From The Couch – K-State Is Back In The Race After Dominating Win Over TCU
The question, and somewhat of a controversy, for the past week was….who would start at quarterback for K-State against TCU? K-State head coach Chris Klieman pulled a fast one on fans by starting both quarterbacks on the first play of the game. Will Howard lined up under center and Avery Johnson lined up in the slot, went in motion and Howard handed the ball off to Johnson for a gain of a few yards. Howard continued under center for the first drive, a drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by DJ Giddens to put K-State up 7-0. Howard and Johnson alternated series in the first half and the Wildcats never looked back, cruising to a 27-3 halftime lead and 41-3 victory over TCU. Both quarterbacks were great, but it took a total team effort to earn the dominating win.
Here is what the players and coaches had to say after the game, along with some highlights.
JM: I have never been a fan of a two quarterback system. Normally, if you have to play two quarterbacks, that means you don’t have a clear cut starter. However, the way that Chris Klieman is utilizing Will Howard and Avery Johnson has worked out perfectly. They are different players with different skill sets, which makes it difficult for opposing defenses. If both quarterbacks are as effective as they were against TCU, nobody is going to stop K-State’s offense.
JM: I love how Avery remains humble, giving credit to his starting quarterback and leader Will Howard and his offensive line. For comparison purposes, here is how each quarterback performed:
Will Howard: 10/16 passing for 154 yards and three touchdowns. ZERO interceptions, his first game this season with no interceptions. Four carries for 62 yards, a 15.5 yard per carry average.
Avery Johnson: 5/10 passing for 90 yards and a touchdown. Also, zero interceptions. 16 carries for 73 yards, a 4.6 yard per carry average.
JM: Johnson is a human highlight reel. I love how he waits for his blockers and the holes to open up and then bursts through them. His field vision and ability to juke defenders is also spectacular.
JM: Did anyone else have the DJ Giddens parlay on DraftKings? This guy did!
JM: Johnson had a couple of beautiful pass completions in the game.
JM: Johnson to Brown is something we are likely to see a lot in the next few years.
JM: Jayce Brown led K-State in receiving with four catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.
JM: A fun moment that shows the kind of relationship that these guys have. They are making each other better.
JM: Brown’s first touchdown of many, I’m sure.
“For starters, hats off to our fans. Another sellout. It was unbelievably loud. It impacted the game. Our players were loving it. It was extremely loud out there, the entire game, and we need them back here again at 11 o’clock next week because they make a huge difference for us. I can’t thank our fans enough for coming out and selling this place out again.”…K-State head coach Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: The fans are loving this. Keep it going. This team is back in the race. Texas struggled against Houston and Oklahoma struggled against UCF. Both won very close and competitive games. No game remaining on the schedule is unwinnable. It’s gonna be a fun ride.
“That’s a really good offense, [TCU] averaging 40 points or something but more importantly 80 plays. You saw the tempo of how fast they were going. We’ve had a great plan and those kids executed at a high level. One of the guys that does not get enough credit on defense, and he should, is Jake Clifton. We lost Austin Romaine last week to an injury, so we said to Jake, ‘Now you gotta go play a different position,’ and he had to play linebacker the whole game.”…K-State head coach Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: Did you think I forgot to mention the great play of K-State’s defense? Nope. They made stops when they needed to and held TCU to three points. Outstanding.
“I’m disappointed. I’m a little miffed how we can play as well as we did last week, and as poorly as we did this week, don’t really understand it. But obviously, we’ve got to try to figure it out. There wasn’t doubt before the game, not at all, we thought we were ready to play these guys. We were excited. Like I said, confident, I came in the ga
me with a lot of confidence and our players did.”…TCU head coach Sonny Dykes, post-game
JM: I think that’s called “getting outcoached.”
K-State hosts Houston next Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Get there early and be loud! Win that one, and the Cats play Texas for second place in the Big 12 the following week. Let’s get ‘er done!
