Tag: Kansas State Wildcats Football

Fiesta Bowl Preview: Handicapping the Quarterbacks

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Leading up to the Fiesta Bowl, DuckTV will be breaking down every aspect of the game.

Keep up with previous posts

Keys to the Game
Linebackers
Defensive Backs
Defensive Lines
Defensive Outlook

By Preston Hiefield

Marcus Mariota and Colin Klein are both dynamic players who lead dynamic offenses. US PRESSWIRE

Oregon: Marcus Mariota, Redshirt Freshman, 6-4, 210, Honolulu, HI.

By the numbers: 2,511 passing yards, 30 TD, 6 INT; 690 rushing yards, 4 TD

The positive: Entering the 2012 season there was really only one glaring question for this Oregon offense: who would replace two-year starting quarterback Darron Thomas? Shortly following Oregon’s Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin, Thomas made a head-scratching decision to bolt for the NFL instead of coming back for his senior season. Well, that decision may have been validated by the play of his successor Mariota. All the redshirt freshman has done in his first season at the helm is lead Oregon to an 11-1 record and a fourth straight BCS bowl game. Mariota (and the Oregon offense, for that matter) has looked virtually unstoppable in every game this season other than Stanford’s 17-14 upset of the Ducks in Eugene on Nov. 17. Not only is Mariota a much better runner and overall athlete than Thomas, but he appears to be a more polished passer as well.

The negative: Experience. For as gifted an athlete as Mariota is, there is no substitute for experience. This will be by far the highest profile game he has ever played in. Despite his seemingly unflappable demeanor, there is no telling how he will react when the lights shine bright on Thursday night.

 

Collin Klein led K-State’s offense to a Fiesta Bowl birth and a spot in New York as a heisman finalist. If Klein can establish the run early, the Wildcats will be hard to stop. US PRESSWIRE

Kansas State: Collin Klein, Senior, 6-5, 226, Loveland, CO.

By the numbers: 2,490 passing yards, 15 TD, 7 INT; 890 rushing yards, 20 TD

The positive: In addition to finishing third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o and Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, Klein is the unquestioned leader of one of the greatest teams in the history of Kansas State’s program. He embodies what the entire Wildcats team is all about: tough, gritty, overlooked and under appreciated.The senior isn’t exactly a prototypical quarterback – he has more rushing touchdowns than he does passing touchdowns – but he is an absolutely perfect fit for what Bill Snyder wants to do offensively. Klein is a punishing runner who can carry the ball 20-25 times in a single game if necessary, but he is also accurate enough to beat a team with his arm. In Oregon’s past three BCS Bowl games they have faced three outstanding dual threat quarterbacks in Terrelle Pryor, Cam Newton and Russell Wilson. Well, make it a fourth straight great dual-threat with Klein, who will present a tremendous challenge to Nick Allioti and the Oregon defense.

The negative: Klein can be taken out of his comfort zone if he’s forced to throw. In Kansas State’s only loss of the season against Baylor, Klein completed 27 of 50 passes for 2 TD’s against 3 INT’s while being held to 2.3 yards per rush. Essentially, Baylor limited him on the ground and dared the Wildcats to put the ball in the air. The result? 24 points, just one point more than their season low (a 23-10 victory over TCU the week before). If Oregon crowds the line of scrimmage and makes Klein win the game with his arm alone, K-State will be in trouble.

Final verdict: Advantage Kansas State. This matchup is very close – both quarterbacks are perfect fits for their respective systems. Klein’s experience and leadership earns him the final nod. 

Fiesta Bowl Preview: Defensive Line

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Leading up to the Fiesta Bowl, DuckTV will be breaking down every aspect of the game.

Keep up with previous posts

Keys to the Game
Linebackers
Defensive Backs

By Zach Goldstein

The entire Kansas State defensive line is composed of a group of burly seniors, weighing in at an average of just under three hundred pounds. As we saw against Stanford, the Ducks ground game can take a statistical hit when facing a hefty front four. Like Oregon’s own Dion Jordan, Kanas State also possesses a Ted Hendricks Award Candidate in Meshak Williams. Williams is a terror from his defensive end spot, tallying ten sacks in 12 games. Williams also accumulated 14 tackles for a loss and averaged over two solo tackles a game.

Kansas State Defensive End Meshak Williams is an absolute stud for the Wildcats on the front four. Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

 

Adam Davis, a highly talented pass rusher plays the other defensive end position and is just as dynamic. Not only can Davis sack the quarterback, which he’s done nine times in twelve games, Davis is also a skilled open field tackler. With 38 solo tackles on the year, look for Davis to factor heavily in K-State’s effort to force the Duck running backs inside.

Now for the tackles, Vai Lutui and John Sua. Lutui is a 6’2, 300 pound tackle, with 22 tackles on the year in 12 games to go along with 8 tackles for a loss. Lutui is a big bruising tackle who could create disruption inside for the Ducks o-line.

The last member of the starting Kansas State D-Line is John Sua. Sua who stands at 6’0, weighs in at over 300 hundred pounds and does a good job to clog up holes in the middle of the line. His numbers aren’t anywhere near those of his line mates and look for the Ducks to go at Sua’s direction as he lacks the quickness to laterally keep up with the speedy Oregon offensive weapons.

 In terms of the Oregon D-Line, what they lack for in size they more than make up in speed and athleticism. Dion Jordan is the star of the group, make no mistake about it, a healthy #96 means a long day for the Wildcats and their offensive line. Jordan comes off a year in which he was named to the All-Pac 12 First Team as well as finishing as a finalist for the Dick Butkus Award. Jordan’s senior year saw him accumulate 44 tackles, including 10 1/2 for a loss and 5 sacks. Jordan will need to play smart as he will try and contain the once Heisman hopeful Collin Klein.

After a strong performance in last season’s Rose Bowl, Senior defensive end Dion Jordan will be a key to the Ducks attack defensively. US PRESSWIRE

 

The other defensive end for the Ducks is junior Taylor Hart, like Jordan, Hart has a rare blend of size (Jordan is 6’7 while Hart is 6’6) and athleticism. Hart tallied eight sacks and 33 total tackles over the course of the twelve games he played. Both ends, Hart and Jordan, must play smart in order to contain the elusive Klein. On the inside part of the line lie two run clogging beasts, Isaac Remington and Wade Keliikipi.

Remington who serves as a valuable asset to the line is a monster of a player at 6’6,300 lbs, his numbers don’t wow you, he averages under two tackles of a game but he’s a force to be reckoned with and sometimes draws double teams which could lead to high sack totals for both Hart and Jordan.

Lastly is Wade Keliikipi who has impressed as a junior in his nine games. Keliikipi had averaged over two tackles a game as he totaled twenty and through in two sacks as well.

Overall the D-line battle seems to be pretty even with the edge at defensive end going to the Ducks while the Wildcats tackles are more imposing than that of the Ducks. The battle of the trenches will be an interesting one to say the least.