Rapid recap: Praise for a Kansas State safety
A look at Houston
Houston seems to be finding an identity recently. The Cougars are running the ball and running the ball a lot. Houston is also running the quarterback with Zeon Chriss. Quarterback run game has hurt Kansas State recently. Though last week was more about K-State losing its contain and especially early on.
The Cougars may also use Donovan Smith at quarterback Saturday. Kansas State has experience playing against Smith at both Texas Tech and last year at Houston. Interestingly, K-State has not watched much of the film from the Houston game last season and is watching more for personnel than tendencies with new coach Willie Fritz. The Wildcats have spent a bit of time watching the Tulane game from 2022, but not much.
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Praise for a Kansas State safety
VJ Payne made a huge play at the end of the game last week versus Kansas. He came in on a blitz and disrupted the last play and made Jalon Daniels roll out. Payne timed the blitz well which is impressive from coming in from the safety spot. How he was able to time the blitz is a credit to the junior safeties film study. His speed is something Kansas State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman sees on a regular basis, but last week was one of the first time he was able to hit it in a game.
Steady defender
Damian Ilalio continues to be rock solid for Kansas State all season. The Manhattan native does not have many flaws in terms of technique. The junior is also like Payne in how much film study he has done this season. Ilalio knows what other teams want to do offensively and is showing it on the field. Klanderman used an example of knowing West Virginia wanted to run screens and he was able to record three tackles for a loss against screens two weeks ago.
