Rapid Recap: A fiery speech from Chris Klieman sparks Kansas State offense

KANSAS STATE LETS TECH OFF THE HOOK

Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman really harped on the second quarter where he felt his team let Texas Tech off the hook. They had the Red Raiders down 13-0, only netted a field goal after turning them over on downs and didn’t score off of two turnovers.

Instead, they didn’t capitalize off of those defensive plays, stalled on offense in an excessive manner and allowed Texas Tech to climb back into the game and make it a three-point contest with a chance to take the lead coming out of halftime since they had the ball first.

Fortunately, the Wildcats showed resolve.

FIERY HALFTIME SPEECH FROM KLIEMAN

While he appreciated the way that they responded to some of the in-game adversity and having their backs against the wall for a brief moment versus the Red Raiders, K-State head coach Chris Klieman was not afraid to share that he really lit into his offense at halftime.

He’s typically not someone that is all that animated when he speaks to his team. But he hinted that he really laid into the offensive side of the ball at the break for not having the killer instinct and falling asleep at the wheel in the second quarter.

The blocking suffered, the running game was stymied and Adrian Martinez was running for his life a bit. Deuce Vaughn, Cooper Beebe and Martinez all referenced the Kansas State head coach’s speech at halftime and how it was a well-received message that had their eyes widened.

It was just what they needed, apparently. Klieman pushed the button at the right time.

UPDATES ON HUGGINS AND KT

The injury bug is something that K-State hasn’t been adept at avoiding. Nate Matlack took a step forward and saw slightly more than the three snaps we saw from him versus Oklahoma. However, they also lost Eli Huggins and KT Leveston during the game on Saturday and neither returned.

Klieman didn’t have an update on either.

TURNING DUKE LOOSE IN PASS RUSH

It was another big day for the Kansas State pass rush, and most of it was owned by Khalid Duke and Felix Anudike-Uzomah. Each had three sacks, and Anudike-Uzomah also tied the school record for career fumbles forced.

Both credited K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman for their opportunities, citing that he created an excellent game plan and formulated an excellent scheme to apply even more pressure on the Red Raider quarterbacks.

Texas Tech had no answer for either. Duke was placed at the line of scrimmage and turned loose after the passer much more versus the Red Raiders than any contest this season, and that was just part of their plan and approach.

Klieman admitted that Duke had the biggest smile on his face this week when they told him that he was going to be unleashed and utilized in pass-rushing situations a lot more.

KANSAS STATE NIGHTMARE TANDEMS

Anudike-Uzomah and Duke weren’t the only nightmare tandem that Texas Tech had to deal with on Saturday in Manhattan. The Wildcats have a pair of those. The offensive one consisting of Martinez and Vaughn combined for 341 yards on the ground.

Vaughn hasn’t scored a touchdown in the last three games, and Martinez has gobbled a lot of them up, but both chose to be very humble about the designation. Vaughn shared that he doesn’t care if he were to never record another touchdown if they won the Big 12, and Martinez insisted that teams are still much more worried about Deuce than him.