Rapid recap: Kansas State standouts versus Arizona
Kansas State standouts
After taking some time after the Friday night win versus Arizona, Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman was asked about his standouts from the game. Sam Hecht was the first player mentioned by the K-State head coach. Klieman believes the junior center played his best game at Kansas State Friday night.
Tobi Osunsanmi played more snaps and continues improving as the season progresses. Remember, it is just Osunsanmi’s first season as a defensive end after moving from linebacker.
Austin Romaine continues his steady improvement as a true sophomore after being thrust into action as a true freshman. Romaine finished the game with seven tackles Friday after recording eight versus Tulane.
Klieman also noted Kansas State improved more from week three across the board compared to week two.
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Offensive improvement
Kansas State’s offense also took a step in the win versus Arizona. Klieman and offensive coordinator Conor Riley made it a point to be more aggressive and start faster. Riley strived to get Avery Johnson on the edge which caused issues for Arizona. Throwing on first down helped the Wildcats and they were productive when they did. The biggest improvement for Kansas State was staying on the field. K-State was able to sustain drives and was over 50 percent on third down versus Arizona.
How to handle altitude
Going to BYU provides a unique challenge for the Wildcats this week. Provo is in the mountains and is 4,551 feet above sea level. Kansas State is going to do a few different things to adjust to the altitude in preparation for the game this week. However, the discussion will mostly be later this week and there are some discussions about how much can be done in a short time to adjust.
A look at BYU
The Cougars are a new opponent for Kansas State. K-State hasn’t played BYU since 1996 and only eight times total. Klieman had high praise for the Cougars quarterback Jake Retzlaff. The Kansas State head coach called him one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks the Wildcats have faced this season. Opposed to Tulane’s Darian Mensah and Arizona’s Noah Fifita, Retzlaff can scramble and looks to run instead of run to throw.
The Cougars are fast and physical and play very hard. It will come down to who can win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
