Rapid Recap: Where Kansas State can improve on defense
Area of improvement
Kansas State has been inconsistent on the defensive side of the ball this season. After allowing six points to UT-Martin, Tulane scored 27 and exploited the Wildcats through the air, Arizona only managed seven points and then BYU tacked on 38 points last week.
Not all of the 38 points fell on the defense, as they were put in tough spots after turnovers by the offense. There was also a special teams score. There was also a defensive score from BYU on Saturday night as well.
However, K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman did not mince words about the defensive performance. He was not pleased with their performance after the sudden changes for starters, meaning following the interceptions from Avery Johnson.
Kansas State must be better at getting off the field. The Wildcats had a few different opportunities to help the offense out failed to do so. There were some good things from the game against the Cougars, but critical errors that led to big plays.
A look at Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State returns a lot of production from last season. Because of that, K-State is very familiar with the Cowboys’ offense. They run a lot of RPO’s and put the defense in a tough spot. They want to put linebackers in conflict.
Top 10
- 1New
Kalen has Kirby scrambling
Alabama offense puts Georgia in a blender
- 2Hot
Jeremiah Smith
Ohio State 5-star true freshman WR makes insane TD snag
- 3
Upset
Kentucky beats No. 6 Ole Miss on the road
- 4
Travis Hunter
Colorado star hits Heisman pose after ridiculous interception
- 5Live
Meltdown
Auburn fans react to 27-21 loss to Oklahoma
Additionally, star running back Ollie Gordon (despite struggling this season) is a powerful runner with an impressive stiff arm and also has enough wiggle to get around defenders. Opposing teams have been stacking the box this season to limit his impact.
Brennan Presley has been a thorn in the side of Kansas State the past few years. Oklahoma State is able to get him the ball in creative ways and he does it all. he helped the Cowboys win the game last season on a third down play where K-State could not get off the field.
Kansas State secondary
Some of the inconsistency of the Wildcats’ defense has came from the secondary. Kansas State is struggling in man coverage situations. However, it is not a technique error but passing players off has caused many problems and breakdowns this season.
Tulane was able to expose it, and BYU replicated some of that in Provo. If the K-State secondary is not all on the same page, they will continue to have problems.
