From The Couch – The Knuth Hurts
Fifth-year senior quarterback Jacob Knuth started in place of Avery Johnson yesterday at Arizona State and despite his valiant effort, he was unable to lead K-State to victory. Arizona State rushed for 147 yards and won a sloppy game by the score of 28-17. K-State couldn’t get anything going on the ground, despite playing against one of the worst rush defenses in the Big 12. On the other hand, Arizona State held the Wildcats to 87 yards rushing. Both teams had issues with injured quarterbacks. Knuth looked to be injured and limping by the end of the game, and Arizona State was forced to go with a freshman quarterback to finish out the game.
There is not a lot to break down in this one. K-State is going to struggle if Avery Johnson isn’t able to play. The Wildcat offense was limited to short passes on offense. Once Arizona State figured that out, they shut down the running game as well. Head coach Collin Klein said it had been a difficult week leading up to the game…
“It’s been a hard week. I was proud of the fight and resiliency our guys showed through the week as we were going through what we did. I’m very proud of Jacob. It’s part of football, injuries happen, they’re very unfortunate, and my heart breaks for Avery and Garrett Oakley, and our guys that are dinged up right now, but at the end of the day, that’s a part of it.”…K-State head coach Collin Klein, post-game
JM: I don’t think Klein was making excuses here, just stating the facts.
“That second half we didn’t execute very well under pressure. We had some critical mistakes on conversion downs that bit us, and we ran for 84 yards, and that’s not going to work.”…Collin Klein, post-game
JM: K-State had a 17-14 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter and had a 4th and 12 on the Arizona State 37-yard line. It was decision time for Collin Klein. Try a long field goal, go for it, or punt the ball and try to pin Arizona State back deep in their own territory. Klein inexplicably chose to go for it. The Wildcats were unsuccessful. Arizona State took over with all the momentum. They scored a touchdown to take a 21-17 lead and they never relinquished it. K-State could never get anything going on offense again. Here is what Klein had to say about the decision to go for it on 4th and 12, which ended up being the key moment in the game…
JM: Interesting that he doesn’t regret the decision at all. I thought it was an awful call.
JM: Avery Johnson may be out for the remainder of the season. Not good. K-State isn’t going to beat anybody left on the schedule without him.
JM: Baylor lost to Kansas yesterday and that was the last straw for Dave Aranda. Better not lose to Kansas, or you just may lose your job.
K-State plays at Colorado next Saturday at 1:00. Stay tuned for news about the status of Avery Johnson.
