Fiesta Bowl Countdown: Oregon’s offense reminds K-State of Baylor

Dec. 21, 201210:33 a.m.

Kansas State safety Jarard Milo was asked to compare Oregon to a team he faced this season in the Big 12.

It didn’t take him long to answer.

“When we look at their film we kind of see Baylor,” Milo said. “We also see of the other teams we faced. They have a very fast-paced offense. They have good players, too, but when we look at them we see some of the other teams we have gone against.”

Preparing for a juggernaut offense is nothing new for the Wildcats. That’s part of life in the Big 12. Earlier this season, West Virginia looked so unstoppable behind Geno Smith that Bill Snyder joked his gameplan centered on him being kidnapped. Texas Tech throws the ball as well as anyone. Oklahoma State churned out yards despite three quarterbacks this year. And Baylor became an offensive force behind Nick Florence and Lache Seastrunk.

K-State fared well against most of that competition. It made West Virginia look bad, dominated Texas Tech and only needed Collin Klein for 35 minutes against Oklahoma State. But Baylor got the best of the Wildcats.

The Bears wasted no time between plays, rushing to the line and snapping the ball every few seconds (just like Oregon), and took advantage of Ty Zimmerman’s injury. Baylor threw deep, ran effectively and handed the Wildcats their only loss.

That could mean bad news for K-State in the Fiesta Bowl, but Milo thinks the defense learned a lot from that game.

“They have a good offense, but we aren’t going to get nervous about it,” Milo said. “A lot of the things they do are similar to some of the other teams we’ve already seen. With their spread offense, we are used to that.”
Read More »

By Kellis Robinett | Tags: , , , , , , , , , Filed under Fiesta Bowl Countdown, Football | Comments Off

Crunching numbers on K-State’s defense

Aug. 6, 20121:24 p.m.


Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder and defensive coordinator Tom Hayes are using the same argument to explain why the Wildcats were better against the pass last season than the 263.3 yards per game they allowed indicate.

Said Snyder:

“Statistically, the defense against the passing game may have suffered, but you have to look at this conference. You look at the conference and there are teams that are throwing the ball an average of 400 yards per ballgame against some very fine football teams. In this league, statistics throwing the football are going to be significantly higher than they might normally be in most conferences.”

Said Hayes:

“Our stats are skewed somewhat in the way that we played against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State two weeks in a row. We didn’t play very well and they played very well and they were very talented on offense, both of them. We gave up a ton of yards to them and we lost both those games, but they kind of skew what happened in the whole scheme of things … They do that to everybody.”

There is truth in each of those statements. There is no shortage of offense in the Big 12. While K-State’s pass defense ranked a respectable sixth in the conference last season, it ranked an ugly 103rd nationally.

Maybe Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville said it best in Dallas last month when he described the Big 12 as “a points league.”

“You’re still going to have to score a lot of points no matter what,” Tuberville said. “You’re going to give up points in this league. This is a points league. I mean, we scored close to 40 points a game last year and won five games.”
Read More »

By Kellis Robinett | Tags: , , , , , , , , , Filed under Football | Comments Off

Chris Harper uses bowl game as motivation

Oct. 13, 201110:42 a.m.

If preparing for its fourth consecutive game as an underdog wasn’t enough to fire up the Kansas State football team heading into Saturday’s game at Texas Tech, the 17th-ranked Wildcats can always think back to last year’s frustrating trip to the Pinstripe Bowl for motivation.

More than anything, that’s what wide receiver Chris Harper uses to drive him in practices these days.

“Last year we were 4-0 and we lost and things went downhill from there,” Harper said. “We did it before, barely making it to a bowl game, and not a great one at that. I don’t think guys want to let that happen again.”

A year ago, K-State started the season hot with wins over UCLA, Missouri State, Iowa State and Central Florida. The Wildcats were close to breaking into the top 25, but then came a lopsided loss to Nebraska. They didn’t win consecutive games the rest of the way, and ended the season at 7-6 with a loss at chilly Yankee Stadium in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Read More »

By Kellis Robinett | Tags: , , , , Filed under Football | Comments Off

Now at the podium: Texas Tech

July 27, 201011:47 a.m.

Under Mike Leach, the Texas Tech Red Raiders became famous for throwing the ball on practically every single play.

They piled up enormous offensive numbers, won a lot of games and churned out impressive quarterback after impressive quarterback.

But now that Texas Tech’s pirate-loving coach is gone, and former Auburn head man Tommy Tuberville has taken his place everyone wants to know what the Air Raid offense will look like.

Will there even be an Air Raid offense?

“We’ll change it to some degree and put our own stamp on it,” Tuberville said. “But we’ll throw the ball.”
Read More »

By Kellis Robinett | Tags: , , , Filed under Football | Comments Off

K-State says it still supports Big 12

June 4, 20106:15 p.m.

Even in the face of wild speculation and conference doomsday scenarios, Kansas State believes in the Big 12.

That was the message president Kirk Schulz and athletic director John Currie sent Friday afternoon by putting out a news release filled with complimentary words directed at the conference it has belonged to since its creation.

“Kansas State University remains firmly committed to the Big 12 and continues to believe in the long-term viability of our league,” Schulz said in the release. “We are optimistic that this process will result in our existing membership affirming our cohesive long-term future together.”
Read More »

By Kellis Robinett | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Filed under Basketball, Football | Comments

Predicting the Big 12 Tournament

March 10, 20101:05 a.m.

Want to know how your favorite Big 12 team will perform at this week’s conference tournament in Kansas City?

Well, I guess you’ll have to watch the games. But if you are curious as to how your favorite team could perform at the Sprint Center, this may be helpful. Below is a look at how all 12 teams, in official seeding order, could do at the Sprint Center.

1. Kansas
Chances of winning it all: High.
Aside from a lone loss at Oklahoma State, the Jayhawks went undefeated in the Big 12 regular season. And after going out in the second round of this tournament a year ago, Sherron Collins and company will be motivated.

Chances of going out early: Remote.
Colorado has been playing well enough lately that it could challenge Kansas on Thursday, but if the Jayhawks meet Texas Tech in the second round they will sleep walk to victory.

2. Kansas State
Chances of winning it all: Fairly high.
Coming off back-to-back losses, the Wildcats are looking at the Big 12 Tournament as their chance to get back into the conversation for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That may be out of reach no matter what they do in Kansas City, but it’s clear they will be playing with something to prove. And that’s when K-State is at its best.
Read More »

By Kellis Robinett | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Filed under Basketball, Big 12 | Comments Off

Big 12 Power Rankings (Week 9)

March 5, 201011:57 a.m.

With Oklahoma State’s big win over Kansas last weekend, there is no more bubble talk for the Big 12.

Seven teams are locked in to the NCAA Tournament. Five teams have no shot at an at-large bid. End of discussion.

According to Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology Oklahoma State is the Big 12′s last team in as a No. 8 seed. Pretty solid. And with wins over the league’s top-two teams, the Cowboys won’t be falling to the NIT anytime soon.

Eighth-place Colorado is way behind Oklahoma State in the standings, and unless a real underdog can win four games in four days at the Sprint Center for the league’s automatic-bid to the Big Dance, everyone else is dreaming of the NIT.
Read More »

By Kellis Robinett | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Filed under Basketball | Comments

Big 12 Power Rankings (Week 8)

Feb. 26, 201012:19 p.m.

The Big 12 season is winding down, and so is the race for Big 12 Player of the Year.

Who will win the award? With three games to go, it remains a debated topic.

Most in the media believe it is a three-man competition between Sherron Collins, James Anderson and Cole Aldrich. But coaches have gone out of their way to speak highly of Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente in the past week. Damion James and Donald Sloan have also put together worthy campaigns.

Arguments can be made for each of them, and possibly a player or two more.
Read More »

By Kellis Robinett | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Filed under Basketball, Big 12 | Comments Off

Postgame: K-State 83, Texas Tech 64

Feb. 24, 20103:13 a.m.

When Kansas State’s 83-64 victory over Texas Tech was complete Tuesday at United Spirit Arena, there was no reason for the Wildcats to celebrate.

Oh sure, they crushed the Red Raiders in business-like fashion and won their first game in Lubbock, Texas since the 1980s, but the victory was expected.

After winning six straight games overall and six straight on the road (all against Big 12 competition) the Wildcats have come to look at results like Tuesday’s as ordinary.

In his postgame news conference, K-State coach Frank Martin said his players spent so little time patting each other on the back that they were already thinking about Saturday’s game against Missouri before leaving the locker room.
Read More »

By Kellis Robinett | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Filed under Basketball | Comments

Winning at Texas Tech is never easy

Feb. 23, 20104:24 p.m.

Texas Tech’s United Spirit Arena is one of the tallest buildings in Lubbock, and much like every large structure on the South Plains, it can be seen from a long ways off.

The 15,000-seat arena is relatively new and has no great history. There are no intimidating banners hung from its rafters and fans only pack the place for big games when the home team is having success. It is not yet a landmark in West Texas.

Yet, it is a facility that has been good to the Red Raiders over the years. Not only does Texas Tech regularly play like a top 25 team at home, it pulls a major upset at home every season.

For that reason, the No. 6 Kansas State basketball team could be in for its toughest game since the beginning of February tonight.
Read More »

By Kellis Robinett | Tags: , , , Filed under Basketball | Comments Off