Another Night Test in the Competitive Big 12
Oct 08, 2024 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Time continues to tick down toward what could be another crazy game in the Big 12 Conference.
So far, nine conference games have been decided by one score. This past weekend, Arizona State outlasted Kansas (35-31) in Tempe, Arizona, and Texas Tech beat Arizona (28-22) in Tucson, Arizona. Two weekends ago, No. 22 BYU beat Baylor (34-28) in Waco, Texas, and Texas Tech escaped Cincinnati (44-41) in Lubbock, Texas.
At a time that the Big 12 has four teams (No. 11 Iowa State, No. 14 BYU, No. 16 Utah and No. 18 Kansas State) in the top 18 of the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 2018, it's been an up-and-down season for several teams that were perceived contenders for a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. Close games. Blowouts. Home. Away. Doesn't matter.
"Really competitive, isn't it?" K-State senior left guard Hadley Panzer said. "You have to bring your 'A' game every single weekend."
No. 18 Kansas State, 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12, hasn't been involved with a conference nailbiter yet, as the Wildcats prepare to visit Colorado, 4-1 and 2-0, in a 9:15 p.m. kickoff Saturday in Boulder, Colorado.
The timeslot is dubbed "Big 12 After Dark" for a reason. Anything can happen.
So how important is K-State's first visit to Folsom Field since 2010?
"With the way the Big 12 works, every week has to be a big week," K-State senior right tackle Carver Willis said on Monday. "Every single week has to be big. Our goal is 1-0 every day and 1-0 every week. We're going to play our ball and try and go 1-0 this week."
The Buffaloes know all-too well about close shaves. They posted a miracle Hail-Mary comeback in a 38-31 overtime victory over Baylor on September 22 that was replayed across TVs throughout the country.
"The Big 12 is insane," Willis continued. "We lost to BYU earlier this season and I was like, 'Wow.' Nobody saw that coming. Then Utah lost to Arizona. Then CU hit the Hail Mary to tie it up for overtime against Baylor.
"The Big 12 is always super competitive, but I think we're proving that a little bit more this year by the games that are happening. It's just crazy."
K-State, which recorded a 42-20 win over then-No. 20 Oklahoma State the last time the Wildcats played on September 28, returns to a regular week of practice after coming off a bye week.
As for the best thing that happened last week?
"Getting the guys who've been here five and six years a break," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said at his weekly news conference on Monday. "The amount of reps that they'd taken since the first of August, the guys who've been around that everybody knows about. We practiced those guys, but we were really smart with those guys and didn't have them out on the grass as long to try and get their bodies recovered because they played a lot of snaps of football.
"On the flipside of that, it was our opportunity to work with a lot of younger players, whether they're freshmen or pretty new to the program, to develop those guys. That development isn't necessarily for 2025, it's to develop them when we do have that need this season."
Now K-State, which did some work on detailing Colorado last week, really digs in this week. The Buffaloes come off a bye week following a 48-21 win at UCF. Heisman candidate Shedeur Sanders is completing 70.1% of his passes for 1,630 yards and 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.
"I think Sanders will be the first quarterback picked off the board (in the NFL Draft), and he should be off the film that I've seen," Klieman said. "He's an excellent thrower. You can't really confuse him."
Travis Hunter, considered to be a top Heisman candidate, has 46 catches for 561 yards and six touchdowns. On defense, Hunter has 13 tackles and two interceptions.
"It's really impressive to watch because he's making plays in both phases and big-time plays," Klieman said. "He's not a role player on either side — he's a dynamic impact-player on both sides."
K-State prepares for the Colorado atmosphere this week as well.
"We have to do a really good job with our preparation and creating noise at practice and with tremendous focus," Klieman said. "I know it's going to be a tough environment. It's a night game and two really good teams. It's going to come down to who can do the simple things like protect the football and who can win on third down and in the red zone — all the things that typically help win games."
Count quarterback Avery Johnson among those eager for the Wildcats to remain in the hunt for a spot in the league title game.
"You obviously want to look at it as another week, but we know how talented of a team Colorado is, and coming off a bye week we should be very well rested to put our best foot forward," Johnson said. "It means a lot for where we sit ourselves in the Big 12 moving forward. We don't want another conference loss."
Uso Seumalo could see action on Saturday
K-State could get a lift in its defensive interior on Saturday. While junior nose tackle Damian Ilalio has been a force all season as starter for the Wildcats, sixth-year senior Uso Seumalo spent the bye week fighting for an opportunity to return to the field after suffering an injury. It appears the 6-foot-3, 333-pound Seumalo could be in the midst of a comeback.
"We're encouraged by it," Klieman said. "He didn't do anything last week other than stuff with rehabilitation and stuff with Coach Tru (Carroll). Haven't seen him yet today but got a report that it's promising. We hope to have him back this week. Now, will that be in a full-time role or in a limited role? That is to be determined as the week goes, but last week at this time I might've said there's no chance that he plays.
"Now I think there's a really good chance he'll be able to play."
Meanwhile, it remains doubtful that tight end Brayden Loftin will be available on Saturday. Loftin, who has caught two touchdown passes so far this season, has also dealt with injury.
"I doubt if Brayden will be available this week," Klieman said. "We're probably another week or so away. We're still hopeful, but I don't want to say for sure he's playing because he still has to pass a few more tests."
Quarterback Blake Barnett stood out in practice last week
K-State fans haven't had a chance to see freshman quarterback Blake Barnett attempt a pass in a game, but the 6-foot-1, 228-pound native of Erie, Colorado, continues to impress coaches. He did exactly that during practice last week.
Typically, a scout-team quarterback is utilized in practice during the week to give the K-State defense a "look" at the opposing team's quarterback.
This time, Barnett ran plays from out of the K-State offensive playbook instead.
"Blake Barnett was fun to watch because we missed him during the spring," Klieman said. "He missed all of spring football, so for him to truly get an opportunity – he just first learned the offense in fall camp – for him to now run scout team and then play quarterback and do K-State stuff, that was fun for us to see. We saw some really good things out of Blake, but that was fun because we hadn't really had a chance to see that yet."
Barnett came to K-State as the No. 1 player in the state of Colorado for the Class of 2024 by Rivals, and he was also rated as the seventh-best dual-threat quarterback in the country by Rivals as well. Barnett broke the Colorado state record by recording 159 total touchdowns, topping a mark previously held by current San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (141).
Barnett threw for 7,518 yards and 88 touchdowns and ran for 3,420 yards and another 68 scores during his four-year career at Erie High School.
"The dude is a competitor, and he works really hard," Johnson said. "He doesn't want to lose in anything he does, and that's a great trait as a quarterback. You can get caught up in all the stats, but at the end of the day, you just want a win in that column, and that's how he is. He works hard, he's really smart and he has a really strong arm. He's really talented. He definitely is going to be a player to watch in the years to come."
Time continues to tick down toward what could be another crazy game in the Big 12 Conference.
So far, nine conference games have been decided by one score. This past weekend, Arizona State outlasted Kansas (35-31) in Tempe, Arizona, and Texas Tech beat Arizona (28-22) in Tucson, Arizona. Two weekends ago, No. 22 BYU beat Baylor (34-28) in Waco, Texas, and Texas Tech escaped Cincinnati (44-41) in Lubbock, Texas.
At a time that the Big 12 has four teams (No. 11 Iowa State, No. 14 BYU, No. 16 Utah and No. 18 Kansas State) in the top 18 of the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 2018, it's been an up-and-down season for several teams that were perceived contenders for a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. Close games. Blowouts. Home. Away. Doesn't matter.
"Really competitive, isn't it?" K-State senior left guard Hadley Panzer said. "You have to bring your 'A' game every single weekend."
No. 18 Kansas State, 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12, hasn't been involved with a conference nailbiter yet, as the Wildcats prepare to visit Colorado, 4-1 and 2-0, in a 9:15 p.m. kickoff Saturday in Boulder, Colorado.
The timeslot is dubbed "Big 12 After Dark" for a reason. Anything can happen.
So how important is K-State's first visit to Folsom Field since 2010?
"With the way the Big 12 works, every week has to be a big week," K-State senior right tackle Carver Willis said on Monday. "Every single week has to be big. Our goal is 1-0 every day and 1-0 every week. We're going to play our ball and try and go 1-0 this week."
The Buffaloes know all-too well about close shaves. They posted a miracle Hail-Mary comeback in a 38-31 overtime victory over Baylor on September 22 that was replayed across TVs throughout the country.
"The Big 12 is insane," Willis continued. "We lost to BYU earlier this season and I was like, 'Wow.' Nobody saw that coming. Then Utah lost to Arizona. Then CU hit the Hail Mary to tie it up for overtime against Baylor.
"The Big 12 is always super competitive, but I think we're proving that a little bit more this year by the games that are happening. It's just crazy."
K-State, which recorded a 42-20 win over then-No. 20 Oklahoma State the last time the Wildcats played on September 28, returns to a regular week of practice after coming off a bye week.
As for the best thing that happened last week?
"Getting the guys who've been here five and six years a break," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said at his weekly news conference on Monday. "The amount of reps that they'd taken since the first of August, the guys who've been around that everybody knows about. We practiced those guys, but we were really smart with those guys and didn't have them out on the grass as long to try and get their bodies recovered because they played a lot of snaps of football.
"On the flipside of that, it was our opportunity to work with a lot of younger players, whether they're freshmen or pretty new to the program, to develop those guys. That development isn't necessarily for 2025, it's to develop them when we do have that need this season."
Now K-State, which did some work on detailing Colorado last week, really digs in this week. The Buffaloes come off a bye week following a 48-21 win at UCF. Heisman candidate Shedeur Sanders is completing 70.1% of his passes for 1,630 yards and 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.
"I think Sanders will be the first quarterback picked off the board (in the NFL Draft), and he should be off the film that I've seen," Klieman said. "He's an excellent thrower. You can't really confuse him."
Travis Hunter, considered to be a top Heisman candidate, has 46 catches for 561 yards and six touchdowns. On defense, Hunter has 13 tackles and two interceptions.
"It's really impressive to watch because he's making plays in both phases and big-time plays," Klieman said. "He's not a role player on either side — he's a dynamic impact-player on both sides."
K-State prepares for the Colorado atmosphere this week as well.
"We have to do a really good job with our preparation and creating noise at practice and with tremendous focus," Klieman said. "I know it's going to be a tough environment. It's a night game and two really good teams. It's going to come down to who can do the simple things like protect the football and who can win on third down and in the red zone — all the things that typically help win games."
Count quarterback Avery Johnson among those eager for the Wildcats to remain in the hunt for a spot in the league title game.
"You obviously want to look at it as another week, but we know how talented of a team Colorado is, and coming off a bye week we should be very well rested to put our best foot forward," Johnson said. "It means a lot for where we sit ourselves in the Big 12 moving forward. We don't want another conference loss."
Uso Seumalo could see action on Saturday
K-State could get a lift in its defensive interior on Saturday. While junior nose tackle Damian Ilalio has been a force all season as starter for the Wildcats, sixth-year senior Uso Seumalo spent the bye week fighting for an opportunity to return to the field after suffering an injury. It appears the 6-foot-3, 333-pound Seumalo could be in the midst of a comeback.
"We're encouraged by it," Klieman said. "He didn't do anything last week other than stuff with rehabilitation and stuff with Coach Tru (Carroll). Haven't seen him yet today but got a report that it's promising. We hope to have him back this week. Now, will that be in a full-time role or in a limited role? That is to be determined as the week goes, but last week at this time I might've said there's no chance that he plays.
"Now I think there's a really good chance he'll be able to play."
Meanwhile, it remains doubtful that tight end Brayden Loftin will be available on Saturday. Loftin, who has caught two touchdown passes so far this season, has also dealt with injury.
"I doubt if Brayden will be available this week," Klieman said. "We're probably another week or so away. We're still hopeful, but I don't want to say for sure he's playing because he still has to pass a few more tests."
Quarterback Blake Barnett stood out in practice last week
K-State fans haven't had a chance to see freshman quarterback Blake Barnett attempt a pass in a game, but the 6-foot-1, 228-pound native of Erie, Colorado, continues to impress coaches. He did exactly that during practice last week.
Typically, a scout-team quarterback is utilized in practice during the week to give the K-State defense a "look" at the opposing team's quarterback.
This time, Barnett ran plays from out of the K-State offensive playbook instead.
"Blake Barnett was fun to watch because we missed him during the spring," Klieman said. "He missed all of spring football, so for him to truly get an opportunity – he just first learned the offense in fall camp – for him to now run scout team and then play quarterback and do K-State stuff, that was fun for us to see. We saw some really good things out of Blake, but that was fun because we hadn't really had a chance to see that yet."
Barnett came to K-State as the No. 1 player in the state of Colorado for the Class of 2024 by Rivals, and he was also rated as the seventh-best dual-threat quarterback in the country by Rivals as well. Barnett broke the Colorado state record by recording 159 total touchdowns, topping a mark previously held by current San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (141).
Barnett threw for 7,518 yards and 88 touchdowns and ran for 3,420 yards and another 68 scores during his four-year career at Erie High School.
"The dude is a competitor, and he works really hard," Johnson said. "He doesn't want to lose in anything he does, and that's a great trait as a quarterback. You can get caught up in all the stats, but at the end of the day, you just want a win in that column, and that's how he is. He works hard, he's really smart and he has a really strong arm. He's really talented. He definitely is going to be a player to watch in the years to come."
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