K-State dominated TCU on the scoreboard yesterday, winning 31-12. Skylar Thompson and Deuce Vaughn were great again, but the player of the game was Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who recorded four sacks and forced fumbles on two additional plays that were initially recorded as sacks, but were eventually removed as sacks. He also barely missed a sack on TCU’s second possession of the game. The four sacks in the game tied a K-State record, previously set by Chris Johnson against Missouri on November 18th, 2000. He was definitely “The Hulk” in this game and earned the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week award. Let’s take a look at what everyone was saying after this big win by the Wildcats….

“I really feel like we are getting better after going through a little bit of a rut.”…K-State head coach Chris Klieman

JM: Are the Wildcats getting better or is the competition getting worse? No question this was a good win, but TCU is not a good team.

“The crowd was fabulous as usual. We can’t thank the fans enough for coming out and supporting our guys.”…K-State head coach Chris Klieman

JM: It’s always a nice gesture when the coach thanks the fans!

“He’s (Felix Aniduke-Uzomah) just relentless. He’s a terrific pass rusher. He lets the game come to him.”…K-State head coach Chris Klieman

JM: Felix had four sacks, eight tackles, and two forced fumbles. And at least a few near misses on sacks and tackles. In the third quarter, he tackled the quarterback about a yard past the line of scrimmage so it was recorded as a tackle instead of a sack. He was close to having seven sacks in this game. Just an amazing effort.

“The amount of work that he puts in, his effort, his toughness, it shows. I’m just so proud of him. What Felix did today, that was the first time I had ever witnessed something like that. That was remarkable. It just goes to show all the work he puts in, he works hard, he’s a humble kid, he’s not a bad dude. He deserves it.”…Reggie Stubblefield, K-State defensive back

JM: In addition to being a great player, his teammates like and respect him. And remember, he’s only a sophomore!

“You’re inside the five three times, so you gotta score. Defensively it came down to five plays on defense, they played well beside that.”…Gary Patterson, TCU head coach

JM: Total yardage gained by each team was pretty close. K-State outgained TCU 388 to 340. K-State had a great goal-line stand with six minutes left in the first half. TCU had the ball first and goal from the two-yard line. The Wildcats were up 14-3 at the time and they stuffed TCU on four straight plays. Last week, K-State pinned Texas Tech on their own one-yard line and Felix Anudike-Uzomah recorded a safety on a questionable delayed handoff draw to the running back by Texas Tech. This week, K-State had the ball on their own one-yard line after the goal-line stand and what do they call? A delayed handoff draw play to Deuce Vaughn, who was tackled in the endzone for a safety. There wasn’t much to complain about in this game, but that was a terrible play call.

“On the first touchdown (by Deuce Vaughn) I called what we call a double smoke where the guy has the quarterback. It’s a perfect call and he doesn’t make the play. I can’t call a better call on that first touchdown, exactly what we worked on in practice, exactly what you needed, you have to make the play.”…Gary Patterson, TCU head coach

JM: Did Patterson just throw a kid under the bus? Yes, he did.

“Oh yeah, it was awesome for them. It’s hard to get a six-sack game. That’s why it never happens. You gotta give the young man a lot of credit, but you gotta give the coverage group a lot of credit because that’s what happens when nobody is open.”…Gary Patterson, TCU head coach

JM: I chuckled at “it’s hard to get a six sack game. That’s why it never happens.”

“Sophomore running back Deuce Vaughn rushed 20 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns to go along with two catches for 49 yards.”…Kstatesports.com

JM: Deuce just keeps putting up numbers. The cartwheel he did on his second touchdown run was a thing of beauty. It’s easy to take him for granted, kind of like everyone did with Patrick Mahomes. I wanted to point out that he had another great game.

“100.0 – TCU’s red zone percentage entering Saturday’s game before K-State held the Horned Frogs scoreless twice inside the 20-yard line.”…Kstatesports.com

JM: This is another stat that needs to be pointed out. K-State’s defense played great overall, but especially in the RedZone, which is why the margin of victory was 19 points instead of being much closer.

With the win, K-State improved to 5-3 on the season, 2-3 in the Big 12. The Sunflower Showdown is next Saturday at 11:00 in Lawrence. K-State will become bowl eligible with a victory. Onward and upward!

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