Texas Tech football vs. Kansas State: How They Match Up
Texas Tech and Kansas State square off at 11 a.m. Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas.
Here's a look at how the two teams match up.
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When KSU runs
K-State had two rushers top 100 yards in the same game last week for the first time since the 2017 Cactus Bowl with RB Deuce Vaughn getting his 15th career 100-yard game and QB Adrian Martinez getting his eighth. Martinez, the fifth-year senior transfer from Nebraska, ran for 148 yards and a career-high four touchdowns while Vaughn topped 100 for the 14th time in 19 games. The two have the Red Raiders' full attention. K-State ranks seventh in the FBS in rushing offense, but Tech ranks 27th in rushing defense. LB Krishon Merriweather has benefited from a stout, veteran defensive front led by DE Tyree Wilson and DTs Tony Bradford and Jaylon Hutchings. Wilson and Merriweather are one-two in tackles with 27 and 26. Advantage: Kansas State.
When KSU passes
The Wildcats average 145 yards per game through the air, 122nd in the FBS and last in the Big 12. Senior WRs Malik Knowles (14 catches, 144 yards, 1 touchdown) and Phillip Brooks (11-119-0) are better known for being ace return men. The Red Raiders need to keep an eye on TE Ben Sinnott, who hurt Oklahoma last week with 80 yards on four catches, some in key moments. Tech CB Malik Dunlap leads the Big 12 with six pass breakups, and in the past three games, S Reggie Pearson has two interceptions and a fumble recovery, the latter setting up the game-winning field goal in overtime last week. Field DE Tyree Wilson will test the Wildcats' senior, Texas-bred tackles, K.T. Leveston from Hewitt Midway and Christian Duffie from Humble Summer Creek. Advantage: Texas Tech
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When Tech runs
Tech ranks 109th in the FBS and last in the Big 12 in rushing offense, though RBs Tahj Brooks and SaRodorick Thompson and QB Donovan Smith all have had their moments, combining for eight touchdowns on the ground in three games. Brooks and Thompson are proven from seasons past, so their numbers this year might be attributed to a new scheme and a relatively young offensive line. C Dennis Wilburn has a key matchup with NG Eli Huggins, a player Tech coach Joey McGuire gushed about this week. WLB Austin Moore, a junior in his first year to start, leads the Wildcats with 28 tackles, nine last week at Oklahoma. MLB Daniel Green, since the start of last season, has 105 tackles with 17 1/2 for loss. The Wildcats did yield 220 rushing yards at Oklahoma, 114 by RB Erik Gray. Advantage: Kansas State
When Tech passes
Tech QB Donovan Smith went from five interceptions in two games to no interceptions last week in leading the win over Texas. Good judgment is key again this week. K-State ranks sixth in the FBS in interceptions (seven), 10th in lowest third-down conversion rate allowed (26.3 percent) and 19th in team pass efficiency defense. Tech is third in the FBS and first in the Big 12 in passing offense. Smith needs tackles Caleb Rogers and Monroe Mills to wall off DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, one of the nation's top pass rushers with 13 1/2 sacks since the start of last season, giving him time to look for IR Myles Price (career-high 13 catches last week). Wildcats S Kobe Savage has been an instant impact transfer, racking up 11 tackles last week at OU and intercepting a pass in each of the two games before that. He's a Texan who went to Paris High School, Texas A&M-Commerce and Tyler Junior College. Advantage: Even
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Special teams
K-State prides itself on perennially fielding some of the nation's best special teams. Senior WR Phillip Brooks got his fourth career punt-return touchdown (most among active FBS players) three weeks ago in a win over Missouri. Senior WR Malik Knowles has three career kickoff-return TDs, the two most recent coming in back-to-back weeks last year against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. The Wildcats lead the FBS in punt-return average and lead the Big 12 in kickoff-return average and net punting, P Ty Zentner showing the way in the latter category with a Big 12-best 45.4-yard average. Tech PK Trey Wolff is the Big 12 special teams player of the week after he made three field goals, two late in clutch situations against Texas. He's 5 for 6 this year. Normally reliable P Austin McNamara is averaging 43.4 yards, but has had an uncharacteristic past three games with four punts shorter than 37 yards not in short-field situations. K-State's Seth Porter, still on the team, blocked a McNamara punt two years ago in Manhattan, and Desmond Purnell returned a blocked punt for a TD this season. Advantage: Kansas State
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football vs. Kansas State: How They Match Up
