over the last six games, Zentner is 9-for-9 on field goals and 29-for-29 on extra points. His 31-yard field goal to beat No. 3 TCU in the Big 12 title game was arguably the most important field goal in school history. Opposing kickers have been near perfect against Alabama in 2022, hitting 14-of-17 field goals. Over the last four seasons, opponents are hitting 65-of-73 (89.0%) against the Crimson Tide. That includes a perfect 20-of-20 season in 2019.

Gallery: (12-29-2022) K-State FB at AllState Sugar Bowl - Day1

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Phillip Brooks

Will Howard

Malik Knowles

Deuce Vaughn

Ty Zentner

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