How To Get Another Wildcat Victory
A week after the biggest game of the season comes the biggest game of the season. The win over Miami helped to crystallize the picture of who K-State is going to be this year as Bill Snyder continues his second go at it. Had the Wildcats left Coral Gables with a loss, tomorrow wouldn’t be quite as big a deal as it is being 3-0. Having Baylor come into Manhattan to open conference play also now becomes yet another test of this team to see how they are going to be able to handle the style of play that dominates the Big12. Continue reading to get a preview of each side of the ball and leave a prediction in the comments.
Offense – The playbook has steadily grown with each game leading up to conference play and I hope it got much thicker over this past week’s practice. The zone read has been in use all season and I’m starting to understand the purpose of Klein shuffling with the running back before making the read. I like the delayed throw to the WR that’s been added and I think that’s going to be tough for opposing teams to defend particularly with them needed to watch for Klein taking off. The biggest improvement in this unit has been the offensive line. We have talented runners in Hubert and Klein but the success they have is predicated on the O-Line. They’ve really figured it out since the opener, which was evidenced in the 265 rushing yards last weekend. If the hogs keep it together K-State will be in great position to compete in every single game. Against Baylor it going to be important to eat clock by keeping the ball in the offense’s hands and put points on the board at the end of those long possessions.
Defense – At this point, every Saturday is bringing a bigger test for the defensive unit. Kent State was easily more athletic than EKU. After the scary 10-7 victory, K-State shutout the other K-State and proved they bye week was extremely well timed. Miami has an extra gear that not many teams in the country have and was a huge leap over Kent State. Again, K-State came out ready and answered all the questions about whether this defense was for real or not. Now, it’s time for Baylor. In years past this was a guaranteed victory on just about every schedule but now it’s a scary thing to see. Robert Griffin III is a crazy blend of speed, athleticism, and smarts that somehow slipped through the recruiting cracks and ended up in a town best known for cult leaders. His stats so far this season are insane but come against bad teams with the exception of TCU but even they have proven incapable in stopping offenses and currently rank 85th in total defense. (69th in rush D, 87th in pass D) K-State should be the best defense RG3 has faced and I hope it shows in the final score. I don’t know what the defensive game plan holds but my hope is that Arthur Brown is used as a QB spy and we see an extra helping of blitz packages. If the front four can get some pressure on RG3, Brown has the ability to keep containment and shut things down.
Special Teams – This unit is still an enigma. It hasn’t been horrible by any means but I wouldn’t call it stable either. The kick and punt return aspects are fine. Blocking for those has been solid and I expect someone to take it to the house sometime soon. The problems come in the kicking game. Punting has been just OK. Doerr has been serviceable minus the short end of the game punt against Miami that could have come back to bite the Wildcats. If that sort of thing happens 2 or 3 times against Baylor it’s going to hurt. The FG unit has been scary. Cantele has only hit on 66% of his attempts and the blocking hasn’t looked good. If this game comes down to a couple field goals, I’m afraid K-State is on the weaker side. I simply don’t trust them enough yet to put the game in their hands.
Prediction – With all that laid out, I’m giving the edge to the Wildcats. The spread has K-State as 3.5 point underdogs but I think that can be covered by the 54,000 strong sitting in Bill Snyder Family Stadium. I’m trusting the offense to continue playing well and for the defense to be led by Walker and Brown as they welcome RG3 to Big12 play. Let’s hope I’m right and the Wildcats sit at 4-0 on Sunday morning.