Conference Season Brings a New Challenge
Sep 22, 2023 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
It's a new Big 12 Conference season. And for Kansas State, which opens its conference slate against UCF, it's a new opponent in a league that dates to 1996.
K-State played Texas Tech in the inaugural Big 12 game on August 31, 1996. Since that time, teams have come and left the powerhouse conference.
Now the Wildcats, 2-1, prepare to face the Knights, 3-0, for the first time as league foes in Saturday's 7 p.m. kickoff (FS1) at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"It's definitely exciting," K-State senior center Hayden Gillum said. "It's cool to get into conference play, and we're looking forward to it. It brings a new challenge. They're a talented, athletic team, so it'll be fun. Whatever happens to this point, conference play is here now.
"You kind of have to take what you can learn from the preseason, and now here comes the grind and the thick of it."
The defending Big 12 Champions, ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25 poll last week, saw their stay in the top-25 end as Missouri booted a 61-yard field goal — the longest field goal in SEC history — as time expired in a 30-27 loss last Saturday in Columbia, Missouri.
K-State would like to respond with a memorable performance of its own as UCF embarks upon its first-ever Big 12 Conference game. It will mark just the second meeting between the teams in history. K-State beat UCF, 17-13, when the teams battled in 2010.
"The environment is going to be electric," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said. "Our fan base is so great. But their players will be ready for it. It's going to be a four-quarter game, but we're going to say that every week in this league. I don't care what teams are playing in this league, anybody can beat anybody because there's so much parity in our league right now."
K-State is dogged by injuries this week. Klieman announced on Tuesday that senior middle linebacker Daniel Green, "the heart and soul of the defense," will miss the remainder of the year with a torn pectoral muscle.
Senior quarterback Will Howard is questionable and senior Florida State transfer running back Treshaun Ward is doubtful.
That could increase the difficulty of bouncing back from a loss, something the Wildcats prided themselves on doing a year ago.
"That was last year's team, but there's no question you want to draw off some of those experiences, and we have a number of guys that can," Klieman said. "But it's not last year, it's this year, and it's a new team, and we have some new challenges on both sides of the ball that we have to continue to shore up.
"I think we all see we have some really good strengths on this team both sides of the ball and in the kicking game, and we have to emphasize those, but we have to address and fix our weaknesses."
Missouri had explosive plays on first and second down against the Wildcats' young defensive secondary. K-State, which allowed just five plays of 20-plus yards in wins against SEMO (45-0) and Troy (42-13), gave up seven against the Tigers.
Meanwhile, K-State had difficulty moving the ball on the ground against a top-10 rushing defense while the offensive line at times struggled to give Howard time to throw the football. Howard completed 25-of-39 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw one interception and was sacked three times. He played with a noticeable limp in the fourth quarter.
Senior right tackle Christian Duffie is expected to see his first action this season in a limited role against the Knights. That would enable All-American left guard Cooper Beebe to concentrate on his normal position after splitting time at right tackle in the non-conference.
"If we can keep (Beebe) where we have him at guard, and hopefully Duffie and Carver Willis can take those reps at tackle, it makes us a better front with Cooper at guard," Klieman said.
If Howard is unable to go, it is expected that true freshman Avery Johnson will take the reins. The top dual-threat passer in the Class of 2023, Johnson wowed coaches and teammates during fall camp, and he has their full confidence. He had five carries for 34 yards against the Tigers.
"He can do everything," Klieman said, "and we will do everything with him."
K-State faces a high-powered UCF squad that went through the non-conference with wins over Kent State (56-6), at Boise State (18-16), and against Villanova (48-14).
UCF leads the nation in total offense (617.7 yards per game), has reached 500 total yards in every game, and its 723 yards against Kent State mark the most by a FBS team this season. The Knights are second nationally in rushing offense (299.3 yards per game).
Making his first start in UCF uniform, redshirt sophomore quarterback Timmy McClain threw for a career-high 321 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Villanova. His favorite target was senior wide receiver Kobe Hudson, who had six catches for 147 yards.
Running backs RJ Harvey (79.7 yards per game) and Johnny Richardson (71.0 yards per game) offer a dangerous one-two punch. Both rank in the top-10 in rushing in the league.
"They're incredibly explosive," K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said. "Explosive in the pass game. They do a lot of things to try and get one-on-one matchups on the outside. I know they have an RPO element. Sometimes it's based on access and sometimes numbers in the box. They have a lot of good athletes.
"They're a really good offensive football team."
True freshman Austin Romaine is expected to get his first-career start in replacing Green at middle linebacker.
"We're going to do what we do, and obviously we have to put people into positions to be successful," Klanderman said. "Daniel is a big piece of that just because of his experience and ability. But we have guys who are capable of doing the things that we ask them to do. I'm excited for Austin Romaine and the challenge he has. He's earned this. When he got onto campus in the winter time and he went through spring practice, we knew he was a good football player. Physically, he's pretty mature for his age.
"He's flanked by two of our better football players in Austin Moore and Des (Desmond) Purnell. They're sensational, and they'll help him be grounded through this whole thing."
K-State will be challenged by a UCF defense that didn't allow Villanova past midfield and has recorded an interception in all three games. The Knights rank 20th in the FBS in allowing just 166.7 passing yards per game and also surrender just 117.0 rushing yards per game. They are one of 10 FBS teams to hold every opponent to 16 or fewer points.
K-State offensive coordinator Collin Klein on Thursday said that Howard suffered a soft-tissue injury against Missouri but "has gotten better every day," adding that, "if he can go and gets healthy, obviously, he'll go, but it's been day to day, and it'll probably continue that way."
Klein has no reservation in starting Johnson if needed.
"We wouldn't put him out there if he wasn't ready," he said. "Obviously, it's not just about one guy, too. It's about everybody stepping up and playing well around whoever is back there to make it go."
K-State remains on the mend as well.
The motto for K-State this year is "Raise the Bar."
All K-State players had to do during the week was look at the videoboards in Bill Snyder Family Stadium to remember their four core values — Discipline, Commitment, Toughness, and Be Selfless.
As for how those values apply to this week?
"Discipline is to let last week go and let it fuel you," K-State safety Marques Sigle said. "Commitment is staying true to our goal of a Big 12 Championship. Toughness is fighting through all the emotions and all the media and working to get better every day. Being selfless is being there for your brothers. Every play we're making for Daniel Green."
K-State has plenty to play for as the Big 12 season begins.
"There's a lot to prove, but a lot of it is you've got to prove to yourself," Gillum said. "Guys have high expectations. We're ready to bounce back."
It's a new Big 12 Conference season. And for Kansas State, which opens its conference slate against UCF, it's a new opponent in a league that dates to 1996.
K-State played Texas Tech in the inaugural Big 12 game on August 31, 1996. Since that time, teams have come and left the powerhouse conference.
Now the Wildcats, 2-1, prepare to face the Knights, 3-0, for the first time as league foes in Saturday's 7 p.m. kickoff (FS1) at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"It's definitely exciting," K-State senior center Hayden Gillum said. "It's cool to get into conference play, and we're looking forward to it. It brings a new challenge. They're a talented, athletic team, so it'll be fun. Whatever happens to this point, conference play is here now.
"You kind of have to take what you can learn from the preseason, and now here comes the grind and the thick of it."
The defending Big 12 Champions, ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25 poll last week, saw their stay in the top-25 end as Missouri booted a 61-yard field goal — the longest field goal in SEC history — as time expired in a 30-27 loss last Saturday in Columbia, Missouri.
K-State would like to respond with a memorable performance of its own as UCF embarks upon its first-ever Big 12 Conference game. It will mark just the second meeting between the teams in history. K-State beat UCF, 17-13, when the teams battled in 2010.
"The environment is going to be electric," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said. "Our fan base is so great. But their players will be ready for it. It's going to be a four-quarter game, but we're going to say that every week in this league. I don't care what teams are playing in this league, anybody can beat anybody because there's so much parity in our league right now."
K-State is dogged by injuries this week. Klieman announced on Tuesday that senior middle linebacker Daniel Green, "the heart and soul of the defense," will miss the remainder of the year with a torn pectoral muscle.
Senior quarterback Will Howard is questionable and senior Florida State transfer running back Treshaun Ward is doubtful.
That could increase the difficulty of bouncing back from a loss, something the Wildcats prided themselves on doing a year ago.
"That was last year's team, but there's no question you want to draw off some of those experiences, and we have a number of guys that can," Klieman said. "But it's not last year, it's this year, and it's a new team, and we have some new challenges on both sides of the ball that we have to continue to shore up.
"I think we all see we have some really good strengths on this team both sides of the ball and in the kicking game, and we have to emphasize those, but we have to address and fix our weaknesses."
Missouri had explosive plays on first and second down against the Wildcats' young defensive secondary. K-State, which allowed just five plays of 20-plus yards in wins against SEMO (45-0) and Troy (42-13), gave up seven against the Tigers.
Meanwhile, K-State had difficulty moving the ball on the ground against a top-10 rushing defense while the offensive line at times struggled to give Howard time to throw the football. Howard completed 25-of-39 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw one interception and was sacked three times. He played with a noticeable limp in the fourth quarter.
Senior right tackle Christian Duffie is expected to see his first action this season in a limited role against the Knights. That would enable All-American left guard Cooper Beebe to concentrate on his normal position after splitting time at right tackle in the non-conference.
"If we can keep (Beebe) where we have him at guard, and hopefully Duffie and Carver Willis can take those reps at tackle, it makes us a better front with Cooper at guard," Klieman said.
If Howard is unable to go, it is expected that true freshman Avery Johnson will take the reins. The top dual-threat passer in the Class of 2023, Johnson wowed coaches and teammates during fall camp, and he has their full confidence. He had five carries for 34 yards against the Tigers.
"He can do everything," Klieman said, "and we will do everything with him."
K-State faces a high-powered UCF squad that went through the non-conference with wins over Kent State (56-6), at Boise State (18-16), and against Villanova (48-14).
UCF leads the nation in total offense (617.7 yards per game), has reached 500 total yards in every game, and its 723 yards against Kent State mark the most by a FBS team this season. The Knights are second nationally in rushing offense (299.3 yards per game).
Making his first start in UCF uniform, redshirt sophomore quarterback Timmy McClain threw for a career-high 321 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Villanova. His favorite target was senior wide receiver Kobe Hudson, who had six catches for 147 yards.
Running backs RJ Harvey (79.7 yards per game) and Johnny Richardson (71.0 yards per game) offer a dangerous one-two punch. Both rank in the top-10 in rushing in the league.
"They're incredibly explosive," K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said. "Explosive in the pass game. They do a lot of things to try and get one-on-one matchups on the outside. I know they have an RPO element. Sometimes it's based on access and sometimes numbers in the box. They have a lot of good athletes.
"They're a really good offensive football team."
True freshman Austin Romaine is expected to get his first-career start in replacing Green at middle linebacker.
"We're going to do what we do, and obviously we have to put people into positions to be successful," Klanderman said. "Daniel is a big piece of that just because of his experience and ability. But we have guys who are capable of doing the things that we ask them to do. I'm excited for Austin Romaine and the challenge he has. He's earned this. When he got onto campus in the winter time and he went through spring practice, we knew he was a good football player. Physically, he's pretty mature for his age.
"He's flanked by two of our better football players in Austin Moore and Des (Desmond) Purnell. They're sensational, and they'll help him be grounded through this whole thing."
K-State will be challenged by a UCF defense that didn't allow Villanova past midfield and has recorded an interception in all three games. The Knights rank 20th in the FBS in allowing just 166.7 passing yards per game and also surrender just 117.0 rushing yards per game. They are one of 10 FBS teams to hold every opponent to 16 or fewer points.
K-State offensive coordinator Collin Klein on Thursday said that Howard suffered a soft-tissue injury against Missouri but "has gotten better every day," adding that, "if he can go and gets healthy, obviously, he'll go, but it's been day to day, and it'll probably continue that way."
Klein has no reservation in starting Johnson if needed.
"We wouldn't put him out there if he wasn't ready," he said. "Obviously, it's not just about one guy, too. It's about everybody stepping up and playing well around whoever is back there to make it go."
K-State remains on the mend as well.
The motto for K-State this year is "Raise the Bar."
All K-State players had to do during the week was look at the videoboards in Bill Snyder Family Stadium to remember their four core values — Discipline, Commitment, Toughness, and Be Selfless.
As for how those values apply to this week?
"Discipline is to let last week go and let it fuel you," K-State safety Marques Sigle said. "Commitment is staying true to our goal of a Big 12 Championship. Toughness is fighting through all the emotions and all the media and working to get better every day. Being selfless is being there for your brothers. Every play we're making for Daniel Green."
K-State has plenty to play for as the Big 12 season begins.
"There's a lot to prove, but a lot of it is you've got to prove to yourself," Gillum said. "Guys have high expectations. We're ready to bounce back."
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