Rapid recap: Turnovers have been a factor for Kansas State
Kansas State roster notes
Kansas State lost two players in the 59-25 win over Baylor. Jake Clifton left due to injury and Khalid Duke was ejected from the game for throwing a punch at a member of the Bears team.
Clifton will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury. True freshman Austin Romaine will take Clifton’s place at the ‘Mike’ linebacker spot. Beau Palmer and Rex Van Wyhe were also mentioned by Chris Klieman as players who will play more in Clifton’s absence.
Duke will not be suspended for the ejection against Baylor and will play against Kansas.
How far Kansas has come
When Klieman took over at K-State, Kansas was a bit of a mess. Les Miles was the coach and then was replaced by Lance Leipold. He took over after spring ball in his first season. Klieman went as far as to say this matchup is light-years different than when he first took over for the Wildcats.
The Kansas State head coach had strong praise for the Jayhawks staff calling the turnaround impressive. Klieman also added he is not surprised by the turnaround for Kansas as he is friends with some members of the Jayhawks staff.
Turnovers have been key for K-State
It has gone a bit unnoticed but Kansas State has been great in the turnover department since the Oklahoma State game. K-State is +10 in turnover margin in the past five games. That has played a major role in the Wildcats being 4-1 in their last five games. Not giving the ball away and setting up the offense with short fields can create a lot of momentum and Kansas State has been doing both of those things in the last five games.
Turnovers were something Klieman preached about after the Oklahoma State loss. How K-State could not turn the ball over and had to create turnovers. In the last five games, the Wildcats have forced 14 turnovers after forcing just three in the first five games.
Kansas’ offense
Kansas will be coming into the game Saturday with a bit of a mystery at quarterback. Jason Bean, Cole Ballard, and Jalon Daniels are all on the depth chart at quarterback. According to Klieman, it does not matter who starts at quarterback for the Jayhawks. Kansas has its scheme and is successful in it no matter who is at quarterback.
The Jayhawks have a lot of confidence in all of the quarterbacks. They also know they can execute the scheme no matter who plays at quarterback. Kansas also has an improved offensive line this season and two running backs with the ability to pound the football in Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw.
