Cats Expect Battle in the Trenches on Friday
Oct 04, 2023 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State pledged to bring back the beef in 2023. The Wildcats will head into a place where their identity this season could be tested unlike any contest to this point when they visit Oklahoma State on Friday night in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
K-State, 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12 Conference, comes off an outing in which it pushed its way to 536 yards and 7.0 yards per rushing attempt in a 44-31 win over UCF. The Wildcats were a tenacious, pounding bunch in bouncing back from a 30-27 loss at Missouri to deliver their second game with at least 500 total yards this season.
Now they prepare to invade Oklahoma State, 2-2 and 0-1, which comes off a 34-27 loss at Iowa State, and will be an angry bunch desperate to change the tides of its season in Friday's 6:30 p.m. (ESPN) meeting at Boone Pickens Stadium.
"We know we have a big task ahead playing in Stillwater," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said.
The big task could come in K-State's ability to win the war of the trenches — something that proved to be a significant challenge in losses in Stillwater in 2021 (31-20) and 2019 (26-13).
"We haven't played our best football down there, but you can correlate that to we haven't won the line of scrimmage," Klieman said. "Whether you're playing in the street parking lot or home or away, it comes down to a mentality of being able to be physical and win the line of scrimmage."
In 2021, K-State was out-gained 481-260 and rushed for just 62 yards and went 2-for-12 on third down.
In 2019, K-State was out-gained 526-244 and rushed for 126 yards and went 1-for-13 on third down.
While the Wildcats would rather think about last season's 48-0 win over the ninth-ranked Cowboys – the biggest shutout loss ever of an AP Top 10 team by an unranked team – they expect a paramount challenge, starting at Boone Pickens Stadium, where they haven't won since 2017.
"We know the stretch we have ahead of us in Big 12 play and everything we have is still ahead of us," K-State senior center Hayden Gillum said. "We know what it's going to take week in and week out, and it starts with this week. We have to go down and take care of our job before we take care of the next week."
K-State ranks 15th in the FBS in averaging 482.2 total yards and 25th in averaging 198.5 rushing yards.
Oklahoma State ranks 99th in averaging 343.5 total yards and 104th in averaging 121.8 rushing yards per game.
One trend to watch for in this battle? Oklahoma State has held opponents under 50% on third-down conversions in 41 of the last 42 games. K-State ranks eighth in the nation in converting on 54.4% of its third-down opportunities.
"It's taking care of the ball and sustaining drives," K-State senior quarterback Will Howard said. "That's the biggest thing. When we're able to have long sustained drives, we have the most success."
K-State found success against UCF behind sophomore DJ Giddens, who rushed 30 times for 207 yards and four touchdowns, and he added eight catches for 86 yards. The 6-foot-1, 212-pound native of Junction City became the first player in K-State history to rush for 200 yards and score four rushing touchdowns in a single game.
"Without a doubt, he proved that he can be that bell cow that can carry it," Klieman said. "I don't know if that's 20 carries or 18 carries and six catches. I'm not sure how the game will play out, but if we can book it and have 80 plays every game, we can get him a lot of carries, but every game is going to be a little different."
K-State boasts a defense that ranks fifth in the Big 12 in giving up 337.5 total yards and that is seventh nationally with 9.0 tackles for loss per game and 11th with 3.50 sacks per contest.
The Wildcats look to provide a stiff challenge to a Cowboy offense looking to hit its stride.
"We've been trying to make sure we have that physicality in our positions just to disrupt the run a little bit more," K-State senior defensive tackle Uso Seumalo said. "We're solid up front, but we just have to make sure we're in our alignment and we'll be good.
"Everybody is doing a great job of being physical."
Where's the beef?
It could certainly be found on the Wildcats' side of the trenches this time around in Stillwater.
Kansas State pledged to bring back the beef in 2023. The Wildcats will head into a place where their identity this season could be tested unlike any contest to this point when they visit Oklahoma State on Friday night in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
K-State, 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12 Conference, comes off an outing in which it pushed its way to 536 yards and 7.0 yards per rushing attempt in a 44-31 win over UCF. The Wildcats were a tenacious, pounding bunch in bouncing back from a 30-27 loss at Missouri to deliver their second game with at least 500 total yards this season.
Now they prepare to invade Oklahoma State, 2-2 and 0-1, which comes off a 34-27 loss at Iowa State, and will be an angry bunch desperate to change the tides of its season in Friday's 6:30 p.m. (ESPN) meeting at Boone Pickens Stadium.
"We know we have a big task ahead playing in Stillwater," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said.
The big task could come in K-State's ability to win the war of the trenches — something that proved to be a significant challenge in losses in Stillwater in 2021 (31-20) and 2019 (26-13).
"We haven't played our best football down there, but you can correlate that to we haven't won the line of scrimmage," Klieman said. "Whether you're playing in the street parking lot or home or away, it comes down to a mentality of being able to be physical and win the line of scrimmage."
In 2021, K-State was out-gained 481-260 and rushed for just 62 yards and went 2-for-12 on third down.
In 2019, K-State was out-gained 526-244 and rushed for 126 yards and went 1-for-13 on third down.
While the Wildcats would rather think about last season's 48-0 win over the ninth-ranked Cowboys – the biggest shutout loss ever of an AP Top 10 team by an unranked team – they expect a paramount challenge, starting at Boone Pickens Stadium, where they haven't won since 2017.
"We know the stretch we have ahead of us in Big 12 play and everything we have is still ahead of us," K-State senior center Hayden Gillum said. "We know what it's going to take week in and week out, and it starts with this week. We have to go down and take care of our job before we take care of the next week."
K-State ranks 15th in the FBS in averaging 482.2 total yards and 25th in averaging 198.5 rushing yards.
Oklahoma State ranks 99th in averaging 343.5 total yards and 104th in averaging 121.8 rushing yards per game.
One trend to watch for in this battle? Oklahoma State has held opponents under 50% on third-down conversions in 41 of the last 42 games. K-State ranks eighth in the nation in converting on 54.4% of its third-down opportunities.
"It's taking care of the ball and sustaining drives," K-State senior quarterback Will Howard said. "That's the biggest thing. When we're able to have long sustained drives, we have the most success."
K-State found success against UCF behind sophomore DJ Giddens, who rushed 30 times for 207 yards and four touchdowns, and he added eight catches for 86 yards. The 6-foot-1, 212-pound native of Junction City became the first player in K-State history to rush for 200 yards and score four rushing touchdowns in a single game.
"Without a doubt, he proved that he can be that bell cow that can carry it," Klieman said. "I don't know if that's 20 carries or 18 carries and six catches. I'm not sure how the game will play out, but if we can book it and have 80 plays every game, we can get him a lot of carries, but every game is going to be a little different."
K-State boasts a defense that ranks fifth in the Big 12 in giving up 337.5 total yards and that is seventh nationally with 9.0 tackles for loss per game and 11th with 3.50 sacks per contest.
The Wildcats look to provide a stiff challenge to a Cowboy offense looking to hit its stride.
"We've been trying to make sure we have that physicality in our positions just to disrupt the run a little bit more," K-State senior defensive tackle Uso Seumalo said. "We're solid up front, but we just have to make sure we're in our alignment and we'll be good.
"Everybody is doing a great job of being physical."
Where's the beef?
It could certainly be found on the Wildcats' side of the trenches this time around in Stillwater.
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