K-State vs. Miami preview

Miami Hurricanes

 

Welcome to the crazy train, Miami.  Ay, ay, ay, ay.

Players to watch  
Duke Johnson - Duke is the speedy freshman running back that broke open the game against Boston College last week.  If you tried to watch that game, you understand why everyone is talking about Duke this week. It's not that he's particularly amazing, it's more that that game was incredibly sloppy and he's the best example of someone playing football for a full 4 quarters.  He's got great speed though, so our guys absolutely have to make solid tackles when he's in the play.  Boy, I miss David Garrett.    
Denzel Perryman - The Arthur Brown replacement on the defense.  He had a very impressive pick 6 in the Boston College game that was reminiscent of Brown's RGIII moment last year.  I hope Klein is watching him carefully, as he'll be happy to sit and spy Klein on any potential runs or screen passes over the middle.  Then again, maybe Braden Wilson just needs to introduce himself to him early and often.
Anthony Chickillo - He's Miami's defensive lineman with the best name.  Seriously, the game was really sloppy.  It's impossible to know who will show up this week.

Strengths
Speed.  News flash: Florida players are faster than Kansas players.  Luckily these Florida players know nothing about consistency or eliminating mistakes or responsibility or unity, so we catch up to them eventually.  But in terms of pure athletic skill, they beat us by a mile.
Uptempo offense.  They looked most comfortable in the no-huddle, which isn't great news for us.  The uptempo pairs nicely with the speed and Jedd Fisch did a great job of mixing up the plays last week to keep Boston College out of rhythm.  Arthur, Ty and Meshak will need to lead their young units in their first experience with the no-huddle at this level. 
Turnovers.  Boston College fumbled the ball 6 times against Miami last week.  Fortunately, Miami didn't directly cause all of them, but they will certainly try to strip the ball at any given opportunity.  Tyler Lockett better be ready. 

Weaknesses
Defense.  Miami couldn't consistently stop any phase of Boston College's offense last week.  They struggled with the power run game, gave Chase Rettig buckets of time to throw and had huge holes in the middle of the field all day long.  If our rookie O-Line can hold off Miami's weakened D-Line, it might be a nice day after all. 
Penalties.  Miami has struggled with penalties for the past five years, and though Al Golden has started to turn things around, it's still a big problem for them on all sides of the ball.  Given the youth of this team and the nature of Snyder Ball, I expect Miami to get frustrated early and often in our foreign, angry, purple environment.
Youth.  Miami has one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, and almost all of them will see the field this season.  Luckily for us, they're all freshmen and sophomores.  In the game of ability vs. coaching, the purple wizard always wins.  Just ask Texas.

Fun Facts

Eric Crouch will be calling the game on FX.  If you prefer not to listen to Eric Crouch, the game is also available on Fox Deportes.  I bet those announcers like K-State. 

This is how we greeted the last Florida team who came to Manhattan for a morning game.

Snyder has won 53 of his last 55 non-conference home games.  The two he lost were to Marshall (2003) and Fresno State (2004).  Both were morning kick-offs.  Then again, Snyder is 4-0 against non-conference BCS opponents at Bill Snyder Family Stadium so let's hope that the boys show up to play a BCS team, regardless of the time of day.

Kansas State Wildcats

Bloody honey badger Klein was born in the Miami game last year.  Most fans are hoping for a little less drama in the sequel.

Players to watch
Randall Evans.  Randall absolutely flew around the field last week as one of the only bright spots in our otherwise sluggish defense.  We'll need his speed and energy and solid tackling this week to keep Duke Johnson, Mike James and Eduardo Clements wrapped up.
Arthur Brown.  It's always all eyes on #4, but especially when Miami comes to town.  Last year they weren't sure how much he'd improved, but now they know he's the real deal.  They'll be trying everything they can to neutralize him, which means that Tre and Tuggle/Childs will need to step up and make them pay for it.  This will be an emotional game for Arthur, and it will be interesting to see if he can play within himself.
Meshak vs. Adam vs. Vai.  Who will get the first sack?  After last week I think it might be safer to vote for Mueller or Truman.  Come on guys... surprise me.
Andre McDonald.  Andre didn't play last week so Miami could have forgotten all about our 6 ft 8 secret weapon.  Everyone loves a good tight end play...

Strengths
Passing game.  Miami's pass defense is bad.  Klein is looking to prove himself as a passer.  Therefore, I want to see passes to multiple receivers - and tight ends - as much as the defense allows.  Collin is getting lots of time from his line, but still needs to get rid of the ball a little faster.  If there's nothing there, there's usually a hole up the middle.  Look for the receiver and then make the run.  But really, just look for the tight end. 
Home field advantage.  I've never been to Miami, but I have seen 6 seasons of Dexter.  Manhattan is quite a bit different from South Florida, and there's no way to prepare for the onslaught of purple pride that's coming.  Add Harley day to the mix and we should have them good and confused by the time they emerge from the locker room.  Best way to capitalize on that confusion is a fast start. 
Schematics.  Snyder can out coach Al Golden and his cheap tie any day.  I'm guessing he'll want to bust out a couple of trick plays in the beginning, but save most of it for OU later this month.  Hopefully we won't have to go so deep as the jump pass in the end zone this year. 

Weaknesses
Pass defense.  Our pass rush is bad, but our pass coverage is even worse.  Miami had a serious case of the drops last week, but that's not exactly the most active approach to defense.  Bubba and Malone should be picked on the most and they'll need to step it up in a big way to keep Miami away from the deep ball.  I'd like to see some corner blitzes from Malone and Evans to keep the offense off-balance. 
Defensive adaptation.  Miami runs a no-huddle, which we typically have trouble stopping in the first half.  The coaches usually work their magic and figure out how to stop it in the second (Baylor, Texas Tech) but it leads to quite a few miscues at first.  The more I look at it, the more I think that the key to a relaxed 4th quarter is a perfect 1st quarter. 
Offensive line.  My guy Nick Puetz is out this game and maybe more with some sort of foot injury.  That leaves Finney as the only experienced guy on the line.  Newbies + Miami + early morning game = potential nightmare.  We'll need big blocks from Wilson and our tight ends more than ever to get things to open up.

Trap level
Low to medium.  I think Miami is a better team than last year, and they probably fare a little bit better on the road.  I couldn't believe how quickly the Miami fans turned on Jacory Harris in last year's game.  With fans like that, I'm sure the road is a relief.  The 11 a.m. start time is never a good omen and K-State will need to take control of this one early.  Last year K-State was a big underdog and they came out and played big.  They'll need that same fire this year. 

Keys to victory
Improved pass rush.  Offensive play-calling.  Fast start.  We need to force Miami into situations where their youth and inexperience hurts them.  The best way to do that is with solid pass rush and coverage that gets them off balance and forces them into rushed decisions that result in sweet, sweet turnovers.  On the other side of the ball, we need Collin and the coaches to open up the play book just a little bit to keep the chains moving and the defense tired.  Again, the key here is to burden this young team with schematics so that we can capitalize on missed assignments, fatigue and general confusion about K-State football wizardry.  Last but not least, let's please, for the love of EMAW, have a solid first half for a change.  Miami got behind 14-0 last week.  Let's help them make that a trend. 

Goal of the week
#14 - Consistency.  Last week we started the game with a beautiful offensive drive... that sputtered in the red zone.  After that we couldn't get things going again until late in the 3rd quarter.  We've got to be good all game long.  No quarters off.

Prediction
We have all the tools to make this an easy victory but we have a bad habit of starting slow, especially in morning games.  I believe in our coaches and team leaders and expect to see a vastly improved squad on the field this week.  K-State wins it 42-17. 

And in case you haven't seen this yet... K-State Mask is here to pump. you. up.  Go Cats!