The Thing You Never Knew You Needed But Now Can't Live Without - Week 3

The Big 12 schedule is super dull this week, but luckily the rest of the FBS is starting to pick up a bit.  Or not.  It has a definite sequel vibe to it, and they can't all be Terminator 2.  I'm here to guide you through your Saturday, whether you like it or not.  FOOTBALL. 

Big 12 Schedule

For TCU's first game in the Big 12, they get everyone's favorite ritual massacre.  Horned Frogs, meet Jayhawks.  Enjoy the freebie.  

Last week: 6-2, Season: 17-2

11:00 a.m. FX: TCU at KU
Poor TCU.  Their first Big 12 game is against KU, in Lawrence.  Say what you will about the SEC, but at least Missouri and Texas A&M got home games against quality opponents for their SEC openers.  Silver lining?  TCU should win this game easily.  Prediction: 45-7, TCU.

11:00 a.m. FSN: UL-Lafayette at Oklahoma State
UL-Lafayette (or Ooh-La-La, if you're in the know) is a sneaky good team facing off against what might be a sneaky bad team.  The Cowboys got shocked in Arizona last weekend, mainly because of penalties and turnovers and an absolute inability to finish.  Your youth is showing, OSU.  Expect the visitors to rattle them early.  If OSU needs the 4th quarter to win it, this could be another upset.  Prediction: 31-24, OSU.

3:30 p.m. MSN: James Madison vs. West Virginia
James Madison is ranked 4th in the FCS.  It won't matter.  Geno Smith rolls as the hype gets louder and more obnoxious. It will be so, so sweet when West Virginia inevitably loses to Baylor.   Prediction: 52-21, West Virginia.

6:00 p.m. FSN: North Texas at K-State (extended preview also available)
Read today that Ty Zimmerman is out with an injury and won't play in this one.  All the more reason to stuff the running game and force North Texas to throw the ball to our young secondary.  The offense should look basic but dominant.  Keep an eye on the pass coverage.  If it doesn't look good in this game, it won't look good all year.  Prediction: 56-9, K-State.

6:00 p.m. FCS: Sam Houston State at Baylor
Another easy game, another offense with too much hype.  I was impressed with Baylor's defensive improvement against SMU, though.  Bennett is doing well now that he has the chance to recruit some of his own players.  Nick Florence will have another big day and it won't prove a thing.  RGIII sure looked good on Sunday though, didn't he?  Prediction: 49-14, Baylor.

6:00 p.m. FCS: New Mexico at Texas Tech
Texas Tech survived their guaranteed upset over "scary" Texas State last week with an easy 58-10 victory.  Good call, ESPN.  Texas Tech is still the biggest unknown in this conference after racking up huge wins and tons of passing yards in their first two games.  I'd expect this one to go the same, but still have no idea if Tuberville has the defense turned around yet.  Conference competition will be enlightening.  This one is better left unseen.  Prediction: 52-7, Texas Tech.

7:00 p.m. Cyclones TV: Western Illinois at Iowa State
Iowa State won the Cy-Hawk trophy last week in the sloppiest 9-6 victory the world never saw.  Thank goodness for twitter, or I still wouldn't know anything about the game.  I hate these conference/school TV networks.   Same story this week, I'm afraid.  Prediction: 28-12, Iowa State.

8:15 p.m. ESPN: Texas at Ole Miss
I've been to Oxford and I've been to Austin and I would love nothing more than a Rebel upset in the Grove.  Mostly, I'm excited to see more than 20 seconds of the Longhorns on TV.  I know that you're supposed to cheer for the Big 12, especially if they're a team your team hasn't played yet, but I have a soft spot for Archie Manning's alma mater and that sweet, quiet, little book town.  Prediction: 21-17, Ole Miss.

Best of the Rest

Derek Dooley's pants are the lead story on GameDay.  What other sign do you need that you're at the wrong game, guys?

Last week: 2-3, Season: 5-4

11:00 a.m. ESPN: Wake Forest at Florida State
For some reason, Wake Forest has won this game 4 of the last 6 years.  It's probably the reason I never take Florida State seriously, because, c'mon.  The Demon Deacons?  K-State has trouble with OU, but Florida State can be forgiven for losing to Wake Forest?  Ridiculous.  I'm rooting for the upset.  Prediction: 28-24, Wake Forest.  

11:21 a.m. ESPN3: UL-Monroe at Auburn
I love how cranky the GameDay guys have been all week about UL-Monroe beating Arkansas so they had to go to Knoxville for GameDay instead of Fayetteville.  I'd love it even more if UL-Monroe beat Auburn so that we can all agree that Cam Newton won that championship in spite of Gene Chizik.  Less Gene Chizik is always more.  Prediction: 31-17, UL-Monroe.  

2:30 p.m. CBS: Alabama at Arkansas
Somehow UL-Monroe knocked out all of Arky's playmakers last week and they still haven't recovered.  I'd love for Arky to pull a victory out of nowhere, but Saban would never allow it. Saban never surprises, and his players never have fun.  If you hate fun too, then this game is for you.  Prediction: 35-3, Alabama.  

5:00 p.m. ESPN: Florida at Tennessee
Three weeks in, and GameDay has been to three SEC games.  Shocking!  I don't know why everyone's so high on Texas A&M.  If anything, the fact that Florida beat them last week says nothing about Florida and everything about the Aggies.  Tyler Bray is for real, Cordarrelle Patterson somehow went from Hutch CC to Tennessee without Coach snagging him and Derek Dooley wears fancy pants.  Sounds like a recipe for success.  Oh, and the Gators suck.  Prediction: 30-17, Tennessee.
 
6:30 p.m. Fox: USC at Stanford
This game was a 3-OT thriller last year.  Unfortunately Andrew Luck graduated so this year the game should be over by the second quarter.  Gus Johnson gets the call though, so he'll make every first down thrilling, if that's what the game calls for.  If you're not familiar with Gus yet, you're doing it all wrong.  Prediction: 42-10, USC.

7:00 p.m. ABC: Notre Dame at Michigan State

Here's the real game of the week.  Notre Dame and Michigan State are very evenly matched this year, and have an electric recent history.  In 2010, Michigan State faked a field goal to win the game in overtime.  Then, to celebrate his victory, Sparty head coach Mark Dantonio had a heart attack.  HOW IS THIS NOT THE GAMEDAY GAME?  ESPN is stupid and I should run the world.  Prediction: 41-38, Michigan State. 

K-State vs. North Texas preview

North Texas Mean Green

 

Just... creepy.

These two teams last met in 2010, in the last game of the season.  K-State's run defense was atrocious that year, and North Texas' Lance Dunbar gashed us for 270(!) yards.  We escaped with the victory that day, 49-41.  Now the Mean Green are led by former Iowa State head coach and long-time Snyder bud Dan McCarney.  They head to Manhattan with a 1-1 record after a respectable loss to LSU in the opener  This one has the look of a snoozer, with some very sneaky match-up problems.  If K-State is looking ahead, they could very well get caught.

Players to watch
#35 Zach Orr - Linebacker.  Orr is a two time captain and led the team in tackles last season.  He played in the 2010 game and recorded 8 tackles on the day.  Much like we rely on Arthur to control the defense, the Green look to Orr for leadership.  Better believe he'll be ready for Klein, Hubert and Sams this weekend.  It'll be up to Braden to neutralize him.
#22 Antoinne Jimmerson - Running back.  In addition to having an awesome name, he's the redshirt freshmen who put up 139 yards on 15 carries last week.  He's already earning lots of comparisons to Lance Dunbar, who did such a good job dismantling our run defense in 2010.  Remember how slow our linebackers were that season?  Thank God for Arthur Brown. 
#24 Brandin Byrd - Running back.  Antoinne had the breakout performance last week, but Byrd still gets a majority of the carries.  Our linebackers better be ready and swarming or this could be a long, stressful day. 

Strengths
Offensive Line -  There are three second year starters on this line that have played together since March of 2011.  Through two games this year they have yet to allow a single sack.  Pretty impressive when you consider that their first game of the season was against LSU.  I can't imagine that our front four are stronger than LSU's, so I think the key will be sound gap protection to stymie the running game.  Hat on a hat.  And all that.
Running game - North Texas picked up their first win last week with 350 yards on the ground.  Two of their running backs finished with over 100 yards and they're coming in with tons of confidence.  Then again, if they've been watching Miami game film all week, maybe not.  Solid running backs + veteran offensive line is a winning combination, regardless of your FBS ranking.  Our linebackers will be tested.

Weaknesses
Passing game - Derek Thompson is only completing 42% of his passes so far this season.  Should be a fairly simple game plan this week for Coach Hayes.  Now it comes down to execution.
Turnovers - They've had 4 turnovers so far in 2 games.  We caused 3 last week.  If we can do it to Miami, we can surely do it to North Texas.  Big hits and good schemes should turn into lots of turnovers on the day.  You hear that Lynch Mob?  Let's boost that turnover margin.   

Amazing Hayden Fry coaching tree.  Snyder top left, Stoops bottom right, McCarney to his left.

Fun Facts

There's a lot of history between these two programs.  Snyder was coaching with Hayden Fry at North Texas before making the move to the University of Iowa in 1978.  Dan McCarney had played for Iowa and was working as a graduate assistant when Fry took over.  He was the youngest on the staff, but Fry was impressed with him and asked him to stay on to coach the tight ends, for a $6000 raise.   They coached together for 10 years before Snyder came to wildcat land.  The two are good friends, and in a press conference this week, he even referred to Coach as "Snydes".  Can you imagine being close enough to Snyder to call him that in a press conference?  No you cannot.  

Kansas State Wildcats

 

This effort, this form, this unity, this teamwork, this way, every play.  Okay?  

Players to watch
#50 Tre Walker - Linebacker.  Tre has had two quiet games to start the season, and I think he's ready to bust out.  North Texas will try like crazy to run the ball, and that gives Tre plenty of opportunities for tackles for loss.  Given the nature of this trap game, he will also play a big role in making sure everyone's mind is right come kick-off.  No slacking, defense.  I want to see Miami level energy all game long.
#8 Angelo Pease - Running Back.  If this game goes according to plan, we should get to play a lot of our #2's to avoid injuries before conference play.  If Hubert looks good early, Pease should take over in the second half.  This is as good a time as any for him to finally shake off the rust and learn to follow his blockers.  Please, Pease.  Just run straight.
#24 Nigel Malone - Cornerback.  The game plan should be to force North Texas to throw the ball.  If our pass coverage improves, and we force North Texas to throw where we want them to throw, when we want them to throw, Malone should have a big day.  He gets better the more film he sees, and I expect him to improve with each game.  

Strengths
Run Defense - We are allowing 2.5 yards per carry on the season and held speedy Miami to 1.9 yards per carry last week.  Wouldn't it be fun to reduce that number to an even 2 yards per carry heading into conference play?  Just imagine all the tackles for loss that would require.  Yum.
Punt return unit - K-State is currently 3rd in the nation in punt returns.  North Texas is 101st.  If we can stuff the run game and keep North Texas punting, we should be able to play with great field position all day long.  Ty-ler Lock-ett, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.

Weaknesses
Passing game - North Texas is actually ranked very high in pass defense statistics, especially when you consider that they played LSU earlier this season.  If Klein gets overly confident and makes bad throws, he could get surprised by interceptions.  North Texas has four on the season.  This is not a game to be sloppy.  I'd like to see Chris Harper's number called a few more times and maybe one or two deep balls early.
Playbook - It's a tricky game, because we have the personnel and leadership to make this a relatively vanilla victory.  Unfortunately, the only way that works is if the team shows up to play in the first quarter like last week.  I'm not quite sure I believe that we're to that level of consistency just yet.  I can't decide if Coach will want to try out some new things in this game to get practice for OU next week, or if he'll keep it vanilla and then bust out surprises next week, or play in a way that targets our weaknesses so that guys get some game time experience to work through those mistakes before conference play.   I'm overthinking it.  Realistically, we shouldn't have weaknesses in this game.  Hopefully I'll still agree with that on Sunday. 

Trap level
Threat level midnight.  It's basically the definition of a trap game.  Third game at home.  Coming off a blowout victory over a marquee opponent.   Huge conference opener next week.  General sense of apathy from fans and the media.  Jumped 6 spots in the polls.  On and on and on.  Luckily this team has strong leadership from Klein and Brown and motivated back-ups like Sams and Mueller who want to get on the field.  I think this game will be uglier than it should be if K-State shows up sleepy.   

Keys to victory
Play smart, show up early, swarm the run.  Success breeds two things in this type of game.  Complacency and over-confidence.  If the defense shows up lethargic, North Texas will burn them for big gains on the ground all game long.  If the offense is feeling overly confident after last week's fireworks, they could fumble, drop passes, get too fancy with the running game and get themselves hurt.  We'll know if the team leadership is for real by the end of the first quarter. 

Goal of the week
#6 - Self Discipline.  Do it right and don't accept less.  Chris Fowler might not like it, but the stats count, regardless of the opponent.  Every snap is an opportunity to improve.  Don't waste it.

Prediction
This game should tell us a lot about the mental toughness and leadership of this team.  If they come out soft, look out.  If they come out like they did last week, the winning mentality is here to stay.  Can they be the first K-State team ever to open the season with three straight games over 50 points?  I say yes.  K-State wins it, 56-9.  

Miami recap - Huuuuuuuberrrrrt

Harley Day was a rockin' good time ending in a 52-13 beatdown of the once mighty Hurricanes. Almost 500 yards of offense, a rush defense that allowed less than 50 yards on the whole and only 22 for superstar Duke Johnson.  Sacks, fumbles, tackles for loss, and complete domination on the ground and time of possession.  A perfect game plan, perfectly executed.   Even better?  They started fast and played with a lead, all game long.

Good

#33 had an amazing day and earned himself a brand new chant from the K-State faithful.  Keep it up Huuuuuberrrrrrrt.

Special Teams.  The punt return team continues to be excellent, and the kick-off coverage was perfect until the fourth quarter.  Even on the botched coverage, newcomer Morgan Burns managed to run down the speedster Duke Johnson and save the touchdown.  Little known fact?  That's the first time Duke Johnson has been caught from behind since high school.  Good first showing, Morgan Burns.  Loomis and Truman continued their streak of beautiful, bruising tackling as well.  Ryan Doerr didn't have to punt until 11 seconds were left in the ball game, but when he did, it was a monster of a punt, about a mile in the air and came down just over the goal line.  Welcome back, Ryan.  Sean Snyder has this unit rolling.

Dirty room: Anthony Cantele's botched field goal attempt and suspect extra point kick in the 3rd quarter.   Not sure if it was the hold or the wind or the snap or the kick - but it was ugly and could have had serious consequences if Miami had been able to score a touchdown to close the first half.

Better 

 

Lutui and his crew had a massive day with 5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.  Welcome back, lynch mob.

Pass rush.  The lynch mob is alive and well at K-State.  Justin Tuggle got the first sack of the year while Adam Davis, Vai Lutui and Arthur Brown each got in on the action as well.  Ryan Mueller had two pass deflections and recovered a fumble.  Randall Evans made the goal line stop on 4th and goal in the 3rd quarter.  The first string defense continue to lock it down in the red zone, not allowing a touchdown on the season.  (The Miami TD in the 4th quarter was against the back-ups.)  When the secondary allowed the 56 yard gain in the 1st quarter, Jarard Milo (Goooooooolsby) ran him down to keep him out of the end zone which led to Miami settling for a field goal.  That extra effort on big plays almost always ends up with a stop in the red zone and 3 points instead of 7.  It was critical to our success in close games last year and I'm happy to see that our speed and effort is still an integral part of this year's team as well.

Dirty room: Our pass defense is still a bit lacking.  They had huge holes over the middle for most of the day, but the pass rush was strong enough that it didn't burn us as much as it could have.  We'll have to keep working on those schemes to get ready for Big 12 offenses, but overall - a HUGE improvement over week one.  

Best

 

This dirty play robbed Lockett of a TD, but the upside is that we've finally figured out how to utilize his speed.

Offense.  I still can't believe we punted the ball for the first time with less than 15 seconds left in the game.  The offense was dominant today and Dana Dimel called a fantastic game.  John Hubert (Huuuuuuuberrrrrrrt) had a perfect game, Collin looked comfortable running and passing, the O-Line beat Miami all game long and protected Collin.  Even better?  We are starting to build an arsenal of offensive weapons.  Curry Sexton got his first TD of his career.  Dimel has figured out how to best use Lockett's speed on the outside and over the middle.  Thompson had yards after catch and picked up crucial first downs.  Pease bounced to the outside and proved himself a reliable power running back.  The longest play of the day was a throw to back-up tight end Zach Trujillo who caught it in stride and took off for 58 yards.  In clean-up, Daniel Sams continued to impress and Demarcus Robinson looked good as well.  Everything was clicking and working with the game plan.  When the first offensive drive took 7 minutes and ended with a touchdown, you had to know that it was going to be a special day.

Dirty room: Chris Harper.  He's either not running the right routes or Klein isn't getting the ball to him, but he's the only receiver who hasn't looked in-sync with the offense.  Last week he had to come back 5 yards for a pass, this week Klein underthrew him.  The fact that the disastrous trick play was the closest Harper got to the end zone is indicative of his storyline in the season so far.  Maybe he's just warming up and will be a great weapon for us during conference play.  For now it seems odd that he's been so quiet. 

Final thoughts

No Andre McDonald yet in this game, though he did come in for coverage on a couple of field goals.  I'm assuming he'll need to earn his way back into the rotation, and based on what Trujillo did today, that could be difficult.  I'm excited to see the tight ends doing so well and the coaches calling their number at least once a game for a big gain.  I think they'll be clutch as we begin conference competition.

It'll be important for the Cats to play North Texas next week without looking ahead to OU.  Three games scoring at least 50 points would be an impressive stat to carry with them to Norman.  Coach will get another chance to preach about the dangers of success and complacency this week.

Previous big names on the defense had a relatively quiet day on Saturday.  No interceptions for Malone, only two assists for Walker and two solo tackles for Zimmerman.  It'll be interesting to see if that trend continues throughout the season.

Next week we're back in Bill Snyder Family Stadium at 6pm facing off against the mean green North Texas machine.  Full preview up on Friday.  Go Cats!

The Thing You Never Knew You Needed But Now Can't Live Without - Week 2

It's week 2!  This is a weird week, as no ranked teams are playing other ranked teams.  The upset potential is so low that NASCAR has the primetime spot on ABC tonight.  Fear not, footballers.  ABC may have passed, but there are plenty of games this weekend worth your tapenade.  Game on.

Big 12 Schedule

This week's schedule brought to you by the honorable Bob Bowlsby. Thanks for the TV deal, Bob. Now let's see some games.

Last week's predictions: 9-0.

11:00 a.m. FX: Miami at K-State (extended preview also available)
The Cats go full on Snyder Ball to confuse, frustrate and befuddle the speedsters from South Florida.  Look for special teams to have a big day and at least one non-offensive score in K-State's second victory of the year.  Prediction: 42-17, K-State. 

2:30 p.m. Big 10 network: Iowa State at Iowa
The Cyclones took home the controversial Cy-Hawk trophy last year in a triple overtime classic.  This year they're on the road, but facing an even weaker Iowa team.  Like all their games, Iowa State will do enough to both win and lose, but I think they come out on top in the end.  Prediction: 28-24, Iowa State.

2:30 p.m. FSN: Rice at KU
They put the KU game on WIBW last week and I was so excited to watch it.  I got halfway through the first quarter and fell asleep.  Something about it felt like Juco ball.  I can't imagine this one will be any better.  Prediction: 28-10, KU.  

6:00 p.m. Fox Pay-Per-View: Florida A&M at OU
OU is back at home, playing before midnight this time.  They should look better against an FCS opponent, but even if they don't, everyone will fall all over themselves to make excuses for Landry Jones and determine that OU is a national title contender yet again.  Grrrr.  Prediction: 45-7, OU.

6:00 p.m. FSN-SW: Grambling State at TCU
TCU finally plays their first game in the Big 12!  This game has been 17 years in the making and I expect them to come out huge offensively.  Big time blowout that will tell us nothing about TCU's actual strengths and weaknesses.  Welcome to week 1, Frogs.  Prediction: 56-10, TCU.

6:00 p.m. ESPN3.com: Texas Tech at Texas State
Upset alert!  Texas State stomped all over Houston last week which means that OF COURSE they can beat Tech.  Seriously?  Houston was supposed to be good without Case Keenum and Kevin Sumlin?  C'mon guys.  Just because you beat one team in Texas doesn't mean you should be favored to win them all.  Unless, of course, you're the reigning Texas State Champs.  Prediction: 31-17, Texas Tech.

7:00 p.m. Longhorn network: New Mexico at Texas
Another week, another Texas game that only Texas fans can see.  From the 15 second clip I saw on SportsCenter I would say that David Ash is still inconsistent, their defense is an average Big 12 defense and they should easily win this game.  Prediction: 28-7, Texas.

9:30 p.m. Pac-12 network: Oklahoma State at Arizona
This is the second best Big 12 game of the week and it's on the Pac-12 network.   How is NASCAR better than this?  Wes Lunt and the Cowboys could have trouble in this one, on the road, late at night, overconfident from their snoozefest last week.  This might be competitive in the 4th quarter, but everyone will have given up and gone to bed because NASCAR is on TV.  Grrr again.  Prediction: 38-35, OSU.

Best of the Rest

Hi sad, Aggies. You've given us plenty of entertainment in the off-season. Can you keep the humiliation going on the field, too? I have faith in you.

Last week's predictions: 3-1.

2:30 p.m. ESPN: Florida at Texas A&M
This is A&M's first game of the year after Isaac postponed their opening night cupcake with Louisiana Tech.  If it was anyone other than Florida, I'd say A&M would get the SEC welcome they deserve.  Unfortunately, Florida almost lost to Bowling Green last week, so I think we'll have to wait another week to see everyone's favorite second half collapse.  At least Aggie fans can take comfort in the fact that the stadium wall will show them as conference champs, regardless of performance.  So that's something.  Prediction: 21-10, Texas A&M. 

2:30 p.m. NBC: Purdue at Notre Dame
Notre Dame beat Navy by 40 points last week so naturally they're ranked this week and expected to face OU in the national championship.  Purdue, please win so we can put all this Notre Dame nonsense to bed for another year.  Prediction: 24-20, Purdue.

5:00 p.m. ESPN3.com: Savannah State at Florida State
Savannah State should be proud.  They beat last week's record by 5 points!  Way to go, guys.  If Florida State loses this game, can we all agree to stop preseason hyping them for the next 5 years?  I need a break.  Prediction: 62-3, Florida State.

6:30 p.m. Fox: Nebraska at UCLA
I would love nothing more than for UCLA to beat Nebraska, even if it meant that we started overhyping UCLA again.  Sports analysts have the strangest selective memory.  Unfortunately, UCLA can't be trusted, especially with something as rewarding as this.  Prediction: 28-7, Nebraska.

6:45 p.m. ESPN2: Georgia at Missouri
Why do the SEC lovers at ESPN hate Georgia so much?  I don't quite understand it.  I also don't understand why they think Mizzou is so good.  I must have watched a different team last year.  It doesn't matter how many Georgia starters are sitting out of this one. Mizzou is not SEC ready.  Prediction: 42-21, Georgia.

7:00 p.m. Big 10 network: Vanderbilt at Northwestern
Two of the craziest games last week involved Vandy and Northwestern.  What a gift to have them matched up in week 2.  What's that?  It's on the Big 10 network?  Gift CANCELED.  Prediction: Totally awesome score that will be unviewable and ignored by ESPN because of NASCAR coverage.  Infinite grrrrrrrr.

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!

Breaking Bad 5.8 - Gliding Over All

 

 Well-played, Gale. 

Well, there you go.  Hank found out, and Vince found a way to do it using the only repeated object in this season that hasn't been dissected to death.  Tricky devil.   I can't believe how simply it all ended up and how obvious it should have been.  Of course Walt would be successful.  Of course he would be unfulfilled by it.  Of course there would be too much money and he would finally quit.  Of course Jesse would go back to using and living a sad, useless life.  Of course Hank would find out just as we see the Whites happy and whole again.

It's all so simple and perfect that I don't really know what to say about it.  I miss all the supporting characters that make this show so fun.  I miss Walt flailing about trying to survive.  I have no idea what the final 8 episodes will look like, and after the first 8, I feel almost too defeated to try.  I'm exhausted from this season and trying not to think too hard about the next, since it is, after all, a full year away.  But just for kicks, let's go back and see all the things we got wrong.

Susan's predictions:

1. "The Hank and Walt showdown will happen at the end of these 8 episodes."

The Hank and Walt showdown did not happen at the end of these 8 episodes, but at least Hank knows... something.. now.  Also, it's not explicit from that final moment, but I'm going to say I was also wrong about Hank suspecting Walt this whole season.  He appears to be blindsided by the Gale connection.

2. "Skylar comes up with a new plan to put Walt back in his place.  And it leads to his escape to New Hampshire."

Skylar's plan did not result in Walt leaving for New Hampshire.  I suppose she could make him leave next season, but that seems improbable right now.

3. "After Hank runs Walt off, he gets in trouble with the cartel and Walt has to come back to save him."

It is still possible that Hank could run Walt off to New Hampshire and then get in trouble with the cartel/Declan/Lydia/LandryTodd.  I doubt that any of Walt's business partners are too keen about Walt quitting the blue business, and if Hank is seen as the reason that he skipped town, it's possible that Walt would have to come back to save him.

4. "Mike doesn't end up dead at the end of this season.  He ends up in jail.  And it's Lydia's fault."

Wrong, wrong, wrong.  

5. "Walt's Icarus speech was directed at Jesse."

Nope.  Turns out this was more directed at Walt than anyone else.  Walt certainly wasn't thinking about himself then, but it is certainly what has happened now.  He kept that book around, moved it back into the house, even smiled at it when he unpacked it.  We saw him reading it in season 3, but we have no idea if he knew about the inscription or if he remembered it.  Just like the watch that Jesse gave him, Walt keeps and flaunts gifts that his partners gave him without ever thinking of the consequence.  And that's how he got burned.  I wonder now if Jesse had anything inscribed on Walt's beloved watch.

6. About Landry/Todd's role in the show: "I think Walt will win him over and try to get him to help take down Mike.  Or maybe he has higher aspirations too and wants to edge out Jesse?  Perhaps he'll propose running extra security during the cooks?"

If you spin this one a bit, it actually turned out to be more true than false.  Landry/Todd DID help Walt take down Mike... out of the trunk and into a barrel, anyway.  And he did have higher aspirations and ended up taking Jesse's spot.  And while he didn't end up needing to serve as security during the cooks, he did connect Walt with the right people to eliminate the 9 guys in prison.  So pretty much a victory there.

7. "Jesse's work around with the agitator motor doesn't work and we have our first meth lab explosion on the show."

I'm so bummed this didn't happen.

8. "Will Hank find out?  Will Skylar make a move?  Will Walt Jr. eat more breakfast?  Will Walt skip town?  Will the roofing hammer return? 

Yes!  Yes!  No! (truly shocking)  No!  Of course not.

Steven's predictions:

1. Episode 5.1 Is Walter White's identity really safe? "I'm going to say, Yes."

Okay, okay, so obviously hindsight -- being what it is -- has proven this wrong, but I still think the major danger is not the DEA. There's been some speculation out in the speculative entertainment world as to what Hank will do with his newfound knowledge about W.W. I predict he will take the information and, still not sure what to do with it, conduct his own investigation, private eye style.  Maybe there will be a bribe in it for him.  Maybe he'll pretend to take it but in the end turn on Walt.  Gomez: "What is that?" (points to a heaping mound of blue crystal meth).  "The, uh, stuff that dreams are made of."  I think the series will end with a nod to every great crime movie every made.

2. Episode 5.3 Where was Hank this episode?  "Building a case.  Last time we see him, he's discussing Gustavo with his commanding officer, Merkert, and running into brick walls in his case with Mike. The next logical step, in my mind, is for Hank to put the last piece in the puzzle and act."

Apparently he needed a few other pieces of the puzzle to fall into place.  Or rather, he needed Walt to place those pieces right next to the puzzle for him and say, "There.  That one.  Doesn't that stand out for some reason?"

3. Episode 5.6 What is Walt's plan? "To sell Declan the methylamine, then to orchestrate an elaborate heist involving a sick elephant, road barriers, flares, and fake police officers, then siphon the methylamine out of Declan's truck and back into a pre-prepared hole in the ground. Then they'll replace the stolen chemical with kid's mouthwash, which Walt has rigged to explode upon the first cook."

Well, I guess I got the first part right.  Also, where did Declan go? Now he's just selling to Lydia?  Are we just supposed to be polite about this dropped ball and assume Declan's actually on a business retreat for three months and left his less-than-fastidious cousin in charge of his meth empire for the time being?

Some things we got right:

Steven: Episode 5.5 "What happens when Mike can't pay his guys off?  Here is yet another loose end that could get them all put in prison. YET-ANOTHER...  But really: Walt is going to kill everybody."

Well, technically Walt didn't kill anyone.  The men in prison did.  But yes, basically, Walt killed everybody.

Susan: "Children are constantly used as bargaining chips on this show, so I'm guessing it will come down to that.  She's just coming up with the perfect strategy."

Skylar's plan did involve the children.  Yay!  I can figure out Skylar!  That's... not as impressive.  Also, I don't really know what it does for the overall endgame of the show.

Susan: Will Hank ever find out?: "Fearless prediction?  It will happen in the next episode."

Yay!  One correct, though not at all how I thought it would be.  Best kind of being right.

The rest of the things we obsessed over that went nowhere:

The roofing hammer turned out to be nothing.  We still haven't met a crooked cop.  There appears to be no mole in the DEA. Lydia didn't have a secret back story or connection to Gus.  Landry/Todd just existed to be a bland partner with a jail connection.  The investigation into Madrigal brought up nothing.  Badger and Skinny Pete never turned up again.  In the end, the lawyer is the only one who flipped, and it meant nothing because Walt disappeared everyone before they could give up anything.  Walt Jr. expanded his role from breakfast eater to babysitter, a plot twist no one saw coming.  We still have no idea if the cancer is back, when the ricin will be used, if Declan served a real role, if Ted is still alive and Jesse still has no idea about Jane, Brock or Mike.

For all the episode's unexpected twists and turns, it was a beautiful and nostalgic episode.  So many callbacks in the dialogue and images.  There was the paper towel dispenser that Walt punched when he found out his positive cancer diagnosis.  The scene with Jesse talking about their RV adventures.  Gale's book.  The shower scenes.  But more than that, there were three images in a row that opened the final scene in the White's backyard that were featured in the finale of season 2: ABQ.   What does it all mean?

 

Luckily (maddeningly) we have a year to figure it out.  Thanks for following along with us on our very first TV blogging adventure.  We are so happy to take a break from Walt and his psychological torture.  Stay tuned for news about our new blog home, and a full series of Emmy predictions before the big show on September 23rd.  Then, in October, we'll find out whatever happened to the Morgans on Dexter, check in on Carrie, Brody and Saul on Homeland and cheer on Emily Thorne and her beautiful band of well-dressed avengers on Revenge.  TV!  You can never watch too much.

Missouri State recap - Uh-oh

The Good

 

Lockett showed off his acrobatic strengths in the return unit, but still has work to do as a receiver.  

Whoo, boy.  Special teams put on quite a show, didn't they?  Three field goals by Cantele and 6 extra points.  Huge punt returns by Lockett and Thompson and big man Dowling.  Excellent coverage by Truman and Loomis and beautiful corner kickoffs that kept Missouri State within the 20 yard line.  In a game where the offense and defense sputtered, special teams provided sparks and momentum all game long.  Granted, Missouri State's special teams coach did quit 10 days ago, so we should have looked good.  Still, it was the most solid and consistent unit on the field today, for all 4 quarters.  

Question mark: Ryan Doerr.  Krause's punts weren't great, and Doerr was handling the snaps for extra point plays.  Injury?  Surprise attack for next week?  Not sure, but I hope he stays healthy. 

 The Bad

 

When Braden high steps, the team high steps.  His was the first of 5 touchdowns in the 4th quarter.

They let Collin call his own plays for awhile in the first half, and unfortunately, I think it showed.  The first drive of the game was great, (a tight end play!) but then completely unraveled in the red zone.  Red zone scoring was a hallmark of last year's team, and I think that was because of the plays coming in from the sideline.  I'd feel a lot more comfortable if Collin handled the calls between the 20's and then handed it over to Coach.  Touchdowns are needed in this conference.

I think Collin will benefit from quite a bit of time in the film room this week.  He seemed hesitant to run or throw or make decisions in the pocket, especially on 3rd down.  The receivers still need to do a better job of running their routes and not dropping passes.  All of our offensive players seemed to choke on the open field in front of them when given opportunities. I thought Wilson and Tannahill had some pretty uninspired blocking in the first half as well.  Lots of rust.

Bright spots: the running game and the offensive line.  Pease, Hubert and even Wilson look a lot better running the ball this year.  Wilson looked so good inside the 10 that we might be able to use him for rushing touchdowns instead of Klein this year.  I'm sure that would make everyone a lot happier, but Wilson will have to make sure he hangs on the ball.  He has a bit of a history as a dropper.  Pease isn't trying to run over a wall of people any more, which is nice, but his side speed isn't as great as Hubert's.  Following the blocks is key for him.  Hubert needs to remember to run forward instead of trying to juke everyone.  His 96 yard run was beautiful, and you could see on his face how much he needed to break away like that.  I hope it's a sign that he's finally turned the corner.  The line looked really strong and just need a bit more experience in game situations with sealing off the corners and blocking for Collin.  I like what I'm seeing from Finney though.  Very strong crew, and only one false start by the newbie Whitehair.  

Also, I don't want to talk too much about it, but boy.  Sams looked so pretty.  It reminded me of a movie trailer, when they reboot a classic film, and then they have this reveal of an object or a person or a symbol that is inextricably linked with that brand.  That was what Sams' TD run meant to me. Chills. 

The Ugly

The defense has some serious work to do this week.  Anyone miss Cosh yet?  Like you would admit that. 

Man, that secondary looked terrible, didn't it?  They are sorely missing Tysyn Hartman's leadership.  To make matters worse, Ty Zimmerman left the game at one point and headed to the locker room for treatment.  Not good, guys.  Not good at all.  This unit needs to make huge strides this week to get through Miami.  Then it needs to improve 10 fold on that to survive the conference schedule.  Ugly, ugly play.  No fire, bad reactions, soft coverage, missed tackles, lack of instinct and over pursuit.  Basically every mistake that you could make.  In terms of position battles, I thought Milo (Gooooolsby) had a better game than Ferguson, and newcomer Randall Evans absolutely flew around the field.  Which is good, because Bubba looked completely lost.  Hopefully the rust shakes off this team easily.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just the secondary.  The defensive line looked pretty woeful as well.  Meshak routinely got to the backfield and then missed the QB completely.  Dude needs to figure out how to run AT a player instead of around the back of him.  If he can't shake an undersized Missouri State lineman, we're in trouble.  To be fair, he got a heck of a lot closer than Adam Davis and Vai Lutui.  I never saw them break away from the pile on any play.  Missouri State didn't try to run the ball much, so the linebackers had a pretty quiet night.  Arthur had a few tackles and both Tuggle and Childs looked good at points.  Tre was a non-impact, which will hopefully fuel him for next week's rematch with Miami. 

Bright spots: Ryan Mueller had a couple of pass deflections and Jonathan Truman continued his textbook tackles.  I like both of these guys a lot.  They constantly meet and exceed expectations.  Randall Evans lived up to his big talk and Milo (Gooooolsby) looked very comfortable in the defense. 

Final Thoughts

I realize that the strategy for this game was to stay as basic as possible, so I'm probably getting worked up over nothing.  We did, after all, keep them from scoring a touchdown.  We were much better in the second half than the first, but I don't know how much of that was fatigue on Missouri State's part. They had a lot more unforced errors in the second half that we benefited from.  Then the Hubert 96 yard  TD run deflated them completely and we got away with a rout just by wearing them down psychologically.  Again, these are quibbles, and we did score 6 touchdowns.  The defense just concerns me a great deal, especially after watching the openers for Miami, WVU, Iowa State and OSU.  Time to step it up, Cats.  No time for complacency.