An In-depth Breakdown of K-State’s Offensive Struggles
By Cole Manbeck
Kansas State’s offense was disappointing last Thursday (broken down in detail in last week’s blog). Now, let’s try to figure out why the Wildcats struggled.
Auburn is notorious for bringing pressure. While the Tigers defense hasn’t been great statistically since Gus Malzahn became the head coach in 2013, they do have two things: speed and size. K-State got in trouble in the run game when it tried to bounce runs out on the perimeter. Auburn’s speed against K-State’s running backs was too much to overcome.
The Tigers also took away the quarterback-run game. One of their strengths is defending the zone read, and they did that very well. They were determined to make K-State one-dimensional by stacking the box with defenders. Auburn also eliminated Jake Waters’ ability to scramble by spying him with linebacker Kris Frost. When the Tigers brought pressure, they almost always had a spy waiting in case Waters took off.
As I mentioned above, Auburn loves to bring pressure against opposing quarterbacks. I went back and charted each of K-State’s passing plays during the game. I looked at the down and distance, how many guys Auburn sent after the quarterback on each play and how many men K-State kept in to pass protect. The play-by-play breakdown is a few paragraphs below in a table.
To sum the numbers up for you: Auburn rushed six men on nine passing plays. When the Tigers rushed six, Waters was 3-for-6 passing for 15 yards and one interception. It’s important to note, however, that the interception came on the play where Tyler Lockett had the ball bounce off his chest on what would have been a touchdown.
Auburn rushed seven men on two occasions. Both resulted in sacks. However, late in the first half, with K-State driving and at Auburn’s 13-yard line, Waters dropped back to pass. The Tigers initially rushed six on the play. Frost sat back as a spy at linebacker. However, the rush wasn’t getting to Waters, so Frost went after him on a delayed blitz. Waters was given 3.6 seconds of protection against a seven-man rush. That’s solid. Lockett was running a post-corner route in the end zone. Just before Lockett breaks off the post route to head for the corner, Frost arrives to put the heat on Waters. However, this is a play where Waters should throw it to the spot Lockett is supposed to be at before he breaks. If Waters does that, it’s an easy touchdown, as Lockett completely shook the corner and was left all alone in the end zone. Instead, Waters fumbled, K-State missed a field goal and momentum was gone. These were the calculated risks Auburn took by bringing pressure, and it worked. But K-State had opportunities to burn the Tigers.
Now, back to the numbers. Auburn rushed five men on 10 occasions. K-State had tremendous success against the five-man rush. Waters was 7-for-9 passing for 81 yards against it, as well as earning a flag for pass interference.
Auburn rushed four on 25 plays. Waters was 13-for-23 for 135 yards in those situations (you’ll notice the numbers don’t add up, but I include every time K-State dropped back to pass, which includes sacks, scrambles, pass-interference calls, and an offsetting penalty). Auburn rushed three on two plays, resulting in a 1-for-2 effort for 10 yards and an interception.
K-State countered Auburn’s pass rush by leaving a combination of the fullback, tight end or running back in to protect Waters on several occasions. The Wildcats kept eight in to protect on two plays, utilized seven on 16 plays, six men on 21 plays and five blockers in five-wide sets on eight occasions.
Below is the chart with the breakdown. After you take a look at this, you’ll notice another chart showing where K-State’s offense could have exploited Auburn.
Auburn Pass Rush vs. K-State’s Pass Protection Play by Play
| Down and Distance | Auburn rushers | # of blockers for KSU | Result of play |
| 2nd & 8 | 6 | 8 | Incomplete |
| 3rd & 8 | 6 | 6 | Pass interference |
| 2nd & 10 | 5 | 6 | 13-yard completion |
| 1st & 10 | 5 | 7 | 8-yard completion |
| 3rd & 6 | 6 | 7 | 5-yard completion |
| 1st & 10 | 4 | 7 | Incomplete |
| 2nd & 10 * | 6 | — | Pop pass, -1-yard run |
| 3rd & 11 | 5 | 6 | 20-yard completion |
| 1st & 10 | 5 | 6 | Pass interference |
| 2nd & goal | 6 | 7 | Interception |
| 2nd & 8 | 4 | 7 | 6-yard completion |
| 3rd & 3 | 4 | 6 | Incomplete |
| 1st & 10 | 4 | 6 | Sack |
| 2nd & 12 | 6 | 6 | Incomplete |
| 3rd & 12 | 4 | 5 | Incomplete |
| 2nd & 14 | 4 | 7 | 4-yard completion |
| 3rd & 10 | 5 | 5 | 1-yard completion |
| 2nd & 1 | 4 | 6 | 22-yard completion |
| 2nd & 10 | 5 | 6 | 20-yard completion |
| 1st & 10 | 5 | 7 | Incomplete |
| 2nd & 10 | 5 | 6 | 14-yard shovel pass |
| 2nd & 8 | 4 | 7 | 3-yard completion |
| 3rd & 5 | 4 | 6 | 17-yard completion |
| 1st & 10 | 4 | 6 | 12-yard completion |
| 2nd & 9 | 7 | 7 | Sack (fumble) |
| 2nd & 3 | 4 | 6 | Incomplete |
| 3rd & 3 | 5 | 6 | Incomplete |
| 3rd & 7 | 3 | 6 | 10-yard completion |
| 1st & 10 | 4 | 6 | 6-yard completion |
| 1st & 10 | 5 | 7 | 5-yard completion |
| 2nd & 5 | 6 | 5 | -1-yard completion |
| 3rd & 6 | 6 | 6 | 11-yard completion |
| 3rd & goal | 4 | 7 | Incomplete |
| 1st & 10 | 4 | 7 | Incomplete |
| 2nd & 10 | 4 | 8 | Incomplete |
| 3rd & 10 | 6 | 7 | Offsetting penalties |
| 3rd & 10 | 4 | 7 | 11-yard completion |
| 1st & 10 | 7 | 7 | Sack |
| 2nd & 14 | 3 | 5 | Interception |
| 1st & 10 | 4 | 5 | 2-yard scramble |
| 2nd & 8 | 4 | 7 | 5-yard completion |
| 3rd & 2 | 4 | 6 | 15-yard completion |
| 1st & 10 | 4 | 6 | Incomplete |
| 2nd & 10 | 4 | 6 | 14-yard completion |
| 1st & 10 | 4 | 5 | Incomplete |
| 2nd & 10 | 4 | 5 | Incomplete |
| 3rd & 10 | 4 | 5 | 11-yard completion |
| 1st & 10 | 4 | 6 | 9-yard completion |
* This was a pop pass, but Auburn brought 6 men on the play, and because of that pressure, the play wasn’t able to develop for K-State.
So Auburn brought a lot of pressure, often sending the linebackers, which as a result, left the middle of the field wide open. This is an area K-State didn’t take advantage of enough times on Thursday. When K-State threw it over the middle of the field, it went 10-of-14 passing for 130 yards, drew a flag for pass interference, and had an interception. However, that interception should have been a touchdown as it was the drop by Lockett. So in reality, the numbers should be 11-of-14 for 132 yards. If we really break it down, two of the incomplete passes came on fly patterns 35-plus yards down the field intended for Lockett. When K-State attacked the intermediate areas of the middle of the field, it was 10-of-12 passing and should have been 11-of-12. K-State was 14-of-26 passing for 115 yards and an interception on passes outside of the middle of the field.
Below is the play-by-play breakdown of K-State’s routes over the middle of the field and the result of each play:
K-State’s passing plays over the middle of the field
| Route | Yards gained | Receiver |
| Slant | Incomplete | Lockett |
| Slant | 11 yards (pass interference) | Lockett |
| Slant | 13 | Lockett |
| Curl | 5 | Sexton |
| Post | 20 | Cook |
| Slant | Interception | Lockett |
| Slant | 21 | Sexton |
| Fly | Incomplete | Lockett |
| Curl | 15 | Sexton |
| Slant | 13 | Lockett |
| Fly | Incomplete | Lockett |
| Shovel pass | 14 | Jones |
| Slant | 6 | Lockett |
| Curl | 14 | Sexton |
| Cross | 9 | Sexton |
| Totals: 10-14-1 | 130 yards |
Here’s what Curry Sexton told the media after the game:
“They were so focused on Tyler and not letting us throw the ball down field,” he said. “They were letting us run through the middle of the field. I told Jake (Waters) let us throw the underneath stuff all night long.”
K-State attacked the middle some, but it was there all game. The Wildcats didn’t make Auburn pay for it.
