D
Derek Young
Guest
OFFENSE
There wasn’t a whole lot to be happy about in the first half if we are being completely honest. Kansas State only had 71 total yards by halftime.
They only had three points but still could have had more. The drive where they had 1st and goal at the 5 was a soul-crusher. Delton and Pringle connected for a long pass, hitting the wideout in stride on the slant. TCU showed off their team speed and athleticism by tracking it down and preventing it from going the distance.
But that drive came away with zero points. On 2nd and goal from the 5, Byron Pringle was called for a false start followed by a bobbled snap by Delton that lost yards as well. The young quarterback bobbled a few snaps by trying to take off before having the snap secure. On 3rd down, Delton threw a touchdown that was called back due to pass interference on Pringle. On 3rd and goal from the 26, they rushed the snap to prevent a delay of game and Delton was sacked as the blitz got to him. Not only that, he coughed up the ball and TCU recovered.
That can’t happen. Plus, the Wildcats had all three timeouts at their disposal at that point. Why not call timeout instead of rushing into the snap with an inexperienced signal caller? A timeout was worth it in that situation to ensure that you at least come up with three points.
Pringle had a precarious start to the game, but all in all, you can make the argument that today’s game was his best performance throughout conference play thus far.
Delton had his ups and downs in his first start. I’ll say that he certainly surprised with his arm. His limitations as a passer are not his arm strength. He certainly has the velocity but also showed some distance today as well. His limitations are definitely his poise under pressure and his decision-making. Delton was rattled and made poor decisions and made his mistakes when TCU sent the blitz. There were a few times where he threw the ball to spots on the field he shouldn’t have such as the near interception on the first drive of the game, and a few of the balls into double coverage down the field. He was fortunate there weren’t more turnovers to his name.
The quarterback run game seemed to be abandoned a bit more today which puzzled us. It seemed like they called more designed runs for Ertz than they did Delton. I understand you have to keep the defense honest but we would have considered running Delton a little bit more. He dropped back to throw 20 times before the fourth quarter. I would not have envisioned that scenario at all.
Again, I would have anticipated more runs with Delton, but more than anything, Kansas State has to be better on first and second down. They need manageable third downs. All the second and third down and longs took a toll. That is why they were 1 for 11 on 3rd downs through three quarters. You can’t put yourself into obvious passing situations with a limited passing game.
Delton sure seemed to go down much easier today than he did against Texas as well. I don’t know if he was just fresh legs against tired Longhorn legs at the end of last week’s contest, but TCU brought him down much easier and he really wasn’t making anyone miss. The Horned Frogs had no problem securing the tackle. Also, is the zone-read really a read? That’d be something I would want to know because there were a few times where I think Delton definitely should have kept, instead of giving it to Barnes. It makes you wonder if he has any authority on giving or taking in those situations.
TCU did have incredible team speed on the defense. Were they over-pursuing some? I would have been curious to know because their quickness as a team was overwhelming and impressive. Maybe a constraint play or two could have caught them? But perhaps not. The double-pass sure didn’t work.
We did see a few players a bit more today than we had in the past; Justin Silmon and Zach Reuter. It seemed like there were fewer snaps from Isaiah Zuber today which is interesting.
DEFENSE
There’s probably a little bit less to be picky about on the defense. They weren’t perfect. They weren’t great. But they were ok, and probably good enough to win. They kept this team in contention throughout the game when TCU probably could have easily pulled away and stomped them.
TCU only had 13 points of offense in the first half. It feels like it should have been more but it wasn’t and the defense deserves credit for that. They held the Horned Frogs to only two field goals and the touchdown came on a 36-yard drive after a bad punt against the wind from Nick Walsh.
A.J. Parker got the start at nickel in place of Jonathan Durham since Cre Moore was unavailable. Parker had a strong first half. His third quarter wasn’t the best and he got lost in coverage a few times.
Everyone likes when Elijah Sullivan plays. He was mainly used on third downs only. Eli Walker was only inserted into the lineup in goal line situations. Boom Massie got some obvious third down pass-rushing snaps.
Outside of the first possession of the game where he closed late on a few balls and allowed some receptions on a couple third and longs, it was another good game from D.J. Reed, of course. He also jumped a few routes that nearly resulted in a couple more interceptions.
The lack of pass rush hurt. Our own Grant Flanders commented early on in the week on the podcast that Kenny Hill was lethal when there was no pressure on him. He showed that today. He carved up the Wildcat defense when he got ample time, but tended to struggle mightily the few times they did get to him.
Speaking of the pass rush, the TCU offensive line dominated. The defensive line for KSU did not make it difficult on them at all. It’d be nice for Reggie Walker and company to be able to affect the game more. But more often than not, Kansas State just hasn’t been able to generate enough of a pass rush this year by just sending four this year. But credit where credit is due, Reggie Walker forced a huge fumble that helped K-State stay in contention.
We should also make note that Will Geary has had a pretty good game once again. The sack by Tanner Wood was caused by his initial pressure, and he had a monster stop all on his lonesome on a 3rd and 1 play in the 2nd half from TCU.
Again, the defense was not elite. It was not great. But they did enough. They are the reason why it was competitive throughout or at least within a few scores instead of four.
SPECIAL TEAMS
It’s tough to evaluate the special teams from either side in today’s game. It really just depended on if you had the wind or not.
Nick Walsh had a 22-yard punt against the wind but also a booming 64-yarder with the wind. Field position certainly benefited the Horned Frogs greatly throughout the first quarter and parts of the second half.
Matt McCrane has had an excellent season and should probably be considered for all-conference honors once this year is over. He was nails again, connecting on both of his field goals today. Meanwhile, TCU also connected on two field goals but missed an extra point.
Kansas State did come close to blocking two different punts today. It was hard to believe that Duke Shelley didn’t get a hand on the one.
I did think it was interesting that it appeared that Gary Patterson was weary of K-State trying something on the opening kickoff of the second half. The Horned Frogs put out their hands team to open the third frame.
There wasn’t a whole lot to be happy about in the first half if we are being completely honest. Kansas State only had 71 total yards by halftime.
They only had three points but still could have had more. The drive where they had 1st and goal at the 5 was a soul-crusher. Delton and Pringle connected for a long pass, hitting the wideout in stride on the slant. TCU showed off their team speed and athleticism by tracking it down and preventing it from going the distance.
But that drive came away with zero points. On 2nd and goal from the 5, Byron Pringle was called for a false start followed by a bobbled snap by Delton that lost yards as well. The young quarterback bobbled a few snaps by trying to take off before having the snap secure. On 3rd down, Delton threw a touchdown that was called back due to pass interference on Pringle. On 3rd and goal from the 26, they rushed the snap to prevent a delay of game and Delton was sacked as the blitz got to him. Not only that, he coughed up the ball and TCU recovered.
That can’t happen. Plus, the Wildcats had all three timeouts at their disposal at that point. Why not call timeout instead of rushing into the snap with an inexperienced signal caller? A timeout was worth it in that situation to ensure that you at least come up with three points.
Pringle had a precarious start to the game, but all in all, you can make the argument that today’s game was his best performance throughout conference play thus far.
Delton had his ups and downs in his first start. I’ll say that he certainly surprised with his arm. His limitations as a passer are not his arm strength. He certainly has the velocity but also showed some distance today as well. His limitations are definitely his poise under pressure and his decision-making. Delton was rattled and made poor decisions and made his mistakes when TCU sent the blitz. There were a few times where he threw the ball to spots on the field he shouldn’t have such as the near interception on the first drive of the game, and a few of the balls into double coverage down the field. He was fortunate there weren’t more turnovers to his name.
The quarterback run game seemed to be abandoned a bit more today which puzzled us. It seemed like they called more designed runs for Ertz than they did Delton. I understand you have to keep the defense honest but we would have considered running Delton a little bit more. He dropped back to throw 20 times before the fourth quarter. I would not have envisioned that scenario at all.
Again, I would have anticipated more runs with Delton, but more than anything, Kansas State has to be better on first and second down. They need manageable third downs. All the second and third down and longs took a toll. That is why they were 1 for 11 on 3rd downs through three quarters. You can’t put yourself into obvious passing situations with a limited passing game.
Delton sure seemed to go down much easier today than he did against Texas as well. I don’t know if he was just fresh legs against tired Longhorn legs at the end of last week’s contest, but TCU brought him down much easier and he really wasn’t making anyone miss. The Horned Frogs had no problem securing the tackle. Also, is the zone-read really a read? That’d be something I would want to know because there were a few times where I think Delton definitely should have kept, instead of giving it to Barnes. It makes you wonder if he has any authority on giving or taking in those situations.
TCU did have incredible team speed on the defense. Were they over-pursuing some? I would have been curious to know because their quickness as a team was overwhelming and impressive. Maybe a constraint play or two could have caught them? But perhaps not. The double-pass sure didn’t work.
We did see a few players a bit more today than we had in the past; Justin Silmon and Zach Reuter. It seemed like there were fewer snaps from Isaiah Zuber today which is interesting.
DEFENSE
There’s probably a little bit less to be picky about on the defense. They weren’t perfect. They weren’t great. But they were ok, and probably good enough to win. They kept this team in contention throughout the game when TCU probably could have easily pulled away and stomped them.
TCU only had 13 points of offense in the first half. It feels like it should have been more but it wasn’t and the defense deserves credit for that. They held the Horned Frogs to only two field goals and the touchdown came on a 36-yard drive after a bad punt against the wind from Nick Walsh.
A.J. Parker got the start at nickel in place of Jonathan Durham since Cre Moore was unavailable. Parker had a strong first half. His third quarter wasn’t the best and he got lost in coverage a few times.
Everyone likes when Elijah Sullivan plays. He was mainly used on third downs only. Eli Walker was only inserted into the lineup in goal line situations. Boom Massie got some obvious third down pass-rushing snaps.
Outside of the first possession of the game where he closed late on a few balls and allowed some receptions on a couple third and longs, it was another good game from D.J. Reed, of course. He also jumped a few routes that nearly resulted in a couple more interceptions.
The lack of pass rush hurt. Our own Grant Flanders commented early on in the week on the podcast that Kenny Hill was lethal when there was no pressure on him. He showed that today. He carved up the Wildcat defense when he got ample time, but tended to struggle mightily the few times they did get to him.
Speaking of the pass rush, the TCU offensive line dominated. The defensive line for KSU did not make it difficult on them at all. It’d be nice for Reggie Walker and company to be able to affect the game more. But more often than not, Kansas State just hasn’t been able to generate enough of a pass rush this year by just sending four this year. But credit where credit is due, Reggie Walker forced a huge fumble that helped K-State stay in contention.
We should also make note that Will Geary has had a pretty good game once again. The sack by Tanner Wood was caused by his initial pressure, and he had a monster stop all on his lonesome on a 3rd and 1 play in the 2nd half from TCU.
Again, the defense was not elite. It was not great. But they did enough. They are the reason why it was competitive throughout or at least within a few scores instead of four.
SPECIAL TEAMS
It’s tough to evaluate the special teams from either side in today’s game. It really just depended on if you had the wind or not.
Nick Walsh had a 22-yard punt against the wind but also a booming 64-yarder with the wind. Field position certainly benefited the Horned Frogs greatly throughout the first quarter and parts of the second half.
Matt McCrane has had an excellent season and should probably be considered for all-conference honors once this year is over. He was nails again, connecting on both of his field goals today. Meanwhile, TCU also connected on two field goals but missed an extra point.
Kansas State did come close to blocking two different punts today. It was hard to believe that Duke Shelley didn’t get a hand on the one.
I did think it was interesting that it appeared that Gary Patterson was weary of K-State trying something on the opening kickoff of the second half. The Horned Frogs put out their hands team to open the third frame.
