From The Couch – K-State Moves To 2-0 In The Big 12 With A Victory Over Texas Tech
K-State beat Texas Tech 37-28 on a beautiful Saturday in Manhattan, Kansas yesterday. K-State received the opening kickoff and two plays later had a 7-0 lead on a 19-yard touchdown run by Adrian Martinez. The Wildcats extended their lead to 13-0 before stalling in the second quarter and letting the Red Raiders tie the game at 13 early in the second half. The teams then traded touchdowns before K-State scored 17 unanswered points to take a 37-20 lead in the fourth quarter. K-State never trailed in the game, just as they did against Oklahoma, to improve to 2-0 in the Big 12 conference. Here are some of the quotes of note and highlights from the game yesterday….
“And so we are up 13 to nothing and then we just played really poorly in the second quarter. We got out of rhythm on offense, didn’t tackle really well on defense after tackling really well in the first quarter. They started blitzing us all the time and we couldn’t get the ground game going.”…Head coach Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: The second quarter was ugly for the Wildcats. Instead of putting this game away early, the offense stalled out and it looked like Courtney Messingham sneaked into the coaches booth and was calling plays. Texas Tech deserves credit for switching things up on defense with their blitz packages, but it took a quarter of football before K-State adjusted to it.
“You can ask the guys I was a little upset at halftime. So yeah, I thought we let them off the hook a little bit. We could have been up big in the first half and we lost some momentum and then we have a dumb penalty and then a field goal before half and it’s 13-10. And you’re like how is this game 13-10. But I challenged the guys at half time, that we were a better football team and that we needed to rise up and show some results and somebody needs to make some plays. And we needed to, you know, stand up in the second half and say, people aren’t going to come in here and push us around at home.”…Head coach Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: Whatever Klieman told the team at halftime appeared to work. K-State scored 24 points in the second half.
“He (Adrian Martinez) was really good. Our offensive line blocked in the run game really well, and he was very patient. And when you blitz a lot and you crack that first line, there are not many kids that can catch Adrian and he had a couple of explosive plays.”…Head coach Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: Martinez put together a second straight stellar performance. He ran for 171 yards on the day with three rushing touchdowns. He added 116 yards and a touchdown through the air.
“Deuce [Vaughn] had a couple of explosive plays in time where we had to flip the field.”…Head coach Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: Vaughn had a great game as well, rushing for 170 yards. the combo of Martinez and Vaughn each rushed for 100 yards for two games in a row, which is the only time in school history that this has happened.
“But I was excited because he (Khalid Duke) had a big smile when we said you’re going to get to rush the quarterback today. And he had some big plays.”…Head coach Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: Khalid Duke had a great game, getting three sacks on the day. I don’t know, maybe let him rush the quarterback every game?
“It was huge. It was what everybody has been saying preseason about how me and Khalid. That’s what’s going to happen all season because me and Khalid are going to take down every offense we come across.”…Defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, post-game
JM: If these words prove to be prophetic, K-State will be playing in the Big 12 championship game this December. Felix added three sacks on the day himself. Here is video of a big strip-sack during the game…
“Those guys are monsters. You guys saw for yourselves. They each had three sacks, that speaks for itself. It’s huge having guys up front that we know are going to get home, not that they might get home, but they are going to. On the backend I know I’ve got to cover for five seconds max and if the ball isn’t out by then they’re going to be there. It makes the game a little more comfortable. I can take a couple more risks.”…Safety Josh Hayes, post-game
JM: Felix and Khalid, the “Monsters of Manhattan?”
JM: It could be a special season for K-State if this keeps up.
JM: The first two runs of the game were both exceptional runs. No hesitation by Martinez. He just took the snap and ran. Excellent.
JM: Anyone betting that one?
JM: After Texas Tech tied the game up at 20, I commented that K-State needed a touchdown on the next drive. Adrian Martinez delivered. Did you see him fly by Deuce Vaughn on the run? A thing of beauty.
JM: Deuce Vaughn now has 2,684 career rushing yards, which is good enough for fifth place on the all-time list. He is just 309 yards behind John Hubert for second place on the list behind Darren Sproles.(4,979 yards)
K-State travels to Ames, Iowa next Saturday to play Iowa State at 6:30. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
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