Steven Johnson: An early look at TCU’s next opponent, No. 17 Kansas State
TCU doesn’t have much time to celebrate moving up into the Top 10 after defeating Oklahoma State this past Saturday.
The Horned Frogs must immediately shift their focus to No. 17 Kansas State. TCU will host the Wildcats at 7 p.m. for the first primetime Big 12 game of their schedule.
Kansas State is coming off an open week and has had extra time to prepare for TCU’s high-powered offense. The Wildcats also have won three straight games in the series between the two programs.
It should be another battle for the Horned Frogs, here’s are four things to know about the Wildcats:
Martinez back to his old self
Nebraska transfer Adrian Martinez burst onto the scene in 2018 as a true freshman with 3,200 yards of total offense and 25 touchdowns. He transferred to Manhattan this offseason to play for coach Chris Klieman.
Martinez has been effective for the Wildcats as the offense has leaned into his skills as a runner. Martinez has 546 yards and averages six yards per carry with nine touchdowns. As a passer, Martinez hasn’t been asked to do much. He’s only attempting 23 passes per game and averaging only 150 yards per game. He hasn’t thrown an interception midway through the season.
Kansas State has a formula that works and they’re going to stick to it. TCU must be ready for a heavy dose of the read option and quarterback power runs.
All-American running back
Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn is one of the best running backs in the country and has the stats and credentials to back it up. Vaughn has over 2,700 career rushing yards and 976 yards receiving in his three seasons as the Wildcats’ lead back. Vaughn was a consensus All-American in 2021 and was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2020.
Vaughn, who stands at just 5-foot-7, will be the toughest tailback TCU has faced this year. He’s shifty in space and has more toughness than one would expect with a player his size. Vaughn eclipsed 100 yards in the win last year against TCU and added two touchdowns.
He’s only been held under 100 yards twice in six games. One resulted in a loss for Kansas State and other was a narrow one-point win over Iowa State. The numbers indicate that holding Vaughn under 100 yards is the key to beating the Wildcats.
How’d they lose to Tulane?
The Wildcats’ lone blemish this season came against the Tulane Green Wave, who somehow managed to lose to Southern Miss a week after upsetting Kansas State. Tulane has proven to be better than expected as the Green Wave earned a spot in the AP Top 25, but the question remains how did the Green Wave pull off the upset on the road?
The Wildcats won the turnover battle and had the exact same amount of yards offensively, so what went wrong? Kansas State went an abysmal 3-of-20 on third- and fourth-down conversions. The Wildcats had just under 190 yards rushing, but only averaged 4.4 yards per carry. Their season average is just under 6. Iowa State had similar success and held Vaughn and Martinez to just 3.4 yards per carry.
If TCU can take away the explosive runs and keep Kansas State in third and long, then TCU should have similar defensive success.
A sound defense
There aren’t any big names on the Kansas State defense, but it’s been one of the best units in the country. The Wildcats have a Top 15 scoring defense and are only allowing 16.4 points per game. The defense has picked off nine passes and recovered two fumbles.
Think about it like this. Kansas State has forced more turnovers (11) than it’s allowed touchdowns (10) this season. The 6-ffot-4 corner Julius Brents could be an intriguing matchup against Quentin Johnston and six different Wildcats have picked off a pass. Edge rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah is arguably the defense’s best player with 6.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss.
Linebacker Austin Moore leads the team with 41 tackles and has also has an interception and seven tackles for loss. Overall this is a unit that is going to be technically sound and avoid mental mistakes while forcing opposing offenses to make them. Only two teams have scored at least 20 points against Kansas State and neither Oklahoma or Texas Tech was able to win.
Kansas State will aim to avoid giving up big plays, will TCU have the discipline to be able to put together lengthy drives time after time?
