K-State Q&A: Skylar Thompson’s first game back, Stanford football analysis and more
Football season is nearly upon us.
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m rather looking forward to watching Kansas State play Stanford at 11 a.m. on Saturday inside AT&T Stadium. We have lots of great questions about the game on tap, so let’s get right to them. Thanks, as always, for your participation.
To simplify your question, I’m going to give you a player to watch on offense and a player to watch on defense who I think could both make major impacts on the Stanford game.
Offense: Joe Ervin/Jacardia Wright. I didn’t want to say Deuce Vaughn or the offensive line, because that’s too obvious. But it is imperative that K-State run the ball well in this game. Stanford allowed 222 rushing yards per game last season, and the Wildcats have to take advantage against a soft run defense. The best way to do that is with Ervin and Wright living up to their preseason billing and moving the chains with a few runs when Vaughn is split out wide or getting a breather on the sideline.
Defense: Daniel Green. I mostly like the changes K-State coaches made on the defensive side of the ball during the offseason, but I’m still shaking my head at linebacker. There isn’t much high-end talent or depth at that position. Green needs to rise to the occasion and make tackles against a strong and physical Stanford offense that will run the ball and utilize tight ends in the passing games.
This is a tricky question to answer.
Stanford averaged 420 yards of offense last season. That makes me think the Cardinal will easily top 350 yards against a K-State defense that will be breaking in seven new starters on Saturday.
But Stanford lost a ton on offense, including its starting quarterback. Its leading rusher, Austin Jones is back, but David Shaw has promised to play two quarterbacks against the Wildcats and that is rarely a recipe for a 400-yard day.
I suppose I will reluctantly say Stanford surpasses 350 yards, but not by much.
No and no.
When Skylar Thompson throws the ball against Stanford, I’ve got a feeling he is going to target Malik Knowles as if his hands are magnetized. When he’s not open, look for Thompson to get the ball to Phillip Brooks and Landry Weber.
Don’t forget about Daniel Imatorbhebhe, either.
There’s a chance we see a few extra catches for Deuce Vaughn, because Chabastin Taylor will be limited. But I will be surprised if he leads the team in catches.
I also don’t see 25 overall touches for him. Coaches are eager to see what Joe Ervin and Jacardia Wright can do in the season-opener. They will all get a look. I think Vaughn touches the ball 18 or 19 times, which is still a big work load.
E-MAIL QUESTION: Skylar Thompson hasn’t played a live game in nearly a year. How rusty should we expect him to look against Stanford? - Andrew B.
I’m prepared to own it if I’m wrong, but I don’t expect rust to be a problem for Skylar Thompson.
Yes, he hasn’t played a true game since he injured his throwing arm/shoulder/pectoral muscle against Texas Tech last season, but he recovered in time to participate on a limited basis in the spring and then handle all the first-team reps in the summer.
He has also started 30 games during his K-State career, which makes him one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the nation. Maybe adrenaline is a factor in the first quarter, but that’s about all I can envision.
Did you read my story from last week outlining how he can be one of the Big 12’s best quarterbacks this season?
No matter what happens, a rusty or nervous Thompson still figures to be an improvement over what we see from Will Howard as a true freshman.
That’s not to see I am guaranteeing Thompson comes out and throws for 400 yards. We saw him start slowly against Arkansas State last season. But we also saw him light the world on fire in the 2019 opener, which was his first game under Klieman when he was coming off a normal summer camp.
Under.
Most of the projections I have heard range from 25,000-30,000, so it’s hard for me to see more than 32,000 fans in attendance for this game.
But a nice walk-up crowd could prove me wrong.
Some may try to use a small-ish crowd as a knock against K-State in this game, but it will be silly to do so. Because this is still technically a “home game” for the Wildcats, they will be bringing the vast majority of the fans. And I consider anything above 20,000 K-State fans at this game to be impressive.
If K-State was playing a true neutral-site game that was organized years in advance against another team that traveled well there would easily be 50,000-plus at this game.
I expect the fan ratio to be 99/1 in favor of purple for this game.
You may think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not.
Stanford rarely has enough fans to fill its home stadium. I can’t imagine many Cardinal supporters will be traveling two time zones away to watch them on Saturday.
I remember when K-State opened the 2016 season at Stanford. The Wildcats packed the visitor’s side of the stadium with thousands of fans, while the rest of the place looked like that UCLA/Hawaii game from last weekend.
A quick aside: That’s one thing that bugs me about the Pac-12 continually skating by as a power conference whenever realignment takes place. Very few of their schools have passionate fan bases.
I was told a while back to expect maybe 300 Stanford fans in Arlington.
Deuce Vaughn is bringing nearly that many fans to the game by himself.
Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I freaking love the Stanford tree.
I sat adjacent to the Stanford pep band and the Stanford tree during a NCAA Tournament basketball game a few years back when the Cardinal upset KU and Andrew Wiggins. Let me tell you, it was hard for me to take my eyes away from the dancing spectical that mascot put on behind the basket.
Same deal at the K-State/Stanford football game five years ago. I walked down to the field in the fourth quarter and spent part more time than I care to admit watching that tree dance.
Now, it is an ugly tree. They could invest more money in the costume, no doubt. But I still love it.
The worst mascot in the Power Five is probably the inflatable Husker at Nebraska. That thing is super lame and nightmare fuel for kids if they see it up close. Purdue’s mascot is also super creepy.
I would include Wichita State’s wheat man here, but the Shockers aren’t P5. So he is spared.
Fingers crossed.
I don’t think Stanford is bringing a band to this game, so it seems highly unlikely. But we all know what happened the last time Stanford’s band meandered onto the field during a live play, so fingers crossed.
Not yet.
But I have already arranged to participate in a Wabash Reserve tasting in the near future with the biggest bourbon snob I know. So you can expect a full review on this here website at some point.
Under.
As much as I like Whataburger, there are too many other good food options in DFW to eat at the same fast-food restaurant three times in under 48 hours.
It’s a safe bet I will make at least one visit. Maybe even two, especially if one of them is for breakfast. But I don’t see three visits in the cards, unless you’re buying ... in which case, I’ll meet you there!