SB Nation - Ian Campbell

BIG 12 ROUNDTABLE: BracketCat Edition

BracketCat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:15:35 -0000

Just me, myself and I this week. Not much point to block-quoting, I guess, so I'll spare you the formatting craziness. Thanks to Clone Chronicles for this week's questions.

1. Other than Texas most likely winning the South, and Baylor likely going o-fer in the conference, there's a lot of uncertainty with teams jockeying for position in the Big 12. As the teams head into this 3 or 4 game stretch, what concerns do you have about your team? What would be considered a good season, and what would be considered a bad season? If you've already decided it's a good season or bad season regardless of what happens down the stretch, what's the storyline you're looking for as we head into the final month of the regular season?

All I really care about right now is beating KU. I would say that with five wins against a much more difficult schedule than we had in 2008, with a clear improvement in the play on the field, we already can say conclusively that it has been a good season, even if we go 0-3 in November. Everything from here is just gravy, baby.

Given that, the big storyline is this: Can Snyder go 3-0 against Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska after three years of Ron Prince going 0-3 against them? These three games sort of define the season -- everything until now has proceeded roughly as foreseen, at least as far as win-loss record is concerned. Maybe not the Lousiana game, and certainly not the margins of loss (Texas Tech and Oklahoma) or victory (Texas A&M), but we're about where I thought we could be. I had KU and Mizzou as toss-ups in August. Now we get to see what we're really made of.

2. We haven't had a chance to talk a lot of about of the individual players. Some have performed as expected, others have had breakout seasons, while others haven't had the greatest season in 2009. By now, you're probably seen a handful of other Big 12 teams play. Pick one player on each side of the ball from another Big 12 team that you've been the most impressed with, and what about them has caught your attention.

Do they have to be from the same team? Hope not, because mine aren't.

On offense, I'd have to say Steven Sheffield. No one had ever heard of this guy, probably not even Texas Tech fans. But now we know him to be the most ruthless and savage destroyer of hopes and dreams this league might ever see. If he had played against Kansas, Tech would have scored at least 60. Whenever he gets healthy again, Tech instantly becomes a power in the South, especially considering how many seniors will depart Texas after this season.

On defense, I'll go with Von Miller. He's putting up freak numbers that would make even Ian Campbell blush. Going in, we all knew Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy and Sergio Kindle and Jeremy Beal would be badasses, but Miller is a huge part of Texas A&M's improvement this season. Impressive player with a bright future.

Normally, I'd pick a special teams player on general principle because the third phase of the game always is overlooked, but Brandon Banks is destroying the field so much here that I can't, given the "rules" of the exercise.

3. What is your take on the Big 12 TV situation? It seems like every week, we have at least one Big 12 game that gets zero TV coverage, while many games are on stations that not every cable company/satellite carrier picks up (like Fox College Sports and Versus). As a Big 12 fan, do you think a change of some sort is needed, or are you happy with the coverage? Does it hurt the Big 12 that not every game is televised?

As usual, the TV package sucks. K-State almost is on the verge of winning the Big 12 North despite making zero appearances on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. That's retarded. Meanwhile, the flagging Jayhawks get three out of four games on ABC, and even Iowa State gets an ABC game at home. I'm not complaining, because we're 3-0 on FCS and I look forward to possibly going 2-0 on Versus, but how lame is it that the first national exposure the potential second Miracle in Manhattan might receive would be the Big 12 Championship?

The Big 12's lack of revenue sharing still sucks, too, but that's a post for another time.

4. Let's say you had a friend that's been living under a rock the past few months, and they want to know how your team's season has gone. You only want to spend a few minutes on it, you don't want to get into the game-by-game details, so you decide to play the song that best describes your team's season thus far. What song are you playing?

Oh, hell, I don't know. "Back in the Saddle Again"? Or maybe "I Get Knocked Down," to illustrate between the difference between this year's team and last year's, i.e. one of them gets back up again, even after being drubbed 66-14?

5. Power Rank the teams! If you find it too difficult, or don't want to participate, rank the teams based on your projected Bowl Selection Order (just make sure you designate what you are doing. Also keep in mind that K-State is the only team in the conference with 2 FCS wins, so they need to get to 7 in order to be bowl eligible)

I don't anything sorted itself out last week. Oh, sure, we had a "moral victory" — whatever the hell that is — but the real testing begins this week.

1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Oklahoma State
4. Texas Tech
T5. Nebraska
T5. Missouri
T5. Texas A&M
T5. Kansas
T5. Iowa State
T5. Kansas State
11. Baylor
12. Colorado

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

Mizzou-KSU: Beyond the Box Score PREVIEW

Bill C. — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:00:06 -0000

Well...between Senior Day and Ron Prince, there has been very little talk (or motivation to talk) about the actual game taking place this weekend. And while I'm not finding a ton of motivation either, the numbers will do the talking!

KSU	Opp.		Mizzou	Opp.
53.7%		% Close	55.7%
47.6%	52.4%	Field Position %	55.5%	44.5%
66.1%	68.3%	Leverage %	77.2%	68.6%

		Total
632	682	Plays	624	684
255.78	269.74	EqPts	323.25	217.16
42.9%	44.6%	Success Rate	57.9%	42.3%
0.40	0.40	PPP	0.52	0.32
0.831	0.841	S&P	1.097	0.740

		Close Games
319	387	Plays	389	340
132.16	157.36	EqPts	198.12	114.10
45.8%	46.0%	Success Rate	58.6%	44.1%
0.41	0.41	PPP	0.51	0.34
0.872	0.867	S&P	1.095	0.777

		Rushing
96.97	135.21	EqPts	112.57	73.13
43.4%	44.8%	Success Rate	51.7%	39.9%
0.33	0.38	PPP	0.43	0.23
0.761	0.825	S&P	0.949	0.630
2.72	3.14	Line Yds/carry	3.12	2.39

		Passing
158.81	134.53	EqPts	200.69	144.03
42.4%	44.3%	Success Rate	62.3%	44.3%
0.47	0.42	PPP	0.55	0.40
0.898	0.859	S&P	1.175	0.845
2.7%	4.6%	Sack Rate	2.2%	6.5%

		Non-Passing Downs
51.0%	49.6%	Success Rate	62.9%	47.3%
0.44	0.42	PPP	0.53	0.32
0.950	0.920	S&P	1.162	0.790
2.2%	4.8%	Sack Rate	1.6%	5.1%
56.5%	59.7%	Run Rate	47.3%	54.4%

		Passing Downs
27.1%	33.8%	Success Rate	40.8%	31.2%
0.33	0.33	PPP	0.47	0.32
0.605	0.671	S&P	0.874	0.631
3.3%	4.4%	Sack Rate	3.7%	8.4%
28.5%	37.5%	Run Rate	23.2%	28.4%

		Turnovers
20	10	Total	13	15
48.82	23.23	Points Lost	35.58	36.87
55.77	24.80	Points Given	30.00	56.55
104.59	48.03	Total T/O Pts	65.58	93.42
-56.56	+56.56	T/O Pts Margin/Gm	+37.84	-37.84

Thoughts after the jump.

KSU's offensive numbers really aren't too bad, but their Leverage % (% of their plays that are Non-Passing Downs) is gawdawful. One of every three plays is in a Passing Down situation, and one look at their Passing Down #'s tells you that's not a good thing.
While the success rate allowed by the K-State defense (44.6%) is clearly too high, success rate isn't the main problem--it's Points Per Play allowed (0.40). Of course, if the success rate is too high, offenses are staying in comfortable situations and are more likely to make a big play. It's all connected!!
Mizzou is +0.318 in S&P difference in close games. That's very good. KSU is +0.005. Not as good.
KSU is allowing 3.14 line yards per carry. That's QUITE bad, and Missouri is crazy if Derrick Washington doesn't get at least 15-20 carries. Then again, KSU's allowing 0.42 PPP passing, so that works too. They're probably fine either way.
I have to applaud Josh Freeman for KSU's low sack rate allowed. Their O-line isn't terrible, but those are very low numbers...it's hard to bring that big guy down.
Looking at the Run Rate on Passing Downs is a good way to see how conservative a team (or its opponent) is. For instance, Mizzou's run rate of 23.2% shows that they think they can convert long pass plays most of the time. Heading into the Mizzou game, Colorado had a Run Rate of 39.3%, which suggested that they pretty much give up any time they have a 2nd- or 3rd-and-long situation because they want to avoid disaster. KSU throws most of the time, which suggests they do trust Josh Freeman. But a) their Passing Downs S&P is awful, and b) their turnover #'s are awful...so maybe they should run more in those situations.
It's also worth noting that Mizzou's opponents have a Passing Downs run rate of 28.4%...which suggests that they think they can exploit Mizzou's occasional lapses in pass defense. Mizzou stops most Passing Downs just fine (in fact, their sack rate on Passing Downs is quite high), but it does show the mindset involved.
Meanwhile, KSU opponents run about 60% of the time in Non-Passing Downs...which suggests they think they can run all day and dictate the tempo against KSU's front seven.
Look at those Turnover numbers. Despite losing the Turnover battle against Baylor, Mizzou is still on average about +4.2 points per game in the turnover department. K-State is -6.3 points per game in the turnover department. OUCH. That's a suggested advantage of 10.5 points for Mizzou.

Let's see what the situational stats tell us...

KSU	Opp.		Mizzou	Opp.
		Q1
49.3%	46.3%	Success Rate	59.6%	49.7%
0.48	0.41	PPP	0.57	0.30
0.971	0.873	S&P	1.170	0.800

		Q2
45.4%	45.5%	Success Rate	59.7%	42.0%
0.47	0.42	PPP	0.48	0.29
0.921	0.878	S&P	1.077	0.712

		Q3
38.6%	47.2%	Success Rate	60.0%	39.5%
0.33	0.42	PPP	0.61	0.36
0.715	0.889	S&P	1.207	0.751

		Q4
38.9%	38.4%	Success Rate	50.8%	38.9%
0.35	0.32	PPP	0.40	0.32
0.741	0.706	S&P	0.909	0.708

		1st Downs
45.0%	47.2%	Success Rate	59.7%	43.6%
0.41	0.41	PPP	0.54	0.32
0.862	0.878	S&P	1.137	0.754

		2nd Downs
37.2%	40.8%	Success Rate	58.8%	39.1%
0.34	0.35	PPP	0.47	0.32
0.709	0.759	S&P	1.062	0.714

		3rd Downs
42.7%	44.4%	Success Rate	52.1%	42.4%
0.49	0.45	PPP	0.55	0.30
0.915	0.898	S&P	1.070	0.719

If Mizzou is up 10 or 14 after Q1, this game is going to be a massive blowout. Mizzou's worst defensive quarter is Q1...and KSU's best offensive quarter is Q1. If Mizzou does indeed come out emotionally drained after the Senior Day ceremony (a distinct possibility), KSU could move the ball early, and this could remain a game for a while. However, look at KSU's 2nd-half offensive stats. There's a considerable drop-off. Mizzou will pull away. And the surge could very well happen in Q3, where (despite the Q3 debacle in Waco) Mizzou has been pretty damn good overall.
Meanwhile, KSU's defense is pretty consistently bad, and Mizzou's offense is pretty consistently good. Just sayin'.
Looking at per-down stats, KSU is the anti-Baylor. Baylor thrived on 2nd downs while being average or so on 1st and 3rd downs. KSU is the opposite. They're decent on 1st downs, quite bad on 2nd downs, and good on 3rd downs. For what that's worth. The Mizzou defense, meanwhile, is remarkably consistent by down.

Key Players: Kansas State

WRs Deon Murphy and Aubrey Quarles

Though tiny, KSU's leading WR Brandon Banks is a pretty solid WR, with 48 catches, 773 yards and 7 TD's on the season. However, Carl Gettis will be on him, so Josh Freeman will need somewhere else to turn. Murphy's a big-play threat, averaging 14.7 yards per catch. Unfortunately for K-State, he's also averaging less than three catches per game. He's a great return man, but an iffy receiver, and either he or Quarles (or TE Jeron Mastrud) will need to provide a good target for Freeman...or Murphy will need to have at least a couple of really good returns...else this will be a pretty disastrous day for K-State.

QB Josh Freeman

I hate it when I make the obvious choice, but a) nobody else on this offense can even remotely put this team on his back and win this game (unless Lamark Brown has a career day against his home-state school), and b) this is Freeman's team--with the soap opera that has taken place on the sidelines the last 24 hours or so, leadership will have to come from some place other than the head coach. He's going to have to be amazing for K-State to have a chance, and I doubt he has it in him.

DE Brandon Harold

The freshman from East St. Louis, aside from being one of the only high school recruits in last year's class (and I'm barely exagerrating) has been one of the few defensive standouts this year. He leads KSU in tackles for loss, and he's second in sacks to Ian Campbell. Harold and Campbell could conceivably put together a decent pass rush, which would conceivably allow KSU to get in Chase Daniel's face without blitzing, conceivably allowing KSU to conceivably create some big plays on defense. No, I don't believe it will happen either, but Harold and Campbell are as good as it gets on that side of the ball for KSU.

CB Joshua Moore

Since the boocoos of JUCO players haven't contributed much of anything (Blair Irvin is a JUCO transfer and the other starter at CB, but he doesn't exactly strike fear in my heart), the sophomore Moore has become the secondary's only playmaker. He is the only Wildcat with more than 1 INT on the year. Plus, he has a very respectable 9 pass breakups and 11 passes defended (not totally sure the difference, but whatever). If a big INT is made, Moore's probably the one making it.

Key Players: Mizzou

LB Aaron O'Neal

Sorry. I'm going to go cheesy with this one. For the last four seasons (the most successful 4-year span Missouri has ever had), Mizzou's play has been dedicated to the kid who died at 19 without ever having seen the field for his home-state Tigers. If you listen to Mizzou players talking about him, it's like he's been built into a god at this point. The name "Aaron O'Neal" now reflects everything that is good and right about playing for the Missouri Tigers. His dad will be wearing his jersey on Saturday during what will certainly be one of the more emotional moments in the history of Faurot Field (sans anything that happens during Promise Keepers rallies anyway, natch). He and his memory will have a more direct impact on this game than on any other Mizzou has played. If Mizzou comes out flat or aflame, it's because of the emotion of the moment.

Conclusion

I'll be honest--my finger is nowhere near the pulse of this team right now. I thought the Colorado game would be a sloppy, boring 31-14 win...and it was a 58-0 massacre. I thought Mizzou would easily score 45+ on Baylor, and if not for a field goal that took them a hair over 30, they'd have lost (something of which my colleague rptgwb is more than happy to remind you, ahem). My gut says this one's a blowout, but...well, I'm wrong a lot. So we'll go to the numbers.

This week's projections said Mizzou 42, K-State 22. Taking into account a projected 10-point advantage for Mizzou in turnovers, and that becomes something like 47-17, Mizzou. Which is about what I'd have predicted on my own, but now that it's backed up by SCIENCE!!!, we'll go with that.

Poll

What scares you the most about the Mizzou-KSU game?

Josh Freeman looks great in a uniform

7 votes

We don't have a history of playing well against teams with lame duck coaches

13 votes

There's no way Mizzou will be sharp after the emotion of the Senior Day ceremonies

8 votes

Nothing

43 votes

71 votes | Poll has closed

Post Game Quotes: Texas Tech vs. Kansas State

Seth C — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:14:18 -0000

Official recap from Texas Tech's 58-28 win over Kansas State
Boxscore
Post-Game Quotes via Kansas State's official website.

Graham Harrell on offensive play today . . .

"We really played well as a team, the offensive line did a great job. I felt like I had all day back there. It starts with the offensive line and when they play well I play well. The receivers did a great job as well. As an offense I think this is the best we have played all year."

Baron Batch on running the football . . .

"It was fun. It was fun to go out there and drive it down their throats and just make a statement. I was pretty happy with the first drive."

McKinner Dixon on adjusting to KSU QB Josh Freeman . . .

"We just played our keys, got off the ball, played excited and played aggressive. We were able to play physical with their offensive line and make the pocket collapse on them a little bit."

KSU head coach Ron Prince's opening statement . . .

"We were thoroughly beaten today by a very good football team on both offense and defense, particularly on both lines. Their offensive line and defensive line were terrific. We were out-physicaled for a bulk of the game. I thought their playmakers on offense were fantastic. They made the plays that needed to be made and we didn’t."

KSU head coach Ron Prince on slowing down Texas Tech and Graham Harrell . . .

"One of the things that makes them a very good team is that their offensive line is so big and so massive that you can’t really bull-rush them into his lap. And when you do, he’ll have the poise to throw it to certain spots that he’s been throwing it to for a long time. He knows the routes inside and out and his guys go get the ball and make him look really good in those moments when the pocket is compromised. They do a very good job of getting the ball out quickly to beat the blitz. They’re very confirmed in throwing the football. Because of that a lot of runs open up, but they’re very committed to throwing the football. The number of times they throw it, the parts of the field they throw it to, they never get discouraged in throwing the football and they’re very good at it and they have the offensive line to hold up under that kind of deal and when they need to run it they get very good looks and they are very big and very physical."

KSU QB Josh Freeman on the mindset of the team . . .

"I am embarrassed. As a quarterback and leader of the offense, it is unacceptable to play the way we played. We can learn from this and we have to put it behind us. Tomorrow is another day and they are going to make us play another game in seven days."

KSU DE Ian Campbell on the Texas Tech offensive line . . .

"I thought that they did their job very well. They do exactly what they are supposed to do. They are supposed to give Graham Harrell time. I did not do well enough to get to him as often."

SB Nation - Ian Campbell

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KSU

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Mizzou

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KSU

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Mizzou

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What scares you the most about the Mizzou-KSU game?

Josh Freeman looks great in a uniform

We don't have a history of playing well against teams with lame duck coaches

There's no way Mizzou will be sharp after the emotion of the Senior Day ceremonies

Nothing

Post Game Quotes: Texas Tech vs. Kansas State