As Texas Tech prepares for Kansas State, limiting penalties is the top priority

When used by football players, the term “fundamentally sound” isn’t always a compliment.

Much like describing a quarterback as a game manager instead of a gifted passer, the phrase is sometimes used to disguise criticism. If you truly wanted to praise a teammate or opponent, you would call him a playmaker and save “fundamentally sound” for the untalented backup.

But in the case of Texas Tech linebacker Sam Eguavoen, he has only good intentions in mind when he throws out “fundamentally sound” to describe Kansas State. Starting for a team that has been penalized 46 times for 422 yards in its first four games has taught him to appreciate the basics.

The Red Raiders are by far the Big 12’s most-penalized team, while only Tulane ranks worse nationally. By comparison, K-State has lost 147 yards on 19 penalties. Eguavoen genuinely respects the Wildcats.

“They are like fundamentally-sound robots out there, built never to make a mistake,” Eguavoen said in a phone interview. “You can’t mess up against them, because they never mess up. They leave no room for error, because Kansas State has perfected the fundamentals. They just wait for you to make a mistake and then they beat you.

“This is my fourth year playing them, and I know how rare that is. We need to copy what they do, because we had 16 penalties last week. And let me tell you, that will kill you.”

Limiting penalties appears to be priority No. 1 in Lubbock right now. The Red Raiders have lost at least 60 yards from flags in each of their four games and more than 113 yards in two of them. Coach Kliff Kingsburry cites penalties as a major cause for his team’s disappointing start.

Answers have been hard to come by.

“We have tried pretty much everything,” Kingsbury said. “We will try another thing this week and see if we can improve. Some of them are effort penalties and they are just not being disciplined in their fundamentals and techniques. That is on us as coaches to get fixed and figure out. If that doesn’t improve, you don’t have much chance to win any games in our league.”

Texas Tech learned that lesson a week ago against Oklahoma State, committing 16 penalties for 158 yards in a 45-35 loss.

“We didn’t even give ourselves a chance,” Eguavoen said.

K-State has a long history of feasting on mistake-prone opponents by avoiding mistakes themselves. The Wildcats stayed within four points of No. 5 Auburn two weeks ago by not committing a single penalty.

“It is something Coach (Bill) Snyder has always preached, being disciplined on and off the field,” K-State linebacker Will Davis said. “We take great pride in that. ... One of our goals is we don’t want to have any penalties.”

Texas Tech players say it is up to them to limit future flags.

Against K-State, they are striving to be “fundamentally sound.”

“We need to get a better focus as a unit,” Texas Tech receiver Jakeem Grant said. “If we get that, we won’t have 150 yards worth of penalties anymore. Game after game after game, penalties are killing us. Some people look at the coaches and say it is their fault. It’s not. We have to come together as players and correct our problems.

“Kansas State is a good team that does everything right, but if we get our penalties cleaned up and have the right focus we can win that game.”

Klein seeks medical redshirt – Kyle Klein, a redshirt junior receiver and the younger brother of former standout quarterback Collin Klein, will miss the remainder of the season and seek a medical redshirt. Klein has been out all season with an undisclosed injury. Last week, he watched K-State beat UTEP from the press box, assisting the Wildcats’ offensive coaches. He caught five passes for 59 yards last season and looked good in the spring game, but he will have to wait to return to the field.

“Like we do with any youngster who is injured, we want to keep him actively involved in the program,” Snyder said. “So he does on-the-field help and garners information for our coaches on the sideline. He has been on the sideline and up in the box. We just want to keep him involved.”

Depth issues? – Snyder was upset with K-State’s reserves for allowing two late touchdowns against UTEP on Saturday, and he was still angry on Tuesday, using the word “irritated” to describe their play.

“It still remains to be seen,” Snyder said when asked about his confidence level in K-State’s backups. “There are some guys you might have concern about.”

Injury update – Snyder said he expects K-State’s defense to be at full strength against Texas Tech, meaning cornerback Morgan Burns and linebacker Dakorey Johnson will both be healthy enough to play. Burns suffered a groin injury against Auburn, while Johnson missed stretches of the UTEP game with an injured leg. Of course, Snyder said he expected Burns to play against UTEP, and he watched from the sideline. So their playing statuses remain uncertain.

This story was originally published September 30, 2014 at 4:38 PM with the headline "As Texas Tech prepares for Kansas State, limiting penalties is the top priority."