Meaningful Games in November
Nov 03, 2023 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State could make a big statement on Saturday.
Coming off three straight dominant wins, the Wildcats, who debuted at No. 23 in the College Football Playoff Poll, will get their chance to stay tied at the top of the Big 12 Conference standings if they can get past No. 7 Texas at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.
K-State hasn't beaten Texas since 2016. It's been a while — 12 years, in fact — since K-State has gone into Austin and returned to Manhattan victorious.
That could change when the teams kick off at 11:00 a.m. Saturday on FOX.
"We know how big of a challenge this is," quarterback Will Howard said.
K-State, 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12, comes off three wins at Texas Tech (38-21) and against TCU (41-3) and Houston (41-0) for its longest winning streak of the season. The Wildcats are in the midst of playing five straight teams from the state of Texas.
They finish out their season at Texas, against Baylor, at Kansas, and against Iowa State.
They start off November with their biggest game since the 2022 Big 12 Championship.
"It's fun to see that, for the most part, the games that we have in November are really meaningful games against really good teams because that's what we always strive for here, is to play games in November that matter," said K-State head coach Chris Klieman, who is 5-3 against AP Top 10 teams.
"These games are going to have an impact, whether it's on the standings, or the ability to continue on and have a chance to play in December in AT&T Stadium, or if nothing else, to continue to improve our spot in bowl prep."
K-State has won seven of the last 11 times when playing a game after November 1.
"Playing meaningful games in November is where we want to be and where we plan to be," Howard said. "At the same time, we're not looking forward. It's a one-week season every week and this week is Texas."
Texas, 7-1 and 4-1, is off to its best start since 2009. Among his conquests this season, third-year head coach Steve Sarkisian has taken the Longhorns to wins at then-No. 3 Alabama (34-24) and against current No. 21 Kansas (40-14).
"I do believe our best football is still ahead of us," Sarkisian said. "That part is exciting to me."
Sarkisian added: "Chris Klieman does a heck of a job. Throughout his career, wherever he's gone, he's had really good football teams. The play well in all three phases, and you can definitely see his imprint on that team."
K-State is one of six Power 5 teams to rank top 15 in scoring offense (37.4) and scoring defense (15.9).
The Wildcats have scored at least 38 points in eight of their last 10 regular-season games dating back to last season, their most in a 10-game stretch since doing so nine times over the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
Much of their success comes in the fact that they rank fourth nationally with a 55.0% success rate (61-of-111) on third down. They also rank second nationally in reaching the end zone on 82.5% of their red-zone possessions (33-of-40). Their 33 red-zone touchdowns are second nationally to USC (34).
"It's been a point of emphasis since last year having kicked too many field goals," K-State offensive coordinator Collin Klein said. "Credit to our guys. They've embraced that mindset and level of focus from last season, and it's something we've spent time on as a staff. It's been fun to dive into that and solve some problems and answer some questions and stay ahead that way. It's something we have to continue to do.
"Those windows are smaller down there and the margin for error is much less. Even this year, there's room and some opportunity for us to continue to get better."
Howard has completed 63.7% of his passes for 1,628 yards with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has gone 31-of-42 for 404 yards and five touchdowns without an interception during the current winning streak while truly shining with his efficiency against the Cougars.
"I've seen Will play a lot of really good football here," Klieman said. "I saw him play one of the most complete games that he's played. He won a Big 12 Championship and played really good in that game. But from start to finish just being in control and in command and having confidence and being on point throwing and running with authority, I thought he played one of his best games."
Although K-State ranks fifth in averaging 226.0 rushing yards per game, it'll be tested against a Texas unit that ranks 15th in allowing just 97.9 rushing yards per contest.
"It's really important for us to focus on us and what we need to do," Sarkisian said. "The details and level of physicality with which we play the game are at the forefront of what we do."
Texas has started a season scoring at least 30 points in its first eight games for the first time in history. It's led by sophomore running back Jonathon Brooks, a sophomore who ranks fourth nationally in averaging 115.4 rushing yards per game and has reached 100 rushing yards in four of his last six contests. He had 218 yards against Kansas.
"He's a physical runner who's really patient in his runs," K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said. "He's just as good of a back as we'll see."
The Longhorns come off a 35-6 win over BYU during which Maalik Murphy, a redshirt freshman, threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns in his debut as the starting quarterback. Murphy played in place of sophomore starter Quinn Ewers, who is week-to-week with injury to his throwing shoulder.
Murphy had attempted eight passes in his career prior to facing the Cougars.
"You'd like to have a bigger sample size for sure," Klieman said. "He's been in that system now for a while. They have a lot of confidence in him, and you can see that. He has tremendous arm talent. I think he sees the field well, and he has patience in the pocket. When you can make all the throws and have patience in the pocket, you're really dangerous."
K-State's defense has been downright tenacious while keeping opponents out of the end zone for nine straight quarters.
The Wildcats have held 14 of their last 15 Big 12 foes under their scoring average at the time the teams played. They rank 23rd nationally in giving up 109.4 rushing yards per game. They rank sixth in allowing opponents to convert on just 28.9% of its third downs. They rank third in surrendering red-zone touchdowns just 30.0% (6-of-20) of the time.
"We have a lot of momentum," linebacker Austin Moore said. "We're trying to stay with that and keep that edge. We're still taking it one day at a time, but we're definitely gaining more confidence. We know we can play even better than we have."
It all comes down to the stretch run in November.
And that starts with a potential statement game on Saturday.
"It's a great challenge and guys are motivated," center Hayden Gillum said. "This is all you can ask for. You get to come to Kansas State and have the opportunity to play a big-time program in November and play meaningful games in November. We're excited for this. It's a great opportunity."
Kansas State could make a big statement on Saturday.
Coming off three straight dominant wins, the Wildcats, who debuted at No. 23 in the College Football Playoff Poll, will get their chance to stay tied at the top of the Big 12 Conference standings if they can get past No. 7 Texas at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.
K-State hasn't beaten Texas since 2016. It's been a while — 12 years, in fact — since K-State has gone into Austin and returned to Manhattan victorious.
That could change when the teams kick off at 11:00 a.m. Saturday on FOX.
"We know how big of a challenge this is," quarterback Will Howard said.
K-State, 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12, comes off three wins at Texas Tech (38-21) and against TCU (41-3) and Houston (41-0) for its longest winning streak of the season. The Wildcats are in the midst of playing five straight teams from the state of Texas.
They finish out their season at Texas, against Baylor, at Kansas, and against Iowa State.
They start off November with their biggest game since the 2022 Big 12 Championship.
"It's fun to see that, for the most part, the games that we have in November are really meaningful games against really good teams because that's what we always strive for here, is to play games in November that matter," said K-State head coach Chris Klieman, who is 5-3 against AP Top 10 teams.
"These games are going to have an impact, whether it's on the standings, or the ability to continue on and have a chance to play in December in AT&T Stadium, or if nothing else, to continue to improve our spot in bowl prep."
K-State has won seven of the last 11 times when playing a game after November 1.
"Playing meaningful games in November is where we want to be and where we plan to be," Howard said. "At the same time, we're not looking forward. It's a one-week season every week and this week is Texas."
Texas, 7-1 and 4-1, is off to its best start since 2009. Among his conquests this season, third-year head coach Steve Sarkisian has taken the Longhorns to wins at then-No. 3 Alabama (34-24) and against current No. 21 Kansas (40-14).
"I do believe our best football is still ahead of us," Sarkisian said. "That part is exciting to me."
Sarkisian added: "Chris Klieman does a heck of a job. Throughout his career, wherever he's gone, he's had really good football teams. The play well in all three phases, and you can definitely see his imprint on that team."
K-State is one of six Power 5 teams to rank top 15 in scoring offense (37.4) and scoring defense (15.9).
The Wildcats have scored at least 38 points in eight of their last 10 regular-season games dating back to last season, their most in a 10-game stretch since doing so nine times over the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
Much of their success comes in the fact that they rank fourth nationally with a 55.0% success rate (61-of-111) on third down. They also rank second nationally in reaching the end zone on 82.5% of their red-zone possessions (33-of-40). Their 33 red-zone touchdowns are second nationally to USC (34).
"It's been a point of emphasis since last year having kicked too many field goals," K-State offensive coordinator Collin Klein said. "Credit to our guys. They've embraced that mindset and level of focus from last season, and it's something we've spent time on as a staff. It's been fun to dive into that and solve some problems and answer some questions and stay ahead that way. It's something we have to continue to do.
"Those windows are smaller down there and the margin for error is much less. Even this year, there's room and some opportunity for us to continue to get better."
Howard has completed 63.7% of his passes for 1,628 yards with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has gone 31-of-42 for 404 yards and five touchdowns without an interception during the current winning streak while truly shining with his efficiency against the Cougars.
"I've seen Will play a lot of really good football here," Klieman said. "I saw him play one of the most complete games that he's played. He won a Big 12 Championship and played really good in that game. But from start to finish just being in control and in command and having confidence and being on point throwing and running with authority, I thought he played one of his best games."
Although K-State ranks fifth in averaging 226.0 rushing yards per game, it'll be tested against a Texas unit that ranks 15th in allowing just 97.9 rushing yards per contest.
"It's really important for us to focus on us and what we need to do," Sarkisian said. "The details and level of physicality with which we play the game are at the forefront of what we do."
Texas has started a season scoring at least 30 points in its first eight games for the first time in history. It's led by sophomore running back Jonathon Brooks, a sophomore who ranks fourth nationally in averaging 115.4 rushing yards per game and has reached 100 rushing yards in four of his last six contests. He had 218 yards against Kansas.
"He's a physical runner who's really patient in his runs," K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said. "He's just as good of a back as we'll see."
The Longhorns come off a 35-6 win over BYU during which Maalik Murphy, a redshirt freshman, threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns in his debut as the starting quarterback. Murphy played in place of sophomore starter Quinn Ewers, who is week-to-week with injury to his throwing shoulder.
Murphy had attempted eight passes in his career prior to facing the Cougars.
"You'd like to have a bigger sample size for sure," Klieman said. "He's been in that system now for a while. They have a lot of confidence in him, and you can see that. He has tremendous arm talent. I think he sees the field well, and he has patience in the pocket. When you can make all the throws and have patience in the pocket, you're really dangerous."
K-State's defense has been downright tenacious while keeping opponents out of the end zone for nine straight quarters.
The Wildcats have held 14 of their last 15 Big 12 foes under their scoring average at the time the teams played. They rank 23rd nationally in giving up 109.4 rushing yards per game. They rank sixth in allowing opponents to convert on just 28.9% of its third downs. They rank third in surrendering red-zone touchdowns just 30.0% (6-of-20) of the time.
"We have a lot of momentum," linebacker Austin Moore said. "We're trying to stay with that and keep that edge. We're still taking it one day at a time, but we're definitely gaining more confidence. We know we can play even better than we have."
It all comes down to the stretch run in November.
And that starts with a potential statement game on Saturday.
"It's a great challenge and guys are motivated," center Hayden Gillum said. "This is all you can ask for. You get to come to Kansas State and have the opportunity to play a big-time program in November and play meaningful games in November. We're excited for this. It's a great opportunity."
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