Kansas State College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Kansas State Biggest Key: Offense
The Kansas State formula hasn’t changed for a long, long time, and now the offensive side has to get back to what has always worked for the program – control clock, move the chains, don’t turn the ball over, repeat.
It sounds easy enough, and every team tries to do that, but there were too many turnovers, not enough third down conversions, and not enough clock controlling.
This year, with all five offensive linemen returning along with a healthy and veteran Skylar Thompson at quarterback, everything should start to click again like it’s supposed to. That helps take all the pressure off the …
Kansas State Biggest Key: Defense
Stop more teams from throwing touchdown passes. It’s not like the Wildcats were torched by everyone – TCU couldn’t do anything down the field and Oklahoma State sputtered and coughed – but the wheels came off late in the season.
Getting roasted by Iowa State and Texas is one thing, but Baylor went nuts, too. In all, Kansas State allowed nine touchdown passes and failed to pick off a pass over the last five games.
The 2019 team allowed 12 touchdown passes in 13 games. The 2020 version allowed 20 scores in ten games.
Kansas State Key Player To A Successful Season
WR Chabastin Taylor, Sr. & WR Malik Knowles, Jr.
The 6-4, 223-pound Taylor has the size and the deep play ability to do a whole lot more than the 19 catches for 293 yards and one score of last year, and the veteran Knowles needs to be more like the 27-catch guy of 2019 than the 13-grab man of 2020.
We’re not talking DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle here as a twosome of targets, but they’re talented, they’re a matchup problem, and they’ve been around long enough to start making more big things happen.
Kansas State Key Game To The 2021 Season
Iowa State, Oct. 16
There are a whole slew of statement games for Kansas State – starting with the opener against Stanford in Arlington and with Oklahoma State and Oklahoma to kick off the Big 12 season – but with a week off to get ready for Iowa State, this is when all the kicks have to be worked out.
Iowa State might the darling of the media world going into 2020, and it’ll get a week off to rest up too, but after a 45-0 loss last year, this is massive for K-State. The Wildcats need a win to make it 12 wins out of the last 14 in the series.
– Kansas State Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2020 Kansas State Fun Stats
– Punt Return Average: Kansas State 22.1 – Opponents 2.0
– 3rd Quarter Scoring: Opponents 105 – Kansas State 59
– Total Offense: Opponents 444.7 yards – Kansas State 337.4