Thanks to a 31-22 victory over the UCLA Bruins on Saturday, K-State is 1-0 and their streak of victories in season openers is still intact. Let's review what we learned (or were reminded of) in the victory.
Daniel Thomas may not be human.
Thomas carried the ball (a career-high) 28 times. He ran for (a career-high) 234 yards. He took more hits than a blind cage fighter. He even touched the ball on eight-of-12 plays on K-State's opening scoring drive. A mere mortal would have collapsed in a heap of muscles and ligaments. Thomas, on the other hand, broke free for a 35-yard score on his final carry of the day. Some might suggest that he should be tested for every performance enhancer imaginable. Me? I'm not sure how one tests if a running back is actually a cyborg. See if he responds positively to pictures of female robots?
Thomas' backup is not to shabby, either
UCLA defenders might have assumed they'd get a bit of a break when Thomas left the field on Saturday. If so, they though wrong. Senior running back William Powell helped ensure that the Wildcat running game did not miss a beat when Thomas left the field, gaining 72 yards on just six carries. What answer is there when two opposing backs combine for 305 yards against you? I'm somewhat surprised UCLA defenders did not begin casually approaching Thomas and Powell and - rather than attempting to tackle them - attempt to convince them that they were headed the wrong direction.
"You'll have to forgive my friend. He's a little slow... Your end zone is back THAT way."
Running back is a team strength, but quarterback is not
To Carson Coffman's credit, he looked fairly strong on his first four passes of the day (all of which he completed) and the final 11-completions-16-attempts line is not bad... Unfortunately, Coffman seemed to react to a pass rush in the same sort of manner that the teenage iteration of the author reacted around females that showed any interest in him whatsoever: flustered and completely clueless of what to do. (Luckily, the author was never crushed by a 300-pound lineman as a result of his misgivings.) The Bruins sacked Coffman five times and the quarterback missed a wide-open Brodrick Smith on a layup of a pass that would have meant a sure six points. Coffman left the game for a few minutes with cramps and backup Collin Klein did nothing to show that he should have been playing instead.
Coach Bill Snyder knows what he's doing*
What do you do when your quarterback play is rough, but your running back is one of the best in the nation? You run. You run again. Then, you run some more. When you pass the ball, you keep the routes short and try to keep the reads easy. You're looking at precisely what was done on Saturday.
*Hello, Obvious. My name is Derek. Pleasure to meet you.
Defensive end Brandon Harold is a difference-maker
As a freshman in 2008, Harold tallied 10.5 tackles for loss on his way to being named a Freshman All-American by multiple publications. Last season, the Wildcats were hoping for a similar performance. Instead, injuries limited Harold to just one game. In his stead, K-State was forced to improvise in attempt to create a pass rush. Such improve included moving a 4th-string quarterback and a safety to defensive end in passing situations. The results were about as encouraging as a pep talk from Debbie Downer. Harold returned to the K-State starting lineup on Saturday. Though he registered just one sack, he pressured the quarterback on several occasions and helped cause the mess that was Kevin Princes 9-completions/26-attempts/2-interceptions line.
UCLA's receivers need to invest in Stick-um... or crazy glue... or a pot of honey...
When Harold wasn't haunting Prince's dreams, the Bruin QB did not receive a lot of help from his receivers. If you were counting their dropped passes, I hope you had a calculator handy.
This season could be a fun one
The game against UCLA was certainly no gimme. K-State was far from perfect, but they showed they have what it takes to overcome some adversity and pick up victories... That's certainly more than some folks down the road to the east can say.
Daniel Thomas may not be human.
Thomas carried the ball (a career-high) 28 times. He ran for (a career-high) 234 yards. He took more hits than a blind cage fighter. He even touched the ball on eight-of-12 plays on K-State's opening scoring drive. A mere mortal would have collapsed in a heap of muscles and ligaments. Thomas, on the other hand, broke free for a 35-yard score on his final carry of the day. Some might suggest that he should be tested for every performance enhancer imaginable. Me? I'm not sure how one tests if a running back is actually a cyborg. See if he responds positively to pictures of female robots?
Thomas' backup is not to shabby, either
UCLA defenders might have assumed they'd get a bit of a break when Thomas left the field on Saturday. If so, they though wrong. Senior running back William Powell helped ensure that the Wildcat running game did not miss a beat when Thomas left the field, gaining 72 yards on just six carries. What answer is there when two opposing backs combine for 305 yards against you? I'm somewhat surprised UCLA defenders did not begin casually approaching Thomas and Powell and - rather than attempting to tackle them - attempt to convince them that they were headed the wrong direction.
"You'll have to forgive my friend. He's a little slow... Your end zone is back THAT way."
Running back is a team strength, but quarterback is not
To Carson Coffman's credit, he looked fairly strong on his first four passes of the day (all of which he completed) and the final 11-completions-16-attempts line is not bad... Unfortunately, Coffman seemed to react to a pass rush in the same sort of manner that the teenage iteration of the author reacted around females that showed any interest in him whatsoever: flustered and completely clueless of what to do. (Luckily, the author was never crushed by a 300-pound lineman as a result of his misgivings.) The Bruins sacked Coffman five times and the quarterback missed a wide-open Brodrick Smith on a layup of a pass that would have meant a sure six points. Coffman left the game for a few minutes with cramps and backup Collin Klein did nothing to show that he should have been playing instead.
Coach Bill Snyder knows what he's doing*
What do you do when your quarterback play is rough, but your running back is one of the best in the nation? You run. You run again. Then, you run some more. When you pass the ball, you keep the routes short and try to keep the reads easy. You're looking at precisely what was done on Saturday.
*Hello, Obvious. My name is Derek. Pleasure to meet you.
Defensive end Brandon Harold is a difference-maker
As a freshman in 2008, Harold tallied 10.5 tackles for loss on his way to being named a Freshman All-American by multiple publications. Last season, the Wildcats were hoping for a similar performance. Instead, injuries limited Harold to just one game. In his stead, K-State was forced to improvise in attempt to create a pass rush. Such improve included moving a 4th-string quarterback and a safety to defensive end in passing situations. The results were about as encouraging as a pep talk from Debbie Downer. Harold returned to the K-State starting lineup on Saturday. Though he registered just one sack, he pressured the quarterback on several occasions and helped cause the mess that was Kevin Princes 9-completions/26-attempts/2-interceptions line.
UCLA's receivers need to invest in Stick-um... or crazy glue... or a pot of honey...
When Harold wasn't haunting Prince's dreams, the Bruin QB did not receive a lot of help from his receivers. If you were counting their dropped passes, I hope you had a calculator handy.
This season could be a fun one
The game against UCLA was certainly no gimme. K-State was far from perfect, but they showed they have what it takes to overcome some adversity and pick up victories... That's certainly more than some folks down the road to the east can say.
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