SB Nation - Courtney Herndon

Mizzou-KSU: Beyond the Box Score PREVIEW

Bill C. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:00:36 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

2 months ago: Kansas State wide receiver Brandon Banks runs into the end zone to score a touchdown during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee Tech on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, in Manhattan, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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The Big 12 North leader versus a team still scrapping for bowl eligibility. That's what we expected from this game at the beginning of the season, right?

I'm not going to lie: it is probably a complete waste of time to try to apply statistics to explain Kansas State. Stats HATE K-State. Even though my projections saw good things coming from KSU this year (damn straight I'm pounding my chest on that one), they have lived up to expectations in the most underwhelming way imaginable. Their offense has been great and atrocious. Their defense has been a sieve and a brick wall. They have won and lost games because of special teams. Based on both teams' play this season, the projections have actually moved from "K-State by 0.5" in the preseason to "Missouri by 7.2" despite K-State's current 4-2 conference record (and Missouri's 1-4 record).

In other words, neither I nor my stats have any freaking clue what is going to happen Saturday morning. It's important to be honest, no?

Offense

Kansas State: 2009 Beyond the Box Score Preseason Offensive Preview

Two good players (one of whom is a much better return man than receiver) and a quarterback whose main job is simply not to make a devastating error. That pretty much describes KSU's offense at this point. Here is the main BTBS data table, to be followed by a "Non-conference vs conference play" look at things, since it's pretty obvious that KSU has improved considerably in the last 4-6 weeks.

K-State Offense vs Missouri Defense
Category	KSU Offense	MU Defense
Close S&P+ (Rk)	91.2 (93)	104.7 (44)
Close Success Rate+ (Rk)	91.3 (99)	101.3 (53)
Close PPP+ (Rk)	92.6 (88)	109.3 (44)

Rushing S&P+	94.6 (87)	105.5 (53)
Passing S&P+	86.1 (100)	102.7 (52)

Standard Downs S&P+	100.3 (74)	111.1 (37)
Passing Downs S&P+	89.1 (95)	103.3 (58)

Red Zone S&P+	104.9 (61)	105.9 (54)

Q1 S&P+	89.9 (92)	92.2 (79)
Q2 S&P+	110.8 (50)	129.9 (18)
Q3 S&P+	111.3 (54)	105.2 (51)
Q4 S&P+	88.0 (99)	113.3 (36)

1st Down S&P+	102.5 (67)	106.6 (52)
2nd Down S&P+	96.3 (77)	106.6 (51)
3rd Down S&P+	92.9 (88)	106.8 (51)

Line Yards+	106.0 (46)	97.3 (73)
Close Sack Rate+	76.6 (94)	89.6 (79)
Standard Downs / Passing Downs Sack Rate+	91.3 (76) / 66.7 (104)	111.9 (46) / 113.3 (49)

Looking at the numbers like this, you get the impression that KSU isn't capable of scoring at all. Of course, let's break things out into non-conference vs conference play...

Analysis after the jump.

KSU Offense "+" Game Scores: Non-Con vs Conference Play
Category	Non-Con	Conference
Close S&P+	75.9	101.4
Close SR+	84.1	96.1
Close PPP+	66.2	110.2

Rushing S&P+	77.7	105.9
Passing S&P+	74.2	94.0

Standard Downs S&P+	85.0	110.5
Passing Downs S&P+	75.0	98.5

Red Zone S&P+	82.2	120.0

Q1 S&P+	65.4	106.2
Q2 S&P+	93.6	122.3
Q3 S&P+	105.6	115.1
Q4 S&P+	83.9	90.7

Strangely, KSU's offense has improved by growing even more conservative than it already was. Grant Gregory took over the majority of the snaps starting with the Iowa State game, and while he has been far from amazing, he has played it safe, giving KSU's defense and special teams a chance to win the game. Aside from a false start against Texas Tech (he was sacked three times and replaced), Gregory has been a stabilizing influence that Carson Coffman was not, and that has made the biggest difference for KSU. Gregory's passer rating is almost exactly the same as Coffman's, but while he averages a yard fewer in terms of yards per attempt, he has also been less INT-prone. Plus, he's provided just enough of a rushing threat to take some heat off of Daniel Thomas.

When KSU Has the Ball...
KSU Rushing	Advantage: Push
KSU Passing	Slight Advantage: Mizzou
Best Time for KSU:	Beginning of the half
Best Time for Missouri:	Later in the half

We'll once again start with the individual categories where Missouri has the rankings advantage. For the most part, we'll compare Mizzou's season averages to KSU's conference averages, though there are some pretty blurred lines here.

Close SR+
Passing S&P+
Passing Downs S&P+
Q2, Q4 S&P+
2nd, 3rd Down S&P+
Sack Rate+

And for KSU...

Red Zone S&P+
Q1, Q3 S&P+
Line Yards+

Looking at things in this way, you can see a path for success for both teams--Missouri's defense could succeed by being aggressive, sending the house on passing downs, and wearing KSU down as each half progresses. Meanwhile, if KSU's offensive line can get a good push and they can take advantage of their scoring opportunities, and if their offensive gameplan early on results in some points, they could easily score enough to win the game.

Quarterback

The candidates are plentiful. You've got a South Florida transfer in Grant Gregory, who has spent his entire South Florida career backing up Matt "Homeless Man's Brett Favre" Grothe. He's completed 27 of 50 passes in his career, mostly in scrub time, for 384 yards, 3 TDs and 3 sacks. You've also got Junior college transfer Daniel Thomas and a pair of big, 3-star youngsters in Joseph Kassanavoid, pride of Lawson, MO, and Collin Klein of Loveland, CO, who came across as decent running weapon in the spring game.

Grant Gregory: 68-for-114 passing (59.6%), 731 yards (6.4 per pass), 4 TD, 2 INT; 77 carries, 254 yards, 3 TD
Carson Coffman: 71-for-117 passing (60.7%), 860 yards (7.4 per pass), 2 TD, 4 INT; 54 carries, 64 yards, 2 TD

As mentioned above, looking at basic passing stats, you really can't discern that big a difference between Gregory and Coffman. But with Gregory making fewer mistakes and showing the ability to scramble for first downs, there is simply no question that the KSU offense has been better with Gregory at the helm. Here's where people who hate stats will say that stats don't tell the story about who's the better quarterback, and it's all about leadership and intangibles. Well guess what: leadership and intangibles will still show up if you're looking at the right stats, and seeing that KSU's S&P+ ratings have increased across the board with Gregory behind center tells you what you need to know.

Running Back

Yeah, I completely whiffed on this part in the preseason preview. I wasn't sure if Daniel Thomas was going to be a quarterback or running back, so I managed to forget to mention him at either position.

Daniel Thomas: 205 carries, 1087 yards (5.3 per carry), 11 TD; 19 catches, 205 yards (10.8 per catch)
Keithen Valentine: 53 carries, 364 yards (6.9 per carry), 6 TD; 6 catches for 5 yards (0.8 per catch)
Jarell Childs: 13 carries, 79 yards (6.1 per carry)

If there is a true star on KSU's roster, it is very clearly Daniel Thomas, who has posted at least 90 rushing yards in each of KSU's six wins. In low-scoring wins over Colorado and Kansas, the Wildcats rode Thomas to 330 rushing yards on just 44 carries. It is pretty clear that when KSU gets a lead, they place the burden on Thomas to keep it. Of course, when they're behind, he's still carrying a large load. The only time he's gotten fewer than 19 touches in a game this year were in the blowout loss to Texas Tech and what started out as a blowout loss to Oklahoma (before KSU cut the gap considerably).

Wide Receivers / Tight Ends

So it's safe to say that Brandon Banks produced more per pound than just about everybody else in the country. Generously listed at 150 pounds (ESPN has him at 142), Banks was huge (so to speak) in non-conference play, with 22 catches for 463 yards and six touchdowns. He had his moments in conference play (77-yard touchdown against OU, five catches for 95 yards against Colorado, seven for 116 against Iowa State, complete torching of Mizzou's backups...screwyouronprince), though he was less consistent (which makes sense considering most corner's covering him had 50 pounds on him); regardless, he still ended up with an impressive 67 catches for 1,049 yards. Nothing could help him more in 2009 than a couple of other decent targets, including at least one big, possession-style receiver. Bill Snyder's probably hoping that Aubrey Quarles (34 catches, 407 yards) and converted RB LaMark Brown fit the bill. Brown is certainly a big guy and a decent athlete, and though he didn't really work out at RB, he might (might) have a shot to be a decent WR.

WR Brandon Banks: 43 catches, 529 yards (12.3 per catch), 1 TD (?)
WR Attrail Snipes: 22 catches, 339 yards (15.4 per catch), 2 TD
WR Lamark Brown: 13 catches, 171 yards (13.2 per catch), 2 TD

TE Jeron Mastrud: 21 catches, 233 yards (11.1 per catch), 1 TD

If KSU has any offensive acumen whatsoever on their coaching staff (and there's no reason to think they don't), and they have watched any film whatsoever from Mizzou's two bad defensive performances this year (Texas and Baylor), they will be throwing a bevy of sideline passes Brandon Banks' way. Banks has been rather inconsistent as a receiver this year. Here are his reception totals from Big 12 games: 4, 1, 6, 3, 9, 1. You have to figure, though, that he will be utilized as much as possible on Saturday, taking advantage of Missouri's apparent problem in tackling quick receivers like Baylor's Kendall Wright and Texas' Jordan Shipley. If they don't go to Banks on the short routes, it's hard to be too scared of the KSU passing attack. It has improved since Grant Gregory took over at QB, but it has still been below average overall, Banks' explosion against OU (9 catches, 156 yards) notwithstanding. It seems that defenses are going out of their way to deny Banks the ball whenever possible, and even though that has apparently led to better rushing lanes for Daniel Thomas, no other receiver has really stepped up to accept a large burden. Snipes, Brown, and Mastrud have all had their moments, but we'll just say that you can take your chances covering them one-on-one as long as you're accounting for Banks.

Offensive Line

By far the highest-rated unit on K-State's offense, the offensive line carved out a Top 15 finish thanks to their outstanding sack rate. Guess we'll find out how much of that was due to Josh Freeman's elusiveness and sack avoidance skills, huh? If there is a decent line in this mix, it gives Snyder something to work with--Nick Stringer could be very good at one tackle position, though losing Brock Unruh for the year will hurt. Stringer will combine with a young but relatively talented supporting cast, and if Clyde Aufner and Colten Freeze can continue to thrive after serving as part-time freshman starters, then this becomes a downright good line. Lord knows it needs to be good, what with an inexperienced QB (whoever wins the job) and little discernible talent in the backfield.

The K-State offensive line has been decent in run blocking and average in pass blocking on Standard Downs, but it appears that they are vulnerable to blitzes, as they are one of the nation's worst at avoiding Passing Downs sacks. This opens up an opportunity for Mizzou to employ their Colorado strategy, sending a ton of guys (from a ton of different directions) on second- and third-and-long to try to get to Gregory.

We all know how Mizzou was torched against the pass last week, but one of the key matchups of the game could be who wins the run blocking battle. If Thomas is running through pretty big holes and Mizzou has to bring guys up to account for the run, then suddenly the pass becomes a viable weapon. But even though Nick Florence torched Missouri, on standard downs and passing downs alike, last week, KSU does not have the overall speed in the receiving corps that Baylor does, and if Mizzou is stopping the run, they will likely stop the pass too.

---

Defense

Kansas State: 2009 Beyond the Box Score Preseason Defensive Preview

K-State Defense vs Missouri Offense
Category	KSU Defense	MU Offense
Close S&P+ (Rk)	92.0 (84)	112.4 (41)
Close Success Rate+	93.2 (85)	106.1 (44)
Close PPP+	90.5 (77)	124.5 (35)

Rushing S&P+	99.7 (67)	98.1 (80)
Passing S&P+	85.8 (95)	124.8 (21)

Standard Downs S&P+	92.3 (92)	108.8 (48)
Passing Downs S&P+	95.9 (73)	115.2 (44)

Red Zone S&P+	77.0 (112)	76.4 (111)

Q1 S&P+	90.2 (84)	122.0 (40)
Q2 S&P+	85.5 (104)	109.9 (54)
Q3 S&P+	94.9 (76)	111.2 (55)
Q4 S&P+	103.7 (56)	102.1 (66)

1st Down S&P+	94.6 (77)	105.6 (53)
2nd Down S&P+	85.9 (104)	113.6 (44)
3rd Down S&P+	95.6 (80)	118.9 (35)

Line Yards+	93.7 (86)	94.8 (87)
Close Sack Rate+	68.3 (102)	136.8 (33)
Standard Downs / Passing Downs Sack Rate+	97.6 (60) / 82.0 (87)	210.9 (14) / 108.3 (57)

When Missouri Has the Ball...
Missouri Rushing	Advantage: KSU
Missouri Passing	Advantage: Mizzou
Best Time for KSU:	Second Half
Best Time for Missouri:	First Half

Once again, the first month of the season was a complete disaster statistically, and KSU has turned things around a bit in conference play. They have been great at times, holding Colorado and Kansas to a combined 16 points, while they've still struggled occasionally, giving up a combined 108 points to Texas Tech and Oklahoma...the same Texas Tech and Oklahoma held to a combined 34 points by Nebraska. It appears that gameplan is everything with KSU--if it works, it really works; if not, it really doesn't. That, or this is simply a speed thing. Fast offenses can move the ball, while more plodding attacks (and at this point, KU qualifies as plodding, strangely enough) cannot. In other words, Mizzou may yet again be relying on Danario Alexander to stretch the field like no other Mizzou player can.

KSU Defense "+" Game Scores: Non-Con vs Conference Play
Category	Non-Con	Conference
Close S&P+	77.8	101.5
Close SR+	82.9	100.0
Close PPP+	79.7	97.7

Rushing S&P+	100.8	99.0
Passing S&P+	80.4	89.4

Standard Downs S&P+	90.4	93.6
Passing Downs S&P+	86.8	101.9

Red Zone S&P+	62.8	86.5

Q1 S&P+	77.7	98.5
Q2 S&P+	63.4	100.2
Q3 S&P+	129.5	71.8
Q4 S&P+	134.2	83.3

MU's advantages:

Close S&P+, SR+, PPP+
Passing S&P+
Standard Downs, Passing Downs S&P+
Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 S&P+
2nd, 3rd Down S&P+
Sack Rate+

KSU's advantages:

Red Zone S&P+
Line Yards+

The phrase "Bill Snyder defense" strikes fear in the heart of most fans of other Big 12 North schools, but even with improvement in conference play, the Wildcats' defense is still quite vulnerable. Mizzou holds the advantage in most categories, though KSU's two major advantages--in run blocking and the red zone--could work tremendously to their favor.

Defensive Line

Despite Brandon Harold's performance, clearly this line was only average. Whatever success they had rushing the quarterback was negated by not standing up well to the run. The line gets a reinforcement this year in the form of Virginia transfer Jeffrey Fitzgerald. At 280 pounds, he's far from a giant, but his athleticism was on display his two years in Charlottesville. His freshman year in 2006, he was third on the team in tackles (as a DT!), racking up 16.5 TFL/sacks, intercepting two passes (!), and recovering two fumbles. In 2007, he was even better--while falling to fourth (gasp) on the team in tackles, he managed 18.5 TFL/sacks, picked off two more passes, forced two fumbles, and recovered one. At his size, it wouldn't surprise me to see him struggling on a down-to-down basis against good offensive lines (like Missouri's), but he's a playmaker, and he lines up next to another potential playmaker in Harold.

DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald (Sr.): 24.0 tackles, 8.5 TFL/sacks, 1 INT, 3 FF, 2 FR, 3 PBU
DT Daniel Calvin (Sr.): 19.5 tackles, 5.0 TFL/sacks, 2 PBU
DE Antonio Felder (Jr.): 18.5 tackles, 5.0 TFL/sacks, 1 PBU, 1 QBH
DT Raphael Guidry (So.): 14.0 tackles, 1.5 TFL/sacks, 1 FR

Due to injury, Brandon Harold has had something of a lost season. He's played in one game and registered just one tackle. Lucky for him, Jeffrey Fitzgerald has been as good as advertised. He is far from an every-down attacker like Ndamukong Suh or Aldon Smith, but he picks his spots, averaging about one tackle-for-loss per game and showing the ability to be a strong, disruptive force once or twice a game as well. Basically, he's a bigger, more disruptive Brian Coulter (Coulter has 23.0 tackles in one fewer game).

Up front, Fitzgerald is more or less alone in terms of play-making. KSU's d-line hasn't been particularly adept at either stopping the run or rushing the passer even with Fitzgerald. And unfortunately for them, their two most productive players are seniors. There is plenty about which opposing fans can be wary regarding the K-State defense, but the line really is not much of a concern (knock on wood).

Linebackers

If there's immediate hope to be derived from this unit, look at Alex Hrebec. As a freshman last year, he racked up 49.0 tackles, 6.5 TFL/sacks, a forced fumble, and a long interception return. Having Hrebec for another three years has to excite Snyder at least a little. And really, I probably shouldn't sell Ulla Pomele short either. He's a senior, and he's probably already peaked, but he did manage 47.5 tackles and 8.5 TFL/sacks last year, plus two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. The two of them should provide the base for a decent LB corps, though you'll notice the same problem as with other units--too much of the wrong kind of experience. Of the six LBs (and Rovers, in the case of maybe Boswell and Tigner) listed above, four are seniors. In 2010, Snyder will be working with Hrebec, Tigner and a host of newcomers. As I mentioned yesterday...how long does Snyder plan to stay this time around? He'll need quite a few years to get a team full of experienced Snyder recruits.

John Houlik (Sr.): 35.5 tackles, 6.5 TFL/sacks, 1 INT, 2 FF, 2 FR, 2 PBU
Ulla Pomele (Sr.): 34.0 tackles, 2.0 TFL/sacks, 1 FR
Troy Butler (Jr.): 33.5 tackles, 2.0 TFL/sacks, 1 FR, 2 PBU
Alex Hrebec (So.): 25.5 tackles, 4.0 TFL/sacks, 1 PBU
Kevin Rohleder (Jr.): 22.5 tackles

Four KSU linebackers have registered more tackles than their leading D-line tackler, Fitzgerald, showing that a) the main purpose of KSU's D-line is probably to free up the LBs, and b) the LB corps really is pretty solid. They are not tremendously disruptive, having only forced two fumbles and intercepted one pass (all of which came from John Houlik), but they make tackles. Plus, looking at the unit-by-unit breakdown here, it does appear that one of their major functions is a bit of bend-don't-break, making tackles and forcing teams to run as many plays as possible in the hopes that the secondary will eventually make a play. It has worked somewhat--just look at how many INTs the secondary has--but this front seven is not nearly as aggressive as what we're used to from a KSU defense. That is probably by necessity, of course; there is obviously not a ton of talent here (Ron Prince did recruit most of these players, after all), and credit goes to KSU's coaching staff for figuring out how best to utilize the talent on hand.

Secondary

At 62nd in the country, the secondary represented the strength of the K-State defense in 2008. The biggest reason for that: Joshua Moore. From the cornerback position, he led the team in tackles (not always a good thing for a cornerback to be doing) and racked up a pretty nicely disruptive stat line: 5.5 TFL/sacks, 3 INTs, 12 passes broken up, 15 passes defended, and a fumble recovery. He displayed enough skill that I'm going to say that the high tackle level was a good thing--that he wasn't just adding the tackles up by giving up a lot of receptions.
Consider me a big fan of Joshua Moore. Everybody else? Um...well, Courtney Herndon (6.0 TFL/sacks, 2 INTs) is really not too bad. Tysyn Hartman is young and relatively athletic.

CB Joshua Moore (Jr.): 42.5 tackles, 3.0 TFL/sacks, 2 INT, 1 FF, 10 PBU
SS Tysyn Hartman (So.): 41.5 tackles, 4 INT, 1 FF, 1 FR, 6 PBU
FS Emmanuel Lamur (So.): 41.0 tackles, 1.0 TFL/sacks, 3 INT, 2 FR, 2 PBU, 2 Blkd Kicks
CB David Garrett (Jr.): 21.0 tackles, 1 FF
CB Stephen Harrison (Jr.): 16.0 tackles, 8 PBU
CB Courtney Herndon (Sr.): 10.5 tackles, 2.5 TFL/sacks, 2 PBU

The secondary doesn't appear to me to be a tremendously deep unit, and it should be noted that a cornerback leading the secondary in tackles isn't the most encouraging thing in the world, but there's no question that Joshua Moore and the two sophomore safeties, Hartman and Lamur, are the best players on this defense. They are disruptive and active, and with a crafty coaching staff, this is a bit of a concern. If they can pick off a couple of Gabbert passes like Colorado did, that will buy their offense that much more time of possession and that many more Daniel Thomas carries. I'd say Mizzou's secondary receivers like Jared Perry, Jarrell Jackson and Wes Kemp could be huge factors against the cornerbacks not named Moore (assuming he'll be on Danario quite a bit), but I'm still miffed with them over last week's drops, so I'm not even going to hint that they could be an asset. They have to prove it to me again. I'm bitchy like that.

Special Teams

If it is determined that Brandon Banks can handle a monster load of touches--60-80 catches, plus both kick and punt returns, he's definitely the best option returning kicks/punts. If not, I would assume that Aubrey Quarles will resume his kickoff return duties. He only averaged 21.0 yards per return over 26 kicks last year, and he's not as explosive an option as Banks, but again...Banks is so freaking little!! How many hits can he take? Maybe I'm making too big a deal about his size, but...150 pounds!! And that's a kind estimate!!

Punt Returns Rank: 44th (Brandon Banks: 14 returns, 9.3 avg)
Net Punting Rank: 77th (Ryan Doerr: 35 punts, 40.7 avg)
Kickoff Returns Rank: 4th (Brandon Banks: 31 returns, 31.4 avg, 4 TD)
Opponents' Kickoff Returns Rank: 41st

Field Goals: 113th (Josh Cherry: 7-for-13, long: 47)
PATs: 100th (29-for-32)

For the love of all that is holy, DO NOT KICK THE BALL TO BRANDON BANKS. Employ the Marcus Herford strategy from the 2007 MU-KU game. Pop the ball up and give it to them at the 35-40 every time. I mean, a) that would still make them drive 60-65 yards to score (it's not a given that they can consistently do that), and b) it's better than seven easy points. Banks has just been insanely good in the return game this year. He is a decent punt return and just about the country's best kick returner. Last week we joked that kick returns would be Baylor's best offensive play (that ended up biting us, of course, when Baylor's offense provided plenty of great offensive plays), but this week it could actually be true. Do. Not. Kick. To. Brandon. Banks. Especially with the way Mizzou's kick coverage team played last week.

Beyond Banks, the special teams unit is...okay. Josh Cherry has rebounded from a disastrous start of the season. He missed five of his first six field goals on the season but has come around to make six of his last seven. He hasn't necessarily made a game-changing difference in any one game, but his two chip-shot field goals kept Colorado at arm's length, and the fact that he's made two 45+ yarders (against Texas A&M and Kansas) show that he is an infinitely more confident kicker than he was a couple of months ago.

Meanwhile, it is a shame that Missouri will likely be incapable of taking advantage of another KSU weakness, punt coverage. KSU is average in the punting game, but word is that Brandon Gerau will be returning punts instead of Carl Gettis, who has been dinged up for most of Big 12 play. Gerau is obviously reliable in cleanly fielding the kick, and obviously that's the most important thing, but he has yet to prove he is any sort of return weapon.

Special teams cost KSU the UCLA game and won them the Iowa State game. Their single most dangerous weapon is the kickoff return. If Mizzou can at least force a draw in the special teams battle, they put themselves in much better position to win.

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Three Keys to the Game

MU Defensive Line vs KSU Offensive Line

In conference play, Missouri has given up just 77 rushing yards per game and 2.4 yards per carry. Looking at only running back stats (since typical college football stats stupidly include sacks), opposing running backs are averaging just 3.46 yards per carry in conference play, and if you take out Roy Helu's 41-yarder as time ran down at the end of the Nebraska game, it's 3.11 yards per carry. Baylor and Colorado running backs combined for 48 yards on 30 carries. Of all the problems Missouri has had in conference play, run defense has absolutely not been one of them.

But now Missouri's vastly improving front four will face an offense more dedicated to running the ball than anybody on the schedule since Nebraska. KSU will continue to use Daniel Thomas to pound away at opponents until they absolutely have to pass. If Missouri holds Thomas to what they've been holding other opponents, Kansas State will really struggle to move the ball. As I said, Brandon Banks has been inconsistent in the passing game, and they don't have another go-to passing weapon. If the Wildcats can't run the ball, they will face a lot of passing downs; and if they face a lot of passing downs, guys like Aldon Smith are going to have another huge day, and Mizzou will likely win.

Standard Downs

Against the run or pass, KSU's defense has been below average in terms of defense on standard downs (i.e. first downs, 2nd-and-6 or less, 3rd-and-4 or less). As you would expect from a Bill Snyder team, they take advantage of mistakes, but if Missouri can generate consistent yardage on standard downs, run or pass, then they should be able to move the ball rather well. This goes for any game, but especially one that includes a Missouri offense that is talented and fast, but young and lacking confidence.

Meanwhile, for the MU defense, they must succeed just the same. If KSU tries to implement the same type of short passing that worked for Baylor and Texas, that's fine, as long as Mizzou is playing sound and tackling well. As Sean Weatherspoon said a couple of days ago, the young players on defense apparently needed to learn that you have to prepare well to play well, and hopefully they got that message last week. If they do, and Mizzou's defense simply plays more fundamentally sound, then they've got the defensive weapons necessary to slow or completely stop KSU's offensive attack on standard downs (and, therefore, on passing downs as well).

Brandon Banks

Quite simply, if KSU makes a big offensive play or scores an easy touchdown, the odds are good that Banks was behind it. Granted, he has only one receiving touchdown on the year (how does that happen??), but he is quick and fast, a lot like Baylor's Kendall Wright, only faster and smaller. If KSU is able to get him in the open field, then this offense becomes infinitely more dangerous. And, um, I think I've already covered how scared of him I am in the kicking game. Seriously, just kick it out of bounds. I'd much prefer them getting the ball at the 40 than Banks getting a chance to go 100 yards.

Prediction

As always, I let my numbers make the predictions. The numbers say Mizzou by 7, so we'll go Mizzou 28, Kansas State 21. That said, I have been scared of this game since the offseason, even before I saw the kind of slump Mizzou would be in hitting town. I don't have to tell you that Bill Snyder has never lost to Gary Pinkel, and before the season I hinted that Missouri would probably lose the following games: Texas, Oklahoma State, maybe Nebraska or Kansas, and an upset. Most of that has come true, but I figured the most likely upset was at KSU, obviously not at home to Baylor.

Young, talented teams go from good to bad (and vice versa) at random times, which makes it damn near impossible to predict what will happen on Saturday. All I know is that, strangely enough, Mizzou has played very well away from home this year. They whipped Illinois in St. Louis. They put away Nevada when they had the chance. They were two drops away from taking OSU to the wire in Stillwater (which was impressive considering the kind of bad shape Blaine Gabbert was in at that point), and they performed a devastating first-half throat stomp on Colorado two weeks ago. Whatever mental blocks this team suffers, it is apparently as or more likely to happen at home than on the road. And maybe that also has something to do with what Weatherspoon told Dave Matter--on the road, the young players buy into the focus and preparation, but they're more easily distracted at home.

Or not. Who knows.

Mizzou still has every opportunity to bounce back, get to 8-4, and have a shot at a nine-win season in the bowl. But they must bounce back immediately. Outside of Banks, KSU is not a particularly fast, athletic team; but they are tremendously well-coached and know how to take advantage of opportunities. If Mizzou plays like they did against Colorado, even with the second half offensive problems, they will probably win (though it will be closer than the 19-point margin against Colorado). But if they make the same "young team" type of mistakes they've randomly made this year--missing tackles, dropping passes, etc.--then they will absolutely lose this game. That's really all I can say at this point. Play well, win. Play poorly, lose. Play just okay, probably lose because KSU is so well-coached.

KICKING THE TIRES: Iowa State University

BracketCat — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:00:21 -0000

Kansas State Wildcats (2-2) VS. Iowa State Cyclones (3-1)

"Farmageddon"
Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City, Mo.
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009 - 2:00 PM CST

FCS Central | Cox Cable 22

Sorry for being 12 hours late, but I've simply been off-track all week. I took a vacation Monday to have a three-day weekend up in Manhattan and KC, and I've been playing catchup so much at work since then that I just haven't had time to work ahead on this like I usually do.

At any rate, thanks to Panjandrum, the Ag-pocalypse needs no more buildup or hype, but if it's statistics you're seeking, click the jump.

KEY PLAYERS

K-State

Passing
Carson Coffman (55 of 95, 684 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT)

Receiving
Brandon Banks (19 catches, 223 yards)

Rushing
Daniel Thomas (91 carries, 433 yards, 4 TD)

Wild Card
Courtney Herndon (3 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 PBU)

ISU

Passing
Austen Arnaud (50 of 91, 625 yards, 5 TD, 4 INT)

Receiving
Marquis Hamilton (15 catches, 266 yards, 2 TD)

Rushing
Alexander Robinson (79 carries, 453 yards, 3 TD)

Wild Card
Jesse Smith (37 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 FF)

KEY STATS

Rushing Offense
ISU (21) > K-State (32 | +17)

Passing Offense
K-State (91 | -4) > ISU (94)

Total Offense
ISU (51) > K-State (55 | +20)

Scoring Offense
ISU (74) > K-State (87 | +20)

Rushing Defense
K-State (17 | +45) > ISU (85)

Pass Efficiency Defense
K-State (20 | -6) > ISU (63)

Total Defense
K-State (10 | +19) > ISU (70)

Scoring Defense
K-State (26 | +17) > ISU (36)

Net Punting
ISU (5) > K-State (106 | -6)

Punt Returns
K-State (36 | +9) > ISU (86)

Kickoff Returns
K-State (5 | +43) > ISU (66)

Turnover Margin
K-State (56 | +7) > ISU (81)

Pass Defense
K-State (13 | +9) > ISU (50)

Passing Efficiency
K-State (87 | +11) > ISU (97)

Analysis

After comparing our relative statistics, I feel a lot better about this match-up. Iowa State has a marginally better offense than us, but not nearly better enough to offset our commanding advantage on defense and in the return game. Austen Arnaud basically is Carson Coffman with a few more touchdown passes, while Alexander Robinson is like a watered-down version of Daniel Thomas. Helping our cause is the loss of the Cyclones' second-leading receiver, Darius Reynolds, to a knee injury; although you never like to see a guy get hurt, I'll take anything we can get in our quest for what probably will be a rare Big 12 victory.

In addition to leading tackler Jesse Smith, keep an eye out for David Sims, who is tied with Tysyn Hartman for the league lead with three interceptions. Hopefully, Coffman keeps an eye out for him, as well. Iowa State's major edge defensively is that they have quite a few more tackles for loss than we do, indicating they actually have a legitimate defensive line. With any luck, this is our last week without Brandon Harold, so we'll just have to muddle through as best we can.

On a side note, what the hell is going on with our net punting? Not only has Ryan Doerr been a MAJOR disappointment as a place holder, but his leg hasn't been that impressive, either. Thank God he's only a redshirt freshman and has some time to improve, but it'd be nice if that improvement began this season. The only reason he's not the most appalling player on special teams is because of the chokejob artist formerly known as Josh Cherry.

And on that note, I'm going to go ahead and predict a loss in an attempt to reverse-jinx us into a win. Let's say we line up for the game-winning field goal, which Cherry shanks wide right for a crushing defeat. One-point loss? Point plankn.

Prediction: Iowa State 31, Kansas State 30
(One of the ISU touchdowns is a pick-six from Coffman to Sims.)

BracketCat's Projected Starters

QB: Carson Coffman
FB: Braden Wilson
RB: Daniel Thomas

WR: Brandon Banks, Attrail Snipes
TE: Jeron Mastrud
OL: Nick Stringer, Zach Kendall, Wade Weibert, Kenneth Mayfield, Clyde Aufner

DL: Daniel Calvin, Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Antonio Felder, Raphael Guidry
LB: John Houlik, Alex Hrebec
DB: Troy Butler, David Garrett, Tysyn Hartman, Emmanuel Lamur, Joshua Moore

Elsewhere in the Big 12...

I'm not sure why I'm so pessimistic on the Big 12 in the major intersectional match-ups... just don't have a good feeling about either one. A&M hasn't proven crap yet and the last time we saw Landry Jones against an opponent with a pulse, he stunk it up. And just like everyone jumped on Miami's bandwagon way too fast, they jumped OFF of it way too fast, too.

New Mexico at Texas Tech (FSN)
Red Raiders 46, Lobos 19

Kent State at Baylor
Bears 42, Golden Flashes 25

Arkansas at Texas A&M (Arlington) (ESPN2)
Razorbacks 29, Aggies 27

#8 Oklahoma at #17 Miami (ABC)
Hurricanes 15, Sooners 14

All helmet images are courtesy of The Helmet Project. Check it out - it's pretty cool.

Opening Our Files: Roundup on Kansas State Previews & Other Wildcats Notes

Nestor — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:00:30 -0000

We will leave it to others for now to write and speculate about UCLA making a move in the Pac-10. Here on the home page of BN, we will stick to the mantra that has worked for us for years: keep our focus on our next opponent. With a record of 4-8 in 2008, we are not the kind of program that has the luxury to look ahead. Coming into this season the goal for Rick Neuheisel and his football team was to get into a bowl game with at least 6 regular season victories. With a 2-0 start and a win at a difficult place like the Neyland Stadium, it puts us in a must win situation this week in our last remaining non conference game before the start of a tough Pac-10 schedule.

Our next opponent – Kansas State Wildcats – are off to a very rough start in 2009. The Wildcats struggled to beat UMass at home (a team which just started playing D-1A ball this year) and then they lost to Louisiana-Lafayette by a score of 15-17. The takes from our SBN colleagues at Bring On The Cats (BTC) are understandably gloomy. Sportsline.com also put their recent loss "in perspective":

Let's put this one in perspective: Louisiana had not defeated a school from a BCS conference since Sept. 14, 1996, when Jake Delhomme led the Ragin' Cajuns to a 29-22 upset of No. 25 Texas A&M. Overall, the Cajuns were just 1-15 against teams from the Big 12 Conference.

That, however, was before Saturday's 17-15 victory over Kansas State in Lafayette.

"It's probably disheartening to a lot of people," coach Bill Snyder said of the loss, which dipped the Wildcats to 1-1. "I want our guys to be disappointed."

Still, if anyone wants to get all smug and disrespect the KSU, I’d suggest browsing through Tennessee blogs and message boards last week and revisit those bold predictions of the Volunteers cruising to a victory.

Last week it was our team that went into the opponent’s turf with nothing to lose. This week it will be the Kansas State Wildcats, who will be coming into the Rose Bowl as double digit underdogs, looking to sneak up with nothing to lose on a Bruin football team and fanbase feeling good about a SEC road win. Add to those factors we will most likely be breaking in a true freshman QB as a starter, a revamped OL which is improving but still working to gel as a unit, and all the inexperience at other offensive skill positions, Bruins will need to be on high alert. So with those toplines let’s get to some initial notes on Kansas Sate.

The story of these Wildcats begin with their head coach Bill Snyder who returned to Manhattan to clean up the mess left behind by inept regime of Ron Prince. If CRN’s return to UCLA is the "return of the prodigious son," Snyder’s return to Manhattan can be looked as "the Return Of the Godfather". Paul Meyerberg from the New York Times’ put Snyder’s record in perspective in his pre-season Wildcat preview:

The Wildcats went 137-445-18 from 1935-1988, the year before Snyder’s arrival. The program finished with only five winning seasons over this 54-year span: 1936, 1953-54, 1970 and 1982; that’s three fewer winning seasons than the program had winless seasons over that time. When Snyder arrived in late 1988, the program was mired in a streak of 27 consecutive games without a win (under Stan Parrish, the new coach at Ball State). While he did not immediately make K.S.U. into a winner – the Wildcats won 18 games in his first four seasons – the program took the next step forward in 1993, when it finished 9-3-1 and set a team record for points in a season (312). That year marked the first of 11 nine-win or better seasons in 12 years for the Wildcats, including a stretch from 1997 to 2003 of six 11-win seasons in seven years, making K-State only the second program in F.B.S. history to have such an extended streak of tremendous play. In 1998, an historic win over rival Nebraska pushed K-State to the top spot in the A.P. poll, the first time the team stood atop the college football landscape. That year – which ended with the Wildcats at No. 4 nationally – might have been the apex of the program, but Snyder continued to field annual conference and B.C.S. contenders. Kansas State won its first conference championship since 1934 in 2003, when it upset heavily favored and then-No. 1 Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game. However, the team struggled in the following two seasons, finishing a combined 9-15, leading many to question whether Snyder could still coach at a high level. Hence Snyder’s decision after the 2004 season (mutual, by all accounts) to step down, leading K.S.U. to hire Prince.

Well Prince ran the program into the ground (just like Karl Dorrell). Luckily for KSU it took them three years to recognize that fact, so they brought in Synder to clean up the mess. Apparently he is kind of a character as noted by the bloggers at Barking Carnival (Texas Longhorns blog) in their hilarious 2009 preview of Kansas State. It’s pretty funny (not very politically correct) read, all though I am sure it’s not amusing to fans of KSU (and it includes the usual easy cheap shots at Neuheisel that seems to be SOP for fans of most Big-12 teams).

As for the team, the biggest challenge for Kansas State this season has been replacing quarterback Josh Freeman, who was a first round draft pick in this year’s NFL draft. Freeman left KSU after his junior season, setting the school’s holds career mark for passing yards (8,078), touchdowns (40), completions (663), attempts (1,121) and total offense (8,080). So far the QBs seeking to step up for Freeman have been struggling. From TB at BTC:

At least in my case, I think we undersold how important Josh Freeman was to this team. I know fans from other schools ran him down as all hype and no results, but we're seeing right now that he truly was about the only reason this program wasn't 2-10 the last two years.

I also think Carson Coffman and Grant Gregory are victims of the standard Freeman set. For all the knocks on Freeman, he had a cannon for an arm and was pretty accurate generally. Coffman and Gregory are being asked to learn an incredibly complicated offensive system on the fly. They also don't have a lot of experience; in Coffman's case, that's because he's been second-string to a first-round NFL pick for two years, and in Gregory's case it's because he was behind Matt Groethe at USF.

I imagine Coffman and Gregory’s struggle have the Wildcats frustrated because at least per the pre-season reviews they had some weapons to work with and were coming into the season with a decent offensive line:

Despite losing Murphy (Deon Murphy, who finished third on the team in receptions with 37, and second on the squad in receiving yards (555) and touchdowns (6)) and Pierce (Ernie Pierce, whose 15.7 yards per catch average (24 for 424 yards) led the team), the deepest position on the Kansas State offense is wide receiver. The team brings back the 2008 Big 12 offensive newcomer of the year in the senior Brandon Banks, who led the team in receptions (67), yards (1,049) and touchdowns (9) in his first season with the program. Banks, like Murphy before him, excels in the return game, as shown in his 27.7 yards per kick return average. He will be joined at receiver by the senior Aubrey Quarles (34 receptions for 407 yards) and the junior Lamark Brown (24 for 178). Brown spent much of his 2008 season at running back, leading the team in rushing (412 yards). Another weapon to watch in the passing game is the senior tight end Jeron Mastrud, who made 38 receptions for 455 yards a season ago. The senior Keithen Valentine is expected to assume the starting running back role, but the freshman Jarell Childs and the sophomore Logan Dold will also receive carries. The offensive line may have lost three starters, but the team does return a numbers of players with past starting experience. Leading the way is the senior Nick Stringer, a 2008 all-Big 12 honorable mention pick at left tackle. He brings 23 career starts into his final season, most among all Wildcat offensive linemen. Stringer and guard Eric Benoit are the only seniors on the current two-deep, so this will be a young group in 2009. Still, the line could be surprisingly strong this fall, especially if it gets good production from the plethora of sophomores battling for starting roles.

Brandon Banks is off to a slow start for the Wilcats per Sportsline.com. Banks had just three catches for 33 yards against Louisiana, after catching seven balls for 67 yards in the opening win over UMass. So, if I were the Bruin DBs, I’d keep a close eye on him. Meanwhile, DB Daniel Thomas is off to good start as he has put together back to back 100 yards rushing games (I know, I know ... look at the opponent) in his first two games (136 yards in 27 carries against Louisiana, which followed a 104 yard game against UMass).

I think it will be interesting to see how the Bruin defense comes out on Saturday. I am sure it’s not lost on them that despite their solid (some would call it outstanding) performance in last two weeks, they didn’t really come out and set a dominating tone in their first series. Especially as good as the performances have been from Rahim Moore, ATV, Reggie Carter, Brian Price, and the Bosworth brothers, we can use more focused performance from kids such as Akeem Ayers. Our defense still has room to grow to reach it full potential, and the team with a new quarterback will be really looking to them to set the tone on Saturday.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball Wildcats have some athletes on the defensive side with two solid ends on the frontline:

The team returns two solid ends in the sophomore Brandon Harold (45 tackles, 10.5 for loss, 3 sacks), a 2008 freshman all-American, and the senior Eric Childs (52 tackles, 2.5 sacks). Harold is the most likely current Wildcat to continue the team’s recent tradition of standout defensive ends. In the middle, K.S.U. should be very excited about what the senior Jeffrey Fitzgerald can do for the team’s run defense (217.7 yards per game last fall). Fitzgerald, who sat out all of last fall after transferring in from Virginia, may be the best player on the entire defense.

The Wildcats return two starters at linebacker, including the sophomore Alex Hrebec. A former walk-on, Hrebec stuffed the stat sheet last fall with 68 tackles (4 for loss), 2.5 sacks and an interception. It’s rare enough to see a walk-on earn a starting role for a B.C.S.-conference program; it’s rarer still to see a walk-on start as a redshirt freshman. Joining him at linebacker is the senior Ulla Pomele (58 tackles, 7.5 for loss), a former JUCO transfer. K-State’s secondary is led by the junior Joshua Moore, a 2008 honorable mention all-Big 12 pick and a potential all-American this fall. Moore concluded his sophomore campaign first on the team in both tackles (76) and interceptions (3), illustrating his importance to the overall success of the defense. Moore is the best Wildcat cornerback since Terence Newman. He is joined in the secondary by three talented safeties: Chris Carney, Tysyn Hartman and Courtney Herndon.

Well not sure if Harold will be available for this weekend’s game as per their roster report on CBS he has been sitting out with an injury (along with DE Kadero Terrell and AR Aubrey Quarles). Perhaps the Kansas State fans who are lurking on BN this week, can provide us with a more up to date take on the injury situation. As for the other guys, Pete Fiutak from College Football News called Joshua Moore the best defensive player for KSU heading into this season.

I think the key here will be all about game management. We will need our quarterback to do what Prince did fairly effectively as a first year starter in his first two games: minimize mistakes and do what he can to keep the chains moving. This will be one of those games that will present Chow and his offense an opportunity to execute the strategy of picking up 4 yards or more per rushing attempts, and putting the offense in manageable situations on second and third downs. If we can combine that with continued stellar play from our special teams we will have a good chance to keep the momentum going heading into a bye week.

That’s what I have for now. I am looking forward to learning up about Kansas State, the same way we keep discussing Tennessee this past week. We will be reading up more on KSU during the week. If you have your own perspective to offer up wrt to Saturdays’ matchups fire the quick takes in the comment threads and the extended ones in FanPosts. That invitation goes out to all Kansas State fans who might be visiting BN for the first time. We are looking forward to chatting up football the same way we had fun going back and forth (in respectful and classy way) with the Volunteer fans from last game week. Football should always be about fun.

GO BRUINS.

KICKING THE TIRES: The University of Louisiana (Lafayette)

BracketCat — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:00:24 -0000

Kansas State Wildcats (1-0) AT Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (1-0)

Battle in the Bayou
Cajun Field - Lafayette, La.
Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 - 6 PM CST

ESPN360

I don't normally do this sort of thing in blog posts, but since today is a day etched on every American's heart, I just want to take a moment and remember what happened eight years ago.

It's hard to believe it's been that long since Dr. Frank Tracz stood before me and 350 other members of the Pride of Wildcat Land to tell us the game that weekend had been postponed. I remember an awkward moment when he was talking and an airplane passed by overhead; everyone looked nervously toward the sky, because all air traffic had been grounded and it must have been a military plane.

Of course, we were scheduled to play a different team from Louisiana that weekend, the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech. Although we later made the game up, I never will forget the awkward feeling of the home opener being delayed until Sept. 22 - by far the latest opening date in K-State football history - nor the "patriotic Powercat" T-shirts we wore when that first game finally arrived.

Anyhow, no matter what you are doing today, please take a moment to remember the men and women who died that day, and all the men and women who have died since in far-off lands to help keep us safe. Compared to that, postponing a football game is a minor inconvenience.

And once you've done that, feel free to begin getting psyched up for another action-packed Saturday of pigskin entertainment.

After the jump, I'll preview the match-up with Saturday's opponent: the Irate Acadian Descendants of the Louisiana Purchase.

Yay! Real stats! Adios, evil triple-digit numbers from 2008!

KEY PLAYERS

K-State

Passing
Carson Coffman (14 of 27, 182 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT)

Receiving
Brandon Banks (7 catches, 67 yards)

Rushing
Daniel Thomas (23 carries, 104 yards)

Wild Card
Keithen Valentine (11 carries, 89 yards)

ULL

Passing
Chris Masson (18 of 24, 283 yards, 2 TD)

Receiving
Louis Lee (4 catches, 86 yards)

Rushing
Undrea Sails (19 carries, 114 yards, 1 TD)

Wild Card*
Richie Falgout (4 of 4, 4 TD, 30 catches, 344 yards)

*career stats; special thanks to Panjandrum for digging this guy up

KEY STATS

Rushing Offense
K-State (30) > ULL (34)

Passing Offense
ULL (13) > K-State (74)

Total Offense
ULL (15) > K-State (48)

Scoring Offense
ULL (22) > K-State (68)

Rushing Defense
K-State (58) > ULL (61)

Pass Efficiency Defense
K-State (3) > ULL (74)

Total Defense
K-State (25) > ULL (81)

Scoring Defense
K-State (52) > ULL (57)

Net Punting
ULL (1) > K-State (102)

Punt Returns
ULL (28) > K-State (35)

Kickoff Returns
ULL (93) > K-State (99)

Turnover Margin
ULL (27) > K-State (78)

Pass Defense
K-State (14) > ULL (89)

Passing Efficiency
ULL (4) > K-State (64)

Analysis

Clearly, it's still too early to read much into our season statistics and statistical rankings, but it sure is nice to see that ugly 117 turn into a beautiful 25, isn't it? Enjoy it while it lasts...

We've discussed most of the keys for K-State in our Midweek QB feature, so I'll simply reiterate that the essential elements for a Wildcat victory are avoiding turnovers and boneheaded special teams plays. Getting better production from our quarterback, whoever that ends up being, would be a nice bonus.

I look for Daniel Thomas to have another solid game, and I think Keithen Valentine will play extremely well in front of his friends and family, too. It would be nice to see Lamark Brown get his first catch of the season, but I'm not holding my breath. I think a week of looking at the UMass film will help Bill Snyder get this offense back on track, and I expect to see us eschew some of the vanilla this week in favor of a little razzle-dazzle to secure the win.

On defense, it will be interesting to see if we can get any more of a consistent pass rush than we did last week. Also, it remains to be seen how bad Troy Butler's injury is and what that might mean for the configuration of the defense. If he is unable to play, I think that could open the window of opportunity for Courtney Herndon to step back into a leading role on this defense.

Louisiana doesn't have any individual players as dangerous as Michael Desormeaux or Tyrell Fenroy, both of whom graduated after last season, but the Ragin' Cajuns appear to have more balance this year. They also return an offensive line with 113 starts, second-most in the nation. Keep an eye on starting RB Undrea Sails, who suffered a clavicle injury last week but is expected to play. Also worth watching is Ritchie Falgout, the King of the Trick Play.

And don't forget about Louisiana's 12th man in this game: the swampy, humid climate. Southern weather promises to be a wild card in the truest sense, and after an unseasonably cool August, one wonders how our players will fare as the game winds down, especially given their propensity to crap out late in games last year.

Prediction: Kansas State 39, Louisiana 26

BracketCat's Projected Starters

QB: Carson Coffman
FB: Braden Wilson
RB: Daniel Thomas

WR: Brandon Banks, Attrail Snipes
TE: Jeron Mastrud
OL: Nick Stringer, Zach Kendall, Trevor Viers, Wade Weibert, Clyde Aufner

DL: Eric Childs, Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Raphael Guidry, Grant Valentine
LB: John Houlik, Alex Hrebec
DB: David Garrett, Tysyn Hartman, Courtney Herndon, Emmanuel Lamur, Joshua Moore

K: Josh Cherry
P: Ryan Doerr
R: Brandon Banks, Daniel Thomas

Elsewhere in the Big 12...

Houston, Rice and UTEP? What is this, Southwest Conference Reunion Week?

Other than woeful Iowa State, I like the conference's chances this week... although tonight's Colorado game looks a little dicey. I know Houston is everyone's popular upset pick, but don't sleep on Bowling Green, rated tops in the MAC by Jeff Sagarin.

Oh, and never forget the old standby: How do you get rid of a pesky Jayhawk? UTEP on it!

With any luck, Todd Reesing will be mistaken for a large chicken, abducted by some Mexican bandits, cooked in a stew and digested with a cheap tequila chaser. It's probably how the Hobbit would want to go, after all: swallowed by a rough man after being marinated in alcohol. Ba-zing!

Colorado at Toledo (Friday)
Buffaloes 35, Rockets 32

Iowa at Iowa State
Hawkeyes 29, Cyclones 22

Arkansas State at #22 Nebraska
Cornhuskers 44, Red Wolves 17

#2 Texas at Wyoming
Longhorns 33, Cowboys 13

Houston at #5 Oklahoma State
Cowboys 30, Cougars 11

Rice at Texas Tech
Red Raiders 38, Owls 17

Bowling Green at #25 Missouri
Tigers 30, Falcons 12

Idaho State at #13 Oklahoma
Sooners 51, Bengals 9

#24 Kansas at UTEP
Jayhawks 37, Miners 25

All helmet images are courtesy of The Helmet Project. Check it out - it's pretty cool.

KICKING THE TIRES: The University of Massachusetts (Amherst)

BracketCat — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:00:25 -0000

Kansas State Wildcats (0-0) VS. Massachusetts Minutemen (0-0)

K-State Family Reunion
Bill Snyder Family Stadium - Manhattan, Kan.
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 - 6:10 PM CST

no television

IT'S GAMEDAY, BES!

Yeah, baby! Football is back, and so is "Kicking the Tires" - BracketCat style.

Normally, these will show up on Fridays, but I needed one last "countdown to kickoff" post and, c'mon, there's a learning curve to this stuff, ya know?

Click the jump for everything relevant I could find on our opponent, the Minutepersons of Massachusetts (which wasn't much, I must admit).

KEY PLAYERS

K-State

Passing*
Carson Coffman (25 of 41, 282 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT)

Receiving*
Brandon Banks (67 catches, 1,049 yards, 9 TD)

Rushing*
Lamark Brown (118 carries, 412 yards, 5 TD)

Wild Card**
Daniel Thomas (103 carries, 618 yards, 6 TD)

UMass

Passing*
Scott Woodward (9 of 19, 97 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT)

Receiving*
Victor Cruz (71 catches, 1,064 yards, 6 TD)

Rushing*
Tony Nelson (243 carries, 1,325 yards, 12 TD)

Wild Card***
Kyle Havens (301.7 YPG, 27 TD, 13 INT)

*returning leaders from 2008
**JUCO stats from 2007
***JUCO stats from 2007/2008

KEY STATS*

Rushing Offense
UMass (58) > K-State (76)

Passing Offense
K-State (19) > UMass (26)

Total Offense
UMass (33) > K-State (34)

Scoring Offense
K-State (19) > UMass (37)

Rushing Defense
UMass (102) > K-State (112)

Pass Efficiency Defense
UMass (77) > K-State (95)

Total Defense
UMass (72) > K-State (117)

Scoring Defense
UMass (71) > K-State (110)

Net Punting
UMass (33) > K-State (105)

Punt Returns
K-State (28) > UMass (102)

Kickoff Returns
K-State (24) > UMass (111)

Turnover Margin
UMass (92) > K-State (94)

Pass Defense
UMass (18) > K-State (106)

Passing Efficiency
UMass (23) > K-State (36)

*2008 national rankings (UMass rankings are FCS)

Analysis

I'll keep this brief because most of the above statistics are meaningless, given that they're a year old.

The key thing to keep in mind is that UMass has some decent skill players. Cruz and Nelson put up some legit numbers. Even against FCS competition, they had better statistical seasons than any player on our roster, new or returning. The big question mark will be the play of new starting QB Kyle Havens, fresh out of a California JUCO only to be welcomed by a stadium full of 50,000 screaming, purple-clad fans.

For K-State, the question mark is defense, defense, defense. Are we going to be any better? How much will (reportedly) injuries to Brandon Harold, Daniel Calvin and Kadero Terrell set us back? Can John Houlik tackle something other than air? You get the idea.

That's it in a nutshell. This is a game we should win, but that doesn't mean it is one we will win - not if we show up and play like crap. Call me a Debbie Downer, but I have a weird feeling our defensive depth and inexperience in Snyder's system are going to be exposed by a couple of senior playmakers from a Top 25 FCS program. Of course, I hope the Cats prove me wrong, but make no mistake - any victory, even a one-point victory, will be a huge step forward tonight.

Prediction: Kansas State 34, Massachusetts 30

BracketCat's Projected Starters

QB: Carson Coffman
FB: Braden Wilson
RB: Daniel Thomas

WR: Brandon Banks, Lamark Brown
TE: Jeron Mastrud
OL: Nick Stringer, Zach Kendall, Trevor Viers, Wade Weibert, Clyde Aufner

DL: Eric Childs, Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Raphael Guidry, Grant Valentine
LB: John Houlik, Alex Hrebec
DB: Joshua Moore, Emmanuel Lamur, Tysyn Hartman, Courtney Herndon, David Garrett

K: Josh Cherry
P: Ryan Doerr
R: Brandon Banks, Daniel Thomas

Elsewhere in the Big 12...

I'll be honest - formatting the rest of this beast was time-consuming enough for one night. I think I will hold off on any detailed analysis until I see the other league teams play a game, or at least glance at a box score. But here's some totally unscientific predictions:

Baylor at Wake Forest
Demon Deacons 36, Bears 21

Georgia at Oklahoma State
Bulldogs 20, Cowboys 17

Missouri at Illinois (St. Louis)
Tigers 28, Fighting Illini 17

New Mexico at Texas A&M
Aggies 33, Lobos 27

UL Monroe at Texas
Longhorns 45, Warhawks 9

BYU at Oklahoma (Dallas)
Sooners 19, Cougars 8

North Dakota at Texas Tech
Red Raiders 51, Fighting Sioux 16

Florida Atlantic at Nebraska
Cornhuskers 42, Owls 21

Northern Colorado at Kansas
Jayhawks 61, Bears 20

Colorado State at Colorado (Sunday)
Buffaloes 36, Rams 29

And of course, Iowa State already beat North Dakota State 34-17... not that anyone noticed.

All helmet images are courtesy of The Helmet Project. Check it out - it's pretty cool.

2009 Football Position Breakdown: Safeties

Panjandrum — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:54:33 -0000

AP Photo

View full size photo »

What do you get when you mix a cornerback with a linebacker? You get a safety.

What do you get when you mix a safety with a linebacker? You get a rover. Or a "Wildcat". Or you get whatever it is they call the hybrid safety/linebacker in Vic Koenning and Chris Cosh's new 4-2-5 scheme.

Regardless, due to the number of them on the field, and their importance in this particular scheme, safety will become a spotlight position this season and in the upcoming ones at Kansas State.

And while a couple of familiar names return, there are a whole slew of new guys looking to make an impact this coming season. Click the jump to find out who will be the last line of defense against the high-octane Big 12 spread offenses this season for the Wildcats.

Safeties

#21 Troy Butler

Class: Junior
Height: 6-1
Weight: 200
Previous Starter (Y/N): No
Honors: N/A
Official Bio

#5 Chris Carney

Class: Senior
Height: 6-1
Weight: 190
Previous Starter (Y/N): Yes (13 games)
Honors: Player Representative (2009)
Official Bio

#28 Logan Dold

Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-0
Weight: 207
Previous Starter (Y/N): No (He started at RB for 3 games, so it doesn't count here.)
Honors: N/A
Official Bio

#8 Stephen Harrison

Class: Junior
Height: 5-11
Weight: 181
Previous Starter (Y/N): No
Honors: N/a
Official Bio

#2 Tysyn Hartman

Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-3
Weight: 207
Previous Starter (Y/N): Yes (8 games)
Honors: Player Representative (2009)
Official Bio

#20 Courtney Herndon

Class: Senior
Height: 6-0
Weight: 211
Previous Starter (Y/N): Yes (10 games)
Honors: N/A
Official Bio

#23 Emmanuel Lamur

Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-4
Weight: 214
Previous Starter (Y/N): No
Honors: N/A
Official Bio

#31 Torell Miller

Class: True Freshman
Height: 6-3
Weight: 205
Previous Starter (Y/N): No
Honors: N/A
Official Bio

#13 Adrian Stryker

Class: Senior
Height: 6-1
Weight: 206
Previous Starter (Y/N): No
Honors: N/A
Official Bio

#24 Dahrnaz Tigner

Class: Junior
Height: 6-2
Weight: 223
Previous Starter (Y/N): No
Honors: N/A
Official Bio

Projected Depth Chart:

Starters:

Free Safety: Tysyn Hartman
Strong Safety: Courtney Herndon
Wildcat Safety: Emmanuel Lamur

Backups:

Free Safety: Chris Carney
Strong Safety: Troy Butler OR Logan Dold
Wildcat Safety: Dharnaz Tigner

Reserves: Stephen Harrison, Torrell Miller, Adrian Stryker

Justification:

Aside from the offensive line, this is the most difficult position to predict based on the new scheme and the influx of new personnel. Obviously, you have two returning starters, Tysyn Hartman and Courtney Herndon, so you expect them to start again. However, there have been rumblings on the Interwebs about Herndon moving to the hybrid safety/linebacker role because of his strength, solid tacking ability, and his pass coverage skills. But he is the returning starter at strong safety, and he did excel there, so I'll go with him as the starter at that spot. Since Hartman is the returning starter at the free safety role, I'll keep him there too.

The starting Wildcat safety position is a hard one to predict. We've all heard good things out of camp in regards to Sophomore JUCO transfer, Emmanuel Lamur. Lamur, who may actually make more sense at the "Wildcat" due to his size, speed, and tackling ability, will play either the Wildcat or strong safety position. I expect him and Herndon to be on the field at the same time (if healthy), so I wouldn't be surprised if they flip flop depending on who does better at their respective roles.

Chris Carney is an experienced veteran, and a former starter at the free safety position. I imagine he'll get plenty of reps, but he won't beat out Hartman. Hartman has an advantage, physically, in almost every area in terms of size and speed. Also, his experience as a quarterback lends itself to the free safety position. That's not a knock on Carney; he's an excellent choice to back up Hartman.

At the strong safety position, I imagine Troy Butler or Logan Dold will backup Herndon. Both of them are physically talented players that will be hard to keep off of the field. Truthfully, putting them at strong safety is kind of arbitrary. I anticipate that with a mixture of injuries and/or performance issues, you could see either of these guys backing up at any of the other safety positions. At this point, when talent supersedes supposed fit, it's easy to see a scenario where the safety position could ultimately be a game of musical chairs.

That said, to back up the Wildcat position, I'll select Dahrnaz Tigner. He's listed on the GoPowercat.com depth chart as a linebacker, but he's listed in the media guide as a safety. Given his time at both positions, his size and his speed, he's the perfect fit for this role. In the event that he moves back to the secondary, I see him as a perfect fit here.

Former walk-ons, Stephen Harrison and Adrian Stryker, will fill out the depth chart. They'll most likely see all of their action on special teams. Torrell Miller, a freshman, will most likely redshirt unless injuries push him to see the field.

SB Nation 2009 Big 12 Preview: K-State

TB — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:29:46 -0000

Sorry this is really late from BOTC. I was out of town all last week and wasn't checking my email, so this got ignored. Anyway, CBS Sports and SB Nation's Colorado blog, The Ralphie Report, are this official conference preview. Here is BOTC's "outsider's" conference preview, intended to be a lot like something you'd find in a magazine.

Offense (Six Returning Starters)

Everything begins at the quarterback position, and K-State has a big hole to fill there after Josh Freeman left to become a first-round NFL draft pick. The favorite to replace him is junior Carson Coffman, and if you've followed Big 12 football recently, yes, he is the brother of former Missouri tight end Chase Coffman. Coffman was the starting QB for the first-team squad in the spring game, and played very well in completing 25 of 36 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns. Of course, that was against the second-string defense, but it was a much more impressive performance than we had seen in prior spring games. All signs still point to Coffman being the starter in the first game against UMass, as it doesn't appear Grant Gregory, Collin Klein, or Joseph Kassanavoid have done anything to unseat the frontrunner.

Running back is a mystery position for the Cats this season, as it was one of many areas on the roster about which former coach Ron Prince apparently had no understanding when it came to roster management. Last year's leading rusher, Lamark Brown, is moving to wide receiver. Logan Dold, the second-leading rusher among running backs, moved to safety. The next running back, Keithen Valentine, has had two good spring games in a row, and almost nothing to show for it during the regular season. Last season, Valentine rushed for 129 yards total.

Snyder announced that heralded recruit Daniel Thomas will likely start the season at running back, which probably makes him the favorite to be the starter against UMass. Thomas is a dynamic athlete who also has the size -- 6'2", 227 lbs. -- to be among the biggest running backs we've had in a while.

Whatever production K-State is going to get from its wide receivers, it had better get it this season. The squad's best receivers are almost all seniors, which will leave a big hole in 2010. However, this group looks like one of the team's strengths, led by 2008's Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year, Brandon Banks. Banks is the undersized receiver with blazing speed, and the best home-run threat K-State has had since Darren Sproles started at running back.

Along with Banks, senior Attrail Snipes and junior Lamark Brown could add some depth and firepower at this position. Snipes didn't get much of a chance to play wide receiver last year, but he was a highly touted junior college recruit who could make an impact. As already mentioned, Brown has moved back to wide receiver after playing running back last season. He's another gifted athlete who could give opposing defenses headaches if he picks up the position quickly.

Tight end should be a position at which K-State is fairly solid this season. Senior Jeron Mastrud returns after a 2008 season in which he caught 38 passes for 435 yards and two touchdowns. Solid numbers for a tight end, and he's that reliable target you want a new quarterback to have. The backups at tight end are a bit of a question mark, with newcomers Prizell Brown (junior college transfer) and Travis Tannahill (freshman) being the most likely candidates to spell Mastrud.

One thing you can say about K-State's offensive line is that it has a lot of players with returning starts. Given that Prince liked to rotate players around, nobody can be absolutely sure who will start where and whether the prior experience will be much help, but at least this unit isn't trying to break in a bunch of true freshman and transfers. Nick Stringer anchors the line at left tackle, bringing 23 starts into 2009. Completing Coffman's blind-side protection on the left side will probably be Zach Kendall, who has five starts to his credit.

Wade Weibert and Trevor Viers will vie for the starting spot at center. Viers has seven starts to his credit, but Weibert was a top-50 junior college recruit who started with the first team during the spring game.

On the right side, Clyde Aufner probably gets the nod at right tackle, and Colten Freeze probably starts at guard. Aufner saw action in three games last year as a redshirt freshman, while Freeze had three starts last season as a redshirt freshman. Expect to see a lot of competition for these positions, with sophomore Kaleb Drinkgern and junior Kenny Mayfield pushing for playing time.

Defense (Eight Returning Starters)

To say that K-State's 2008 defense was putrid would be kind. Out of 119 FBS teams, K-State ranked 117 in total defense. So yeah, things are bad. But with a strong new coaching staff and several talented players returning, improvement is likely on this side of the ball in 2009. The real question is how much improvement will be made, and whether it will be enough to have a significant effect on the season.

Before Brandon Harold's injury in preseason practice, the defensive line looked to be the strength of the team. Harold was a freshman all-america last season, registering 45 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss last season, but we don't know how soon he'll return after he dinged up his knee in practice. Jeffrey Fitzgerald is likely to start at defensive tackle, although an offseason arrest on suspicion of DUI may temporarily derail those plans. Fitzgerald is a transfer from Virginia, and with the Cavaliers 137 tackles and 23.5 tackles for loss in 25 starts.

Other probable starters on the defensive line are Daniel Calvin at DT and Eric Childs at DE. Childs was honorable mention all-conference last season as a junior while making 11 starts and recording 52 tackles. Calvin is a big body in the middle at 6'3" and 310 lbs., but didn't have the type of season K-State was hoping for last season. Look for newcomer Kadero Terrell, a hybrid defensive end/linebacker to see some time at DE this season, too, if the spring game was any indication.

Linebacker looks to be one of K-State's weaker units this season after losing three players who had multiple starts last season. However, the defense is moving to a 4-2-5 alignment in an attempt to combat the Big 12's prolific spread offenses, so fewer linebackers will be required. One of the positions will be occupied by sophomore Alex Hrebec, who registered 68 tackles in only six starts last season. The other linebacker spot will be filled either by John Houlik or Ulla Pomele. Pomele had the better season last year and would be the choice of most K-State fans at this position.

In the secondary, it begins with cornerback Joshua Moore. In 2006, Moore was a freshman all-america before being injured late in the season. He returned to action in 2008 after redshirting the 2007 season as a result of apparent academic issues. Moore was one of the few bright spots on last season's atrocious defense, tallying 76 tackles, three interceptions and 12 passes broken up. The starter at the other cornerback position is still uncertain. Senior Billy McClellan is probably the leading candidate seeing action in 10 games last season.

The safeties will be expected to play a bigger role in Vic Koenning's and Chris Cosh's 4-2-5 scheme. Courtney Herndon will likely start at one of the safety positions after starting 10 games and recording 61 tackles last season. Chris Carney also had a solid season last year, with 53 tackles and five passes broken up in only four starts.

Defensive back will be a position to keep an eye on at K-State this season. Two players who have switched position, Logan Dold and Tysyn Hartman, could see action at DB this season. Also, newcomer Emmanuel Lamur is one of the more intriguing additions to the team. Lamur is a big defensive back at 6'4" and 214 lbs., and the coaches seem to be pretty high on him.

Special Teams

One of the hallmarks of a Bill Snyder-coached team is solid special teams play. Coincidentally, that was about the only thing Ron Prince's teams did consistently well. This season, K-State's special teams should be solid again. In all likelihood, Brandon Banks and Aubrey Quarles will continue to return kickoffs, and Banks averaged 27.7 yards per return in that duty last season. It's not clear right now who will return punts for K-State after last year's punt returner, Deon Murphy, left the team.

One position where K-State should see significant improvement this season is punter. Last season, with George Pierson and D.J. Fulhage splitting time, punting was a weakness, as the Cats finished 10th in the Big 12 in net punting. Panjandrum attended the spring game and was very impressed with newcomer Ryan Doerr, who is the likely starter this season.

At kicker, junior Josh Cherry is the likely starter despite seeing very limited action behind Brooks Rossman last season. Doerr is also listed as a kicker and was pretty solid at that position in high school, so it's possible Doerr could pull double duty.

Key Losses

Offense: Josh Freeman (QB), Deon Murphy (WR), Ernie Pierce (WR)

Defense: Ian Campbell (DE), Ray Cheatham (S), Reggie Walker (LB), Blair Irvin (S)

Special Teams: Brooks Rossman (K), Deon Murphy (PR)

Season Forecast

K-State's non-conference slate features two FCS teams, meaning the Wildcats will have to win seven games to reach bowl eligibility this season. While that's not impossible given the upgrade at every position on the coaching staff, it could be a bridge too far for a team that's 10-14 the last two seasons. In another interesting twist, K-State plays twelve games in twelve consecutive weeks, so it remains to be seen whether the lack of a bye week will hamper this team late in the season.

The Wildcats open up with a home game against UMass, dubbed by the athletic department as the "K-State Family Reunion" because it's Bill Snyder's first game back. Though Snyder's clubs are notoriously slow starters, the Wildcats should be able to handle an FCS team in the home opener. The next week, in a strange twist of scheduling, K-State travels to Lafayette, La., to play the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. Last season, UL nearly upset the Cats in Manhattan. The Cajuns lost their quarterback and running back to graduation, however, and as such probably won't have quite enough firepower for a K-State team that should be improved on defense under Koenning and Cosh.

On September 19th, Snyder will take his club to Pasadena, Calif., to meet up with an old nemesis from the Big 8 (and early Big 12) days in Rick Neuheisel. Of course, Neuheisel coaches UCLA now, not Colorado, and last season's UCLA team was, well, pretty bad. The combined record of the teams UCLA defeated was 12-37. Despite that, the smart money would be to bet on UCLA in this game. Snyder's teams usually do not play well in September, and that will probably be amplified this season because it's Snyder's first year on the job.

After two weeks on the road, K-State then returns home for another FCS opponent, Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles were 3-9 last season and shouldn't pose a threat to K-State, especially in Manhattan.

K-State opens Big 12 play with a neutral-site game against Iowa State at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium. Iowa State is breaking in a new head coach, Paul Rhoads, after two atrocious seasons under Gene Chizik. No game is a given for K-State this season, but last year's Wildcats defeated Iowa State in the last game of Prince's lame-duck tenure and, on a neutral field, should be able to topple the Cyclones again. After that, the going gets significantly more difficult, as K-State travels to Lubbock, Texas, to take on Captain Leach. Despite losing Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, the Red Raiders are one of those programs that is more likely to reload than rebuild, and games in Lubbock are usually a nightmare for opposing teams.

A home date with Texas A&M awaits after K-State returns from the South Plains. In Snyder's first tenure, matchups with A&M were usually nightmares, but these aren't your older cousin's Aggies. Last season, K-State hammered A&M in College Station, and while the Aggies should be a little better this season, signs of significant improvement are absent. With K-State still breaking in a new system, this game will probably be a little closer than last season's meeting, but Snyder & Co. should still be able to pick up the win.

Another home date follows as Colorado comes to town the next week. The Buffs were one of the few programs -- Texas being the other -- that Prince's teams didn't completely suck against. Ol' Prince went 2-1 against Dan Hawkins in three tries, with the lone defeat being a one-point decision in Boulder last year. Colorado is the wildcard of the North, as most have expected them to be a lot better the last couple seasons than they actually were, and this is a game whose prediction could change based on how Colorado plays. Given that it's later in the season and the fact that I now live in the "Show-Me" state, I'm going to wait on Colorado to prove itself and call this a narrow win for K-State.

So if you're keeping score at home, my prognostications now have the Cats at 6-2. However, the schedule turns disastrous at this point, with the following games looming: @ Oklahoma, KU, Missouri, @ Nebraska. Obviously, the Oklahoma game can be written off as a loss at this point. Based on preseason pure roster talent, KU and Missouri are also likely losses for K-State, even at home. Nebraska is also among the favorites to win the North, so a game in Lincoln does not bode well for K-State to close the season. The season will turn on whether Snyder can find a win in this murderous finish. On the bright side, Snyder's clubs typically play their best ball in November, going 25-4 in November home games since 1990 (H/T, Phil Steele). If KU gets crushed by its South Division gauntlet and drops a surprise game against Colorado or Nebraska, the Cats may have a chance to pick up a win in a home rivalry game. Similarly, if Mizzou ends up rebuilding rather than reloading, that's a game the Cats could win if things are going well.

Predicted Order of Finish

Big 12 North

Nebraska

Missouri

K-State

Colorado

Iowa State

Big 12 South

Texas

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Texas Tech

Baylor

Texas A&M

2009 Husker Football Opponent Preview: Kansas State

Husker Mike — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:00:14 -0000

There are two groups of fans happy that Ron Price was fired by Kansas State: Wildcat fans and Longhorn fans. Inexplicably, Prince seemed to have Mack Brown's number, upsetting Texas both time the Wildcats faced Texas, including a 41-21 blowout in Austin that is remembered mostly for the Ron Prince Stomp. Against the rest of the Big XII, the Wilcats went 7-15 during the Prince era. So out of retirement comes the architect of the Miracle in Manhattan, Bill Snyder. While the program isn't as bad off as it was when Snyder first arrived at Kansas State, the Wildcats will be recovering from Prince's bizarre recruiting practices (19 JuCo's last season?) for years to come.

Josh Freeman took his NFL prototype body (6' 6", 248 lb) and NAIA prototype game (58% completion percentage last season) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who decided to utilize (waste?) a first round draft pick on the Freeman project. The leading candidate to replace Freeman from last year is junior Carson Coffman, who looked much better than Freeman in last year's NU/KSU game. But Coffman looks more like a quarterback Snyder used in the early part of his K-State career (Chad May, Brian Kavanaugh) than in the later part (Michael Bishop, Ell Roberson) when the 'Cats challenged for the conference title. So enter juco transfer Daniel Thomas, who reminds some people of Michael Bishop. At least initially, he'll probably see time as a "Slash" player, taking snaps at running back, receiver, and quarterback.

Who else will play running back is unknown at this time either. Last year's top two returning rushers are changing positions. Junior Lamark Brown, who led the returning 'Cats with 412 yards and 5 touchdowns is returning to wide receiver, and sophomore Logan Dold is now a safety. So perhaps it's Thomas' job to lose after all; even Thomas tells the Kansas City Star that he views himself as a running back. If not Thomas, then it'll have to be senior Keithen Valentine almost by default.

The returning star on offense for Kansas State is senior wide receiver Brandon Banks, who earned Big XII offensive newcomer of the year honors last season. He caught 67 passes for 1049 yards and nine touchdowns last season in addition to the 98 yard kickoff return against the Huskers. Senior tight end Jeron Mastrud and senior wide receiver Aubrey Quarles return after 400 yard seasons last season.

Offensive line will be a huge concern. Senior left tackle Nick Stringer was honorable mention all-Big XII last season, and senior left guard Brock Unruh and sophomore right guard Colten Freeze were part-time starters last sason.

Eight starters return from the worst defense in the Big XII last season; you can decide if that's good or bad. Defensive ends Eric Childs and Brandon Harold did get honorable mention all-Big XII last season. Senior defensive tackle Jeffrey Fitzgerald transferred from Virginia, where he was a freshman all-American in 2006. In 2007, he had 73 tackles and 7 sacks for Virginia.

The Wildcats plan to run a 4-2-5 defense, with sophomore Alex Hrebec being counted on to build on 68 tackles last season. The secondary is lead by junior cornerback Joshua Moore, who earned honorable mention all-Big XII last season with 76 tackles, 12 pass breakups, and 3 interceptions. Senior safety Courtney Herndon added 61 tackles last season, while sophomore safety Tysyn Hartman switched from quarterback to safety last season, adding 49 tackles.

The cupboard isn't quite as empty in 2009 as it was twenty years ago, but at first glance, it doesn't look like the Cats will have the firepower to challenge for the top spots in the North division initially. 2009 is more about reversing the slide and reestablishing the program he built. Phil Steele picked Kansas State to finish in second in the north, but that seems to be based more on the favorable schedule than anything else. The only division foe the Wildcats play on the road is Nebraska, though the Wildcats will play Iowa State at Arrowhead in Kansas City. To get to bowl eligibility, the Wildcats will likely need to beat the UCLA on the road, the Cyclones, Texas A&M at home, and find a win against Kansas, Missouri, or at Texas Tech. Doable? Yes. But probably a stretch goal for this group.

Poll

What's your prediction when the Wildcats and Huskers meet in November?

Nebraska is Nebraska again, Kansas State is like Kansas State was pre-Snyder. Huskers name their score.

122 votes

Snyder rebuilds the 'Cats quickly, but the Huskers still pull out a home victory.

88 votes

Wildcats are back, narrowly pulling off the upset in Lincoln.

22 votes

If Bo Pelini thought Bill Snyder ran up the score in 2003, just wait until 2009.

22 votes

254 votes | Poll has closed

Kansas State: Beyond the Box Score Defensive Preseason Preview

Bill C. — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:00:10 -0000

Yesterday we took a look at what Ron Prince left Bill Snyder on the offensive side of the ball (short answer: not much). Today we look at the defense. Clearly not only competent coaching, but downright good coaching alone will help this D out quite a bit, but is there talent here? Do Snyder and co-coordinators Chris Cosh and Vic Koenning have anything to work with?

As always, we start with a look back at 2008:

Defense

Overall Stats

S&P+: 94.3 (#79)
Success Rate+: 96.6 (#77)
PPP+: 91.6 (#80)

Standard Downs S&P+: 96.1 (#72)
Passing Downs S&P+: 104.0 (#54)

Redzone S&P+: 96.1 (#72)

Q1 S&P+: 91.3 (#86)
Q2 S&P+: 96.5 (#68)
Q3 S&P+: 101.1 (#51)
Q4 S&P+: 105.6 (#47)

1st Down S&P+: 100.0 (#62)
2nd Down S&P+: 96.7 (#76)
3rd Down S&P+: 99.3 (#62)

Rushing Stats

Rushing S&P+: 90.1 (#88)
Rushing SR+: 96.5 (#73)
Rushing PPP+: 82.3 (#98)

Standard Downs: 89.0 (#93)
Passing Downs: 91.6 (#78)

Redzone: 89.1 (#85)

Line Yards+: 89.7 (#100)

Passing Stats

Passing S&P+: 96.6 (#71)
Passing SR+: 97.2 (#68)
Passing PPP+: 96.0 (#70)

Standard Downs: 102.3 (#54)
Passing Downs: 104.8 (#53)

Redzone: 105.3 (#45)

Sack Rate+: 119.7 (#35)

Well...their sack rate was pretty good. That's something. And they were above average in the fourth quarter! Granted, most of the time the game was long over by the fourth quarter (win or lose), but still. Also, while they certainly weren't great against the pass (71st in the country), they were pretty atrocious against the run (88th). As their Rushing PPP+ attests, they gave up far too many big plays in the run game, and it put them on their heels quite a bit.

If there's anything particularly good to report for KSU here, it's that they were at least competent in attack mode--when they were actually able to leverage teams into Passing Downs, they were slightly above average (104.0 Passing Downs S&P+).

And like the offense, they were worst on second downs. Still haven't figured out how that happens.

Defensive Line

Harold definitely passes the eyeball test.

2008 Unit Ranking: #73 in the nation (#9 in the Big 12)

Projected Depth Chart
DE Brandon Harold (6'6, 264, So.)
DE Eric Childs (6'3, 238, Sr.)
DT Jeffrey Fitzgerald (6'4, 280, Sr.)
DT Daniel Calvin (6'3, 310, Sr.)
DE Grant Valentine (6'3, 240, Jr.)
DT Raphael Guidry (6'4, 267, So.)
DT Gabriel Crews (6'1, 310, Jr.)
DE Payton Kirk (6'6, 245, So.)

Hope, thy name is Brandon Harold. The true freshman from East St. Louis racked up 13.5 TFL/sacks in 2008 and forced a pair of fumbles. That alone wouldn't have been an all-conference level by any means, but for a true freshman it was pretty outstanding. At 6'6, 265, Harold passes the eyeball test, and if he improves even slightly as a sophomore, he should give Bill Snyder something to work with.

Despite Harold's performance, clearly this line was only average. Whatever success they had rushing the quarterback was negated by not standing up well to the run. The line gets a reinforcement this year in the form of Virginia transfer Jeffrey Fitzgerald. At 280 pounds, he's far from a giant, but his athleticism was on display his two years in Charlottesville. His freshman year in 2006, he was third on the team in tackles (as a DT!), racking up 16.5 TFL/sacks, intercepting two passes (!), and recovering two fumbles. In 2007, he was even better--while falling to fourth (gasp) on the team in tackles, he managed 18.5 TFL/sacks, picked off two more passes, forced two fumbles, and recovered one. At his size, it wouldn't surprise me to see him struggling on a down-to-down basis against good offensive lines (like Missouri's), but he's a playmaker, and he lines up next to another potential playmaker in Harold.

Rounding out the likely starting line are probably either Eric Childs (9.0 TFL/sacks, 1 FF in 2008) or JUCO transfer Grant Valentine at end and either Daniel Calvin (11.5 tackles) or Raphael Guidry (8.0) at tackle. Calvin might get the nod here simply because he offers some really good size, which could in theory open things up for Fitzgerald a bit.

As I mentioned yesterday, I respect Snyder's abilities enough to assume that the front seven will be coached up to its highest possible level, and in Harold and Fitzgerald, and potentially Valentine or Calvin, there is some talent to work with here. As with some of the offense, though, the top of this depth chart is filled with seniors. Aside from Harold, they will be building things anew in 2010.

Linebackers

You're Bill Snyder's only hope, Alex Hrebec.

2008 Unit Ranking: #79 in the nation (#10 in the Big 12)

Projected Depth Chart
Alex Hrebec (5'11, 238, So.)
Ulla Pomele (6'1, 228, Sr.)
John Houlik (5'11, 219, Sr.)
Hansen Sekona (6'0, 230, Sr.)
Craig Boswell (6'1, 186, Sr.)
Dahrnaz Tigner (6'2, 223, Jr.)

When I think of Bill Snyder (and Phil Bennett) defenses, I immediately think of linebackers. Mark Simoneau. Josh Buhl. Jeff Kelly. Terry Pierce. Hell, even Brandon Archer (or did he only play like an All-American against us?). The most shocking part of K-State's defensive decline under Ron Prince was the fact that the linebackers just disappeared. Seriously, name a K-State LB after Brandon Archer. You can't. I guess Ian Campbell sort of counts, but not really. And...KSU's LBs were 10th in the conference? Bill Snyder must be rolling over in his grave. Oh wait...nevermind.

If there's immediate hope to be derived from this unit, look at Alex Hrebec. As a freshman last year, he racked up 49.0 tackles, 6.5 TFL/sacks, a forced fumble, and a long interception return. Having Hrebec for another three years has to excite Snyder at least a little. And really, I probably shouldn't sell Ulla Pomele short either. He's a senior, and he's probably already peaked, but he did manage 47.5 tackles and 8.5 TFL/sacks last year, plus two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. The two of them should provide the base for a decent LB corps, though you'll notice the same problem as with other units--too much of the wrong kind of experience. Of the six LBs (and Rovers, in the case of maybe Boswell and Tigner) listed above, four are seniors. In 2010, Snyder will be working with Hrebec, Tigner and a host of newcomers. As I mentioned yesterday...how long does Snyder plan to stay this time around? He'll need quite a few years to get a team full of experienced Snyder recruits.

Secondary

Can Joshua Moore cover two guys at once?

2008 Unit Ranking: #62 in the nation (#10 in the Big 12)

Projected Depth Chart
CB Joshua Moore (5'11, 184, Jr.)
S Courtney Herndon (6'0, 211, Sr.)
S Tysyn Hartman (6'3, 207, So.)
CB Billy McClellan (5'8, 170, Sr.)
S Chris Carney (6'1, 190, Sr.)
CB Otis Johnson (5'10, 175, Sr.)
S Adrian Stryker (6'1, 206, Sr.)

At 62nd in the country, the secondary represented the strength of the K-State defense in 2008. The biggest reason for that: Joshua Moore. From the cornerback position, he led the team in tackles (not always a good thing for a cornerback to be doing) and racked up a pretty nicely disruptive stat line: 5.5 TFL/sacks, 3 INTs, 12 passes broken up, 15 passes defended, and a fumble recovery. He displayed enough skill that I'm going to say that the high tackle level was a good thing--that he wasn't just adding the tackles up by giving up a lot of receptions.

Consider me a big fan of Joshua Moore. Everybody else? Um...well, Courtney Herndon (6.0 TFL/sacks, 2 INTs) is really not too bad. Tysyn Hartman is young and relatively athletic. Otis Johnson is...MY MAN. Again, of the seven names I list above, five are seniors, but at least Moore and Hartman will be around in 2010 (assuming Moore doesn't go pro...I'll assume for now that he's not quite that good). The rest are relatively replaceable, though there will need to be some experience somewhere in 2010.

Special Teams

2008 Unit Ranking: #105 Net Punting, #28 Punt Returns, #24 Kickoff Returns

Projected Starters
K Josh Cherry (6'1, 183, Jr.)
P D.J. Fulhage (5'9, 180, Jr.) - 33 punts, 32.2 net
KR - Brandon Banks (5'7, 150, Sr.) - 18 returns, 27.7 avg, 1 TD
PR - Brandon Banks (5'7, 150, Sr.) - 5 returns, 11.6 avg

Beyond linebackers, the other thing you probably think of in regard to Bill Snyder's best team was devastating special teams. Needless to say, ranking 105th in net punting is devastating, but in the wrong way. Good coaching will help the coverage units quite a bit, but more will be needed from D.J. Fulhage as well.

If it is determined that Brandon Banks can handle a monster load of touches--60-80 catches, plus both kick and punt returns, he's definitely the best option returning kicks/punts. If not, I would assume that Aubrey Quarles will resume his kickoff return duties. He only averaged 21.0 yards per return over 26 kicks last year, and he's not as explosive an option as Banks, but again...Banks is so freaking little!! How many hits can he take? Maybe I'm making too big a deal about his size, but...150 pounds!! And that's a kind estimate!!

Summary

As TB said in yesterday's comments, if you have basically the same cast of characters and infinitely better coaching, that suggests that you will be better. I cannot determine how much that applies to the offense, but I can definitely see how that applies to the defense. Between Harold, Hrebec, Moore, and maybe Hartman, there is some underclass talent and athleticism here. Combined with some decent seniors--Fitzgerald, Pomele, Herndon--I could see this defense improving a decent amount in 2009. In 2010, however, that may be a different story. But we're not talking about 2010 yet. If Snyder is able to execute at least a small turnaround and get K-State to six or seven wins, and lord knows they should at least get back to five with games against a rebuilding UL-Lafayette team (yes, they're rebuilding despite not being that great last year) and TWO 1-AA teams (UMass, Tennessee Tech), then it will likely be the defense making the biggest difference.

I can't escape the nagging feeling that K-State will upset either Kansas or Missouri (or, technically, both I guess) this year, simply because a) they'll be improved enough to throw in a scare against somebody, and a young Missouri team with 25-30 freshmen, RSFrs, or sophomores on the two-deep is always going to be a prime candidate for a scare, and b) Bill Snyder is a combined 8-1 against Gary Pinkel and Mark Mangino (5-0 against Pinkel). If they win one of those two games and hold serve at home against Texas A&M and Colorado...well, that's six wins even if they don't win a game on the road all year (aside from the baffling trip to Lafayette, LA, on September 12). I think almost all K-State fans would consider that a pretty damn good season, even though the overall talent level still has quite a way to go before Bill Snyder can think about sneaking in and stealing another North (or, of course, Big 12) title.

---

Projections on Friday.

The Fog of '09 - North Defenses

Bill C. — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:00:04 -0000

Yesterday, it was North Offenses. Today, North Defenses.

Defensive Lines

Nebraska (DT Ndamukong Suh, DE Pierre Allen)
Kansas (DE Jake Laptad, DT Richard Johnson, DT Caleb Blakesley)
Missouri (DT Jaron Baston, DE Brian Coulter, DE Jacquies Smith)
Kansas State (DE Brandon Harold, DT Daniel Calvin)
Iowa State (DE Rashawn Parker, DT Nate Frere)
Colorado (DE Jason Brace, ?)

That's right, Ndamukong Suh still has eligibility left--feels like he's been having an up-and-down season for Nebraska since about 2003--and he and Pierre Allen should make a pretty solid DL for the Huskers. KU returns a decent amount, and while their unit will be far from spectacular, it will be steady and reliable. Missouri has a lot of potential at DE with Coulter and Smith, but they still have to replace a lot of career starts.

Linebackers

Missouri (Sean Weatherspoon--for now, Luke Lambert)
Nebraska (Phil Dillard, Blake Lawrence)
Colorado (Jeff Smart, Shaun Mohler)
Iowa State (Jesse Smith, Fred Garrin, Cameron Bell)
Kansas State (Olu Hall, Ulla Pomele)
Kansas (?)

I think Sean Weatherspoon will return, but I could be wrong. If he doesn't...well, MU probably doesn't fall very far because NOBODY will have tremendous LBs in 2009. Jeff Smart is solid, but that's really all CU has. Smith and Garrin have had their moments at ISU, but...yeah, they're still only average. NU returns Phil Dillard and some youngsters with potential, and if 'Spoon is in the NFL in 2009, that should give NU the best unit.

Defensive Backs

Kansas State (CB Joshua Moore, CB Blair Irvin, S Courtney Herndon)
Iowa State (CB Leonard Johnson, S James Smith)
Nebraska (S Rickey Thenarse, S Larry Asante)
Kansas (CB/S Chris Harris, S Darrell Stuckey, CB Daymond Patterson)
Missouri (CB Carl Gettis, S Kenji Jackson)
Colorado (CB Cha'pelle Brown, ?)

Oy. If there's one reason why North offenses should still be pretty successful in 2009, it's because nobody in the North returns a quality secondary. I'm probably underrating the Missouri secondary here--Iowa State game aside, Castine Bridges hasn't been anything special in '08, and there won't be a huge dropoff to Kevin Rutland or one of the RSFrs. Meanwhile, Missouri fans are loving them some Kenji Jackson. But only Carl Gettis will be proven.

Also, I might be overrating Iowa State, but I love me some Leonard Johnson.

North Defenses, 2009

Nebraska (15)
Missouri (12)
Kansas State (11)
Iowa State (10)
Kansas (9)
Colorado (6)

As with the offenses, each North defense will have its strengths and weaknesses...but not a lot of strengths. Nebraska scores the best, and they're returning only about six starters. Missouri loses William Moore and most of its D-line, and they still might have the best North defense. Iowa State's D was brutal in '08, and they actually score pretty well here. Big-time tossup. A lot will come down to matchups and schedules...so after we look at special teams, we'll look at that.

Special Teams

Iowa State (K Grant Mahoney, P Mike Brandtner, KR/PR's Leonard Johnson, Devin McDowell)
Nebraska (K Alex Henery, KR/PR Niles Paul)
Colorado (KR/PR Josh Smith, P Matt DiLallo, K Aric Goodman)
Kansas State (KR/PR Deon Murphy, P George Pierson)
Missouri (P Jake Harry, K Tanner Mills)
Kansas (PR Daymond Patterson, K Jacob Branstetter, P Alonso Rojas)

Honestly, only ISU has a relatively complete special teams unit. I'm optimistic that Missouri's return game will still be decent with Gahn McGaffie or whoever ends up back there, but that's me projecting greatness on newcomers...so for now they're stuck low on the list. Colorado has a solid return man in Smith, but no kickers. KSU has a solid return man in Murphy, but no kickers. Kansas...yeah, same.

Coaches

Missouri
Kansas
Nebraska
Kansas State
Colorado
Iowa State

Mizzou could lose either or both coordinators, but I think this is where continuity pays off--the guys under the coordinators (Yost, Hill, Steckel, etc.) basically share the same brain as Eberflus and Christensen, so I'm not tremendously worried about losing the OC and DC. Then again, I'm a homer. KU took a lengthy step backwards after losing last year's DC, so who knows? All I know is this: in the last two years, Gary Pinkel has blown up the "Pinkel Effect". It no longer exists

So if we're going to add together all my admittedly arbitrary unit rankings (offense, defense, special teams, coaching), we end up with these standings.

2009 North Rankings

Missouri (40 points)
Nebraska (39)
Kansas (33)
Kansas State (30)
Iowa State (25)
Colorado (22)

Very loosely, there's a top tier (MU, NU, KU) and a bottom tier (KSU, ISU, CU). And obviously, there are question marks here. Is QB worth more than the other units? Then KU gets a bump up. Is there a "continuity of personnel" factor that will hurt Missouri (and possibly Nebraska)? Am I understating Colorado's potential with their solid recruiting classes? But we'll go with this for now.

-- Schedules --

Colorado

10/10 - at Texas
10/17 - Kansas
10/24 - at Kansas State
10/31 - Missouri
11/7 - Texas A&M
11/14 - at Iowa State
11/21 - at Oklahoma State
11/28 - Nebraska

South schedule: @ UT, @ OSU, ATM. That screams "1-2."

North home slate: KU, MU, NU. That's a good slate to have next year. I obviously don't expect much out of Colorado in '09, but they'll most likely go at least 1-2 in those games. I guess I'll say they beat KU, since KU's the lowest-ranked of the three.

North road slate: @ KSU, @ ISU. Not a good slate to have next year. Getting KSU and ISU at home would probably mean two wins, but on the road is a different story.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 2-6

Iowa State

10/3 - vs Kansas State (at Arrowhead)
10/10 - at Kansas
10/17 - Baylor
10/24 - at Nebraska
10/31 - at Texas A&M
11/7 - Oklahoma State
11/14 - Colorado
11/21 - at Missouri

South schedule: BU, @ ATM, OSU. If ISU's defense takes a step forward, then they'll probably beat Baylor and at least have a chance against ATM. Even though Baylor will be pretty decent next year, I'll say ISU wins that game and goes 1-2.

North home slate: CU. They lose the KSU game to Arrowhead. The ISU-KSU could very well be a "winner goes 6-6 and slips into a bowl" situation, and as you see, they could be pretty evenly-matched. For no reason whatsoever, I say ISU goes 2-2 in these games.

North road slate: @ KU, @ NU, @ MU. Ouch. 0-3.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 3-5

Kansas

10/10 - Iowa State
10/17 - at Colorado
10/24 - Oklahoma
10/31 - at Texas Tech
11/7 - at Kansas State
11/14 - Nebraska
11/21 - at Texas
11/28 - vs Missouri (still at Arrowhead, right?)

South schedule: OU, @ Tech, @ UT. I really hope KU fans enjoyed 2007. 0-3.

North home slate: ISU, NU, vs Mizzou. Assuming KU-MU is once again at Arrowhead, this once again hurts KU. Instead of getting both NU and MU at home, they get one on a neutral field. I say they beat ISU and NU, and naturally (ahem) lose to MU. 2-1.

North road slate: @ CU, @ KSU. They're not losing both of these, and since I already have them losing to CU, I guess that means they beat KSU. 1-1.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 3-5. It's amazing what scheduling can do.

Kansas State

10/3 - at Iowa State
10/10 - at Texas Tech
10/17 - Texas A&M
10/24 - Colorado
10/31 - at Oklahoma
11/7 - Kansas
11/14 - Missouri
11/21 - at Nebraska

South schedule: @ Tech, ATM, @ OU. ATM is a big game, but I say KSU wins it. 1-2.

North home slate: CU, KU, MU. It would not at all surprise me to see a young Mizzou team slip up on the road, so we'll arbitrarily say it happens in Manhattan. That makes KSU 2-1 here.

North road slate: vs ISU, @ NU. 0-2.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 3-5.

Missouri

10/3 - Nebraska
10/17 - at Oklahoma State
10/24 - Texas
10/31 - at Colorado
11/7 - Baylor
11/14 - at Kansas State
11/21 - Iowa State
11/28 - vs Kansas

South schedule: @ OSU, UT, BU. Gotta figure that's 1-2, though obviously Baylor will not be a pushover.

North home slate: NU, ISU. The NU game will be ha-yoooge. But tie goes to the home team, right? 2-0.

North road slate: vs KU, @ CU, @ KSU. Beat KU and CU, randomly lose to KSU. 2-1.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 5-3.

Nebraska

10/3 - at Missouri
10/17 - Texas Tech
10/24 - Iowa State
10/31 - at Baylor
11/7 - Oklahoma
11/14 - at Kansas
11/21 - Kansas State
11/28 - at Colorado

South schedule: TT, @ BU, OU. Hmm. No to BU and OU, but I think they'll take out Tech. 1-2.

North home slate: ISU, KSU. 2-0.

North road slate: @ MU, @ KU, @ CU. We'll say 1-2.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 4-4.

Standings

Missouri 5-3
Nebraska 4-4
Kansas 3-5 (brutal schedule)
Kansas State 3-5
Iowa State 3-5
Colorado 2-6

Summary

It won't surprise me if the preseason mags pick KU (because of Reesing) or NU (because they're Nebraska) to win the North, and with the loss of Daniel, Maclin, Coffman, etc., it would very much surprise me to see anybody actually picking Mizzou. But although I may be overrating Mizzou in the rankings, there's no question that getting NU at home and KU in KC gives them the scheduling advantage here. In a three-team North race, it could come down to home-field advantage, and there's now no question in my mind that a third straight division title, if not a gimme by any means, is within reach, even in a rebuilding year.

But don't hold me to any of that.

SB Nation - Courtney Herndon

Mizzou-KSU: Beyond the Box Score PREVIEW

Offense

Quarterback

Running Back

Wide Receivers / Tight Ends

Offensive Line

---

Defense

Defensive Line

Linebackers

Secondary

Special Teams

---

Three Keys to the Game

Prediction

KICKING THE TIRES: Iowa State University

KEY PLAYERS

KEY STATS

Analysis

BracketCat's Projected Starters

Elsewhere in the Big 12...

Opening Our Files: Roundup on Kansas State Previews & Other Wildcats Notes

KICKING THE TIRES: The University of Louisiana (Lafayette)

KEY PLAYERS

KEY STATS

Analysis

BracketCat's Projected Starters

Elsewhere in the Big 12...

KICKING THE TIRES: The University of Massachusetts (Amherst)

IT'S GAMEDAY, B****ES!

KEY PLAYERS

KEY STATS*

Analysis

BracketCat's Projected Starters

Elsewhere in the Big 12...

2009 Football Position Breakdown: Safeties

Safeties

#21 Troy Butler

#5 Chris Carney

#28 Logan Dold

#8 Stephen Harrison

#2 Tysyn Hartman

#20 Courtney Herndon

#23 Emmanuel Lamur

#31 Torell Miller

#13 Adrian Stryker

#24 Dahrnaz Tigner

Projected Depth Chart:

SB Nation 2009 Big 12 Preview: K-State

2009 Husker Football Opponent Preview: Kansas State

What's your prediction when the Wildcats and Huskers meet in November?

Nebraska is Nebraska again, Kansas State is like Kansas State was pre-Snyder. Huskers name their score.

Snyder rebuilds the 'Cats quickly, but the Huskers still pull out a home victory.

Wildcats are back, narrowly pulling off the upset in Lincoln.

If Bo Pelini thought Bill Snyder ran up the score in 2003, just wait until 2009.

Kansas State: Beyond the Box Score Defensive Preseason Preview

Defense

Defensive Line

Linebackers

Secondary

Special Teams

Summary

The Fog of '09 - North Defenses

Defensive Lines

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

North Defenses, 2009

Special Teams

Coaches

2009 North Rankings

-- Schedules --

Colorado

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Missouri

Nebraska

Standings

Summary

IT'S GAMEDAY, BES!