Five takeaways from Kansas State’s dominant 41-3 victory over the TCU Horned Frogs
Well, that was easy.
The Kansas State football team demolished TCU 41-3 for a convincing victory that was every bit as lopsided as the final score made it look on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
K-State opted to rotate between Will Howard and Avery Johnson at quarterback, and that strategy paid major dividends as the Wildcats rolled to 587 yards.
This was the type of performance that the Wildcats (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) have been working toward after suffering a pair of losses early in the season. The Horned Frogs (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) were no match for them.
K-State will try to build on this performance next week when it plays host to Houston.
Until then, here are five takeaways from Saturday’s action.
The Wildcats thrived with two quarterbacks
Turns out, K-State football coach Chris Klieman knew what he was doing when he decided to rotate evenly between Will Howard and Avery Johnson at quarterback.
The K-State offense turned in its best game of the season by scoring 41 points and gaining nearly 600 yards.
And they did it without any of their quarterbacks running the show on consecutive drives.
Howard started the game and led the Wildcats to a 75-yard touchdown drive in eight plays. Then Johnson came in and guided the Wildcats to a 73-yard scoring drive in seven plays. Back and forth they went, piling up impressive numbers almost as if they were motivated to one up the other.
In a sign of just how committed K-State was to using multiple quarterbacks, K-State offensive coordinator Collin Klein sent Howard and Johnson both on the field for the first play of the evening. Johnson lined up as a slot receiver and proceeded to take a jet-sweep handoff from Howard for a gain of 4 yards.
Many were skeptical that K-State could be successful playing two quarterbacks. There is a reason why most teams do everything they can to avoid controversy at the position. But that doesn’t seem to be an issue for this squad at this point. Not only can they win with two quarterbacks, it appears that they thrive with them.
Howard was the better passer. He completed 10 of 16 throws for 154 yards and three touchdowns. Best of all, he didn’t throw a single interception. But he wasn’t too shabby on the ground, either, as he rushed for 62 yards on four carries.
Johnson was electric as a runner on his way to 73 yards on 16 carries. He also completed five of 10 passes for 90 yards and a score.
They both helped the Wildcat offense in their own way.
K-State fans will surely continue to debate which quarterback deserves more playing time as the season continues. But one thing is clear: The Wildcats are in good hands regardless if Howard or Johnson is on the field.
Jayce Brown might be K-State’s best receiver
One reason the Wildcats have experimented with two quarterbacks in recent weeks is because their receivers have not been performing up to expectations.
It has been hard for many of them to get open, which is one reason why tight end Ben Sinnott entered the weekend with a team-high 358 yards and three touchdowns receiving.
But K-State may have found a new weapon for its passing attack. Jayce Brown, a freshman receiver who has impressed at practice during his limited time on campus, saw an increase in playing time against TCU and took advantage by grabbing four passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.
His longest catch of the day went for 43 yards. He grabbed a pair of back-shoulder throws against tight coverage in addition to his touchdown grab. He gave the Wildcats a much-needed spark.
Adding him to the mix is already paying dividends.
No encore for TCU quarterback Josh Hoover
A week ago, TCU quarterback Josh Hoover looked like a future All-American as he threw for 439 yards and four touchdowns during a blowout victory over BYU.
Those numbers had to scare the K-State defense a little, given that the Wildcats haven’t been stingy against the pass this season.
But K-State never let Hoover find a rhythm and held him to 187 yards and no touchdowns.
Desmond Purnell came up with an interception against him late in the third quarter.
The Wildcats appeared to rattle him Hoover with blitzes in the first half and kept the pressure on after halftime. Hoover still made some impressive throws on Saturday, but not nearly enough for TCU to keep pace.
K-State made him look like a freshman while playing in front of a sellout crowd of 52,637.
The Wildcats should keep throwing to their running backs
Good things happened whenever K-State quarterbacks targeted DJ Giddens and Treshaun Ward in the passing game.
Giddens, who is known best for his bruising running style between the tackles, caught 2 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. His best play came on a catch he made in the flats from Howard, which he promptly turned into a 61-yard score.
Ward, a Florida State transfer, grabbed 3 passes for 17 yards and a touchdown.
K-State hasn’t thrown all that much to its running backs this season, but that could easily change after what happened against the Horned Frogs.
K-State is one of the best teams in the Big 12
Just in case that wasn’t already clear, the Wildcats made a statement to the rest of the conference on Saturday.
If anyone is going to pass Oklahoma or Texas for a spot in the Big 12 championship game the Wildcats are well positioned to do it. If they take care of business at home against Houston next week, they will head to Texas the following week for a game that will have conference title implications.
Both the Longhorns and the Sooners looked mortal while barely beating Houston and UCF, respectively, on Saturday. Maybe that opens the door for a sleeper team to make it to Arlington, Texas in December.
Iowa State, Oklahoma State and K-State could each push them before the season comes to an end.