Ultimate Preview: Kansas State
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Defense •
Matchups •
There's no secret to what Texas Tech has to do with Kansas State coming to
town: Stop the Wildcats' running game.
There's just one problem.
"We ain't stopped it all year," coach Tommy Tuberville said of his Red
Raiders, who rank last in the Big 12 in stopping the run and gave up 205
yards to Texas A&M in their last outing. "And we brought it to a sprint last
weekend, I guess."
The Raiders are giving up 224 yards a game to opposing rushers. Only five
FBS teams surrender more a game.
Tuberville expects the unbeaten Wildcats to give his Raiders a familiar
look.
"This is a very similar offense that we've seen most of the year,"
Tuberville said. "They run a lot of options. They run power plays. They run
a lot of two tight ends. The quarterback is going to take what you give them
in the passing game. Very similar.
"We've got to play better defense. This will be a game where we've got to
get our offense back on the field."
Kansas State will be the first of two opponents for the Raiders who are
currently unbeaten. The Wildcats are 5-0, and Oklahoma is 5-0 going into its
game at Kansas.
The Raiders, who are 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference after the loss to
A&M, have the Sooners on the road on Oct. 22. They return home against Iowa
State on Oct. 29.
-- Sports Xchange
THREE WILDCATS TO WATCH
QB Collin Klein - 58-of-101 for 593 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT; 115 att.,
468 yards, 7 TD - A rare breed in this era of pass-happy attacks, Klein has
actually attempted more rushes (115) than passes (101) while engineering
Kansas State to its first 5-0 start since 2000. He averages 93.6 yards
rushing, easily the most among Big 12 quarterbacks.
DE Jordan Voelker - 17 tackles, 5 TFL, 4 sacks, 2 PBU - Although
the walk-on played tight end in junior college before he was converted into
an under-sized defender, his quickness is helpful at times. He is tied for
third in the Big 12 with four sacks.
CB Nigel Malone - 19 tackles, 3 INT, 3 PBU - Shares the Big 12 lead
with three interceptions and has shown the knack for playing the ball at the
right spot despite standing just 5-10 and going up against taller receivers.
-- Sports Xchange
KEYS TO THE GAME
Zero to 60 - Tech came out guns blazing against A&M last weekend
and seemed to move at the quickest pace they had all year on the opening
drive. Kansas State just so happens to not practice against hurry up tempo
offenses during the week, so the Red Raiders should have a big advantage in
the conditioning and tempo aspect of the game against the Wildcat defense.
If the Red Raiders can come out early and get a two or three possession
lead, then they can get Kansas State into a shootout, which the Wildcats
want nothing to do with.
Same Story, Different Week - Once again, the Red Raiders will face
a formidable rushing attack against Kansas State in quarterback Collin Klein
and running back John Hubert. Kansas State plays old school, conservative,
vanilla football, but they do it well. If Tech can get KSU into long yardage
situations on second and third down and play solid pass coverage on third
down, then Tech will come out on top.
Missed Opportunities - For the first time all year, Texas Tech had
a hard time moving the football once they got inside the opposing 40 yard
line against A&M. This led to a lot of field goals instead of touchdowns,
which made the difference for the Aggies last week. Tech much score
touchdowns instead of field goals this week, because Kansas State loves to
play keep away and limit possessions on offense. The Red Raiders must make
the most of their time on offense.
-- McKay
-- Graham
