Rapid Recap: Kansas State ready for Sunflower Showdown rivalry

STATUS OF KANSAS STATE SAFETY

Kansas State is down another safety. Though his tweet suggested that it was the case already, head coach Chris Klieman announced on Tuesday that safety Cincere Mason is out for the season due to the injury he suffered against West Virginia in Morgantown.

K-State is very thin at the spot. Even Klieman suggested that they had really been depleted at the position the last few weeks. Not only are they without Mason, Kansas State lost Kobe Savage the week before as well.

Though the Wildcats will have to count on TJ Smith and VJ Payne a bit more, and perhaps even Nickendre Stiger, it also means that they have to lean on starters Josh Hayes and Drake Cheatum a bit more too, and they have to show up and rise to the occasion.

UPDATE ON ADRIAN

Klieman also shared that Adrian Martinez is improving, but the K-State quarterback is unavailable once again after suffering an injury versus Baylor. He remains week-to-week in terms of his return and the Wildcats hope he’s back sooner rather than later.

THE DIFFERENCE FOR KU

One of the stories of the Big 12 season is the Kansas Jayhawks. Lance Leipold has them bowl eligible for the first time since 2008. Because of that, they could already have their prize and mail it in, as some has opined, but most of us know that isn’t the case.

They would love nothing better than to keep rival Kansas State from appearing in the Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington. Kansas already prevented the Wildcats from clinching a berth by rolling over and being smacked by Texas last weekend.

However, they’ll be up for the Sunflower Showdown in Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan. Chris Klieman noted that the biggest difference between this year’s Kansas squad and the past ones is that the Jayhawks believe that they can win.

Leipold has improved the culture and instilled confidence, and everyone plays better when they trust in what they are doing. The buy-in and belief in the system has made them a considerably improved team.

IMPACT OF K-STATE TIGHT END

Everything with the offense was made better by the rise of Ben Sinnott at tight end, said the K-State head coach. His presence and proven ability to be quite an offensive weapon has made life better for all of Malik Knowles, Deuce Vaughn, Will Howard, Adrian Martinez and company.

Teams have to worry about him, so it leaves great matchups for Knowles in the open field. It has given more man coverage in passing downs for Vaughn. Because he’s so good after the catch, hard to guard and has a great idea of space, Sinnott has been a tremendous target for Howard in the passing game.

Everyone’s game has elevated because Sinnott has become one of the better tight ends in the Big 12 and Collin Klein knows just how to use him to the advantage of Kansas State.

SENIOR CLASS

Because of the frozen eligibility clock during college football in the pandemic, Senior Day is still a bit of a mess. Klieman joked that he’s going to shake the hand of some seniors that he shook the hand of last year and he’ll shake the hands of a few this year that he will wink and say, “See you next year.”

That is life in college athletics anymore. Nothing is very certain and everything is obscure. A clear and concise world doesn’t exist.

KANSAS STATE JUMBO PACKAGE

For those that don’t know, K-State has deployed a bit of a jumbo package at the goal line the last two weeks, which consists of DJ Giddens at running back. Vaughn has been pumped about watching it in action, even if it isn’t designed for him.

As Howard noted, it’s just an old-school, smashmouth football set that they like to use and want to use when needing short yardage deep in the red zone. The mindset that is required is a fun one when they insert a sixth offensive lineman in the game in Andrew Leingang.

The heavy personnel was an idea concocted by offensive line coach Conor Riley. He thought it would be another creative way for them to attack those situations when they need just a couple yards. Kansas State had been struggling in that department, but the creativity and new ideas by Klein and company have swung the pendulum in the other direction.

Leingang is also trending up more and more as a player for the Wildcats after the adversity in the first month or two of the season, and it was another way of finding snaps for the redshirt freshman that will log a bunch of starts in the future for K-State.

RAY GUY AWARD

It was released on Monday but Kansas State kicker/punter Ty Zentner is a semifinalist for the Ray Guy award this season, a distinction given to the nation’s best punter. Of course, he was grateful for the honor and even paid his respects to who the award is named after since Guy passed away in the last year.

Some of the allure of Zentner is that he participates in all three phases of special teams, and Klieman shared that it is why he should be the winner of it. Punting, kicking off and nailing all of the field goals is a tough task and he’s been perfect since adding place-kicking to his responsibilities.

I asked the super senior if it was an adjustment or if a tired leg comes into the equation by doing all three, and he revealed that he was a bit more sore than usual when he began to so for the Wildcats.

POTENTIAL DISTRACTIONS

No, Klieman was not alluding to the Nebraska job when he mentioned potential distractions for the week. When he discussed and alluded to unique things that they had to navigate this week, he was referring to Senior Day festivities, the Thanksgiving holiday, the heightened sense of the rivalry and the Big 12 Championship stakes.

On top of that, it was already going to be an odd week that messed with the routine a bit because they also don’t have class to attend, either. The players are dealt with an odd week that is like no other. There’s no class, they can leave to enjoy time with family for a brief moment, and oh by the way, the game is for the Governor’s Cup and a berth in the Big 12 Championship Game.

As an extension of all of that, Klieman took his time at the microphone to also share his belief that rivalry games are meant to occur at the end of the season. He knows he has no say but wanted to insist that they play Kansas in the finale each year.