Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman perfectly encapsulates upcoming game against Texas
The matchup between Texas and Kansas State on Saturday at 11:00 sets up to be the perfect epilogue for a Big 12 rivalry that has provided many more dramatic moments than people would have thought at the Big 12’s inception.
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The Longhorns are ranked No. 7 in the country, but the No. 25 Wildcats are the hotter team after pasting its previous two opponents by the combined score of 82-3. At the same time Texas’ quarterback Quinn Ewers is listed as ‘week-to-week’, K-State’s offense, featuring two quarterbacks, is starting to lean into its identity.
On Monday, the word of the day for Steve Sarkisian during his weekly press conference was physicality. Kansas State coach, Chris Klieman might not have used that specific word as much, but he intimated the importance of doing well at the line of scrimmage and matching strength on strength between the K-State run game and the Texas defensive line.
But in the Longhorns, Klieman sees much more than just talent on the defensive line, “I always think they look good, I always think they got really good talent. I think this might be the best Texas team I’ve seen in my five years here collectively. And when I say that it’s because I don’t see any weakness on either side of the line of scrimmage or in special teams.”
Klieman also acknowledged a lot of returning talent for Texas who played a role in UT’s dramatic 34-27 victory last year in Manhattan.
“A lot of guys we played against, I know there’s a couple that are gone, but a lot of guys we played against within their skill set, tight ends and wide receivers, and then a lot of defensive guys return from last year as well.”
Returning talent on both sides of the ball makes it challenging to prepare for Texas, especially on defense where it’s difficult to make the Texas offense play with one hand tied behind its back.
“This is going to be a big-time challenge this week. You’re not going to make Texas one-dimensional. We’ve been able to make a few teams one-dimensional, we’re not going to be able to do that. We have to be really good at being able to control some of the run game and we absolutely have to take away their shot plays because they’re extremely talented at the receiver and tight end position and they’re getting behind everybody.”
Kansas State’s offense, led by former Wildcat great and current offensive coordinator, Collin Klein, presents its own problems. Klein’s offense, which utilizes both veteran quarterback Will Howard and true freshman quarterback Avery Johnson, has operated much more efficiently in recent weeks.
Like it so often has in the Little Apple, the Wildcat offense is propelled by the run game.
“We have to be able to effectively run the football. Is that with the quarterbacks? Is that with wide receivers on jets? Is it with running backs? Is it gap scheme, zone scheme? We’ve got to be efficient throwing the football and then the biggest thing that we’ve had some success with the last few weeks is staying on the field. We’ve been 10 of 13 and 10 of 14 the last couple weeks. We can’t afford to be 3 of 13 and 3 of 14 or it’s going to be a long day for us.”
Third downs are another example of strength on strength. Texas’ defense is currently No. 3 in the nation in 3rd down defense. Despite Texas’ 3rd down defense and stout defensive line, Klieman knows he can’t let the matchups dictate his team’s identity.
On physicality he said, “It’s going to be a huge challenge for us, one that we have to be able to accept. We’ve got to do what we do, we can’t reinvent the wheel and say, it’s going to be hard to move these guys up front no question about it, but we can’t say hey we’re going to abandon what we’ve done and try to gimmick different things to try to be successful especially on offense. That’s not us.”
That’s not Texas either.
Buckle up for a game this Saturday that should make Ricky Williams, Michael Bishop, and what turned out to be a lasting rivalry, proud.
