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Powercat Gameday Panel: FAU

johnkurtz

Week 2 of Kansas State’s football season is just around the corner and the Powercat Gameday crew is back for our second panel of the season.

We want to start by thanking all the K-State faithful that made the trip to California and stopped by the Old Pro before the game to watch Powercat Gameday live. There was a line around the block to get in 4 hours before kickoff and the Old Pro ran out of beer. Kansas State fans never disappoint.

The crew will be broadcasting Powercat Gameday live in Cat Town, just south of the west parking lot at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, starting at 9:30 AM on Saturday. If you can’t stop by, tune in to KMAN as you drive in or tailgate as we talk K-State football.

Again, thank you to everyone who submitted a question this week, if your question didn’t make it we’ll do our best to get yours in later in the season. Tweet your questions to @PowercatGameday or to any of the panelists: @jlkurtz, @Cole_Manceck, and @StantonWeber.

Let’s get to it:

John: It was pretty inevitable that K-State would have some issues with three new offensive linemen, a new quarterback and a few new targets at wide receiver. Such a young offense really needs a game or two against FAU-quality competition to get their confidence going. I think there’s every reason in the world to think the offense will look much, much better in game two. Jesse Ertz should be much more comfortable (and hopefully won’t leave the pocket as quickly/often as he did at Stanford), and I’d expect there’s a much better chance he and Byron Pringle are more on the same page against FAU. I will say this…the running game should be much better. Miami rolled up 279 yards on the ground and seven yards-per-carry against the Owls last week.

Cole: I could foresee a slow start early in this one, as K-State has still only played one game and then had a 15-day layoff. However, I expect the offense to get in a rhythm by the second quarter Saturday and continue to improve a great deal before Big 12 play begins. These next couple weeks are key as Jesse Ertz and the receivers get on the same page and the inexperienced offensive line works out the issues it had in the season-opener. Ertz started to settle in during the fourth quarter at Stanford, and I would look for that to continue. The Wildcats’ offense should be able to do anything they want against Florida Atlantic. As John mentioned above, the Owls allowed more than 7 yards per carry at Miami last week. And in their season opener, Southern Illinois racked up 530 yards of offense against Florida Atlantic, including more than 300 yards through the air.

Stanton: The youth of Kansas State’s offense showed throughout the game at Stanford. There were issues with substitutions, formation alignment, and assignments that will iron themselves out with experience. As the season progresses we should see less and less of this. Quarterback Jesse Ertz was quoted saying it took him about a half to feel comfortable. That comfort led to improvement, in the second half Ertz threw for 149 of his 207 yards including a strike of 44 yards to Dominique Heath and a very nice touch ball of 15 yards to Isaiah Zuber in the end zone. Look for his comfort level, and production, to progress in the next two games. I would also expect Byron Pringle to convert on more of his targets and his production to increase significantly.

Cole: I think the offensive struggles at Stanford were more self-inflicted mistakes than what Stanford did. The Cardinal have a terrific and deep defensive front, but the Wildcats shot themselves in the foot several times. K-State had far too many penalties. The inexperience of the offense showed at Stanford. However, be patient with this offense as it should significantly improve over the next two weeks as they work the kinks out. I always judge the K-State offense by points per possession as that shows the efficiency of the unit. By the end of the season, I believe K-State will be in the top five in the Big 12 in points per possession. The offense has more weapons compared to last season, and I expect that to start show as the Wildcats progress over the next two weeks.

Stanton: As Coach Snyder likes says, “It’s about us.” I think that much of the struggles were due to inexperience on the K-State offense. Not to discredit the defense of a top ten team in Stanford but Kansas State had their opportunities. Penalties need to be minimized and the offense needs to turn trips to the red zone into touchdowns instead of settling for field goals. Again, the experienced gained by the young offense will pay dividends in the games to come and I expect to see a very different offense by the time conference play begins against West Virginia. When predicting where the offense finishes in the Big 12 it is a little skewed because of K-State’s style of play. Comparing Kansas State to say Texas Tech is apples to oranges, so Kansas State will likely finish in the bottom half of the Big 12 but for the offense to be effective they don’t have to put up huge numbers.

John: I do think the jury is still out on Stanford. I’m not convinced they’re a top-ten team, but if they’re a legitimate top-20 team K-State should be just fine. Stanford does have a tough defensive front, but according to the pro football focus article that Cole has referenced about the game the Cardinal just stunted the young K-State offensive line to death. That’s something that can definitely improve as they gain more experience. I also think Byron Pringle can still be K-State’s most dangerous offensive weapon, and he dealt with a very physical corner that was a giant step up from playing JUCO corners in the Jayhawk Conference. Pringle should also see exponential growth. Don’t expect this to be one of the best offenses in the league by any means, they’ll clearly lean more on the defense, but it will be more dangerous than it looked at Stanford.

Stanton: Ertz’s performance against Stanford was not ideal, but I don’t think anyone would expect a quarterback throwing his first collegiate pass against a top ten team to play a flawless game. He showed improvement as the game progressed and I think there is little doubt that he will play almost all the snaps against Florida Atlantic.

When Ertz did leave the game with cramps early in the third quarter, and Joe Hubener replaced him, the offense did not skip a beat. Other than his first pass attempt resulting in an interception, in which his elbow may have been snagged by a defender, Hubener looked like he had made 11 starts last year as he confidently conduction the offense. I would expect Ertz to be given the snaps like a traditional starting quarterback and, if he continues to show improvement, we shouldn’t see Hubener outside of a mop up situation.

John: The leash should be pretty long on Jesse Ertz. He’s won the quarterback battle two years in a row and deserves to get a lot more slack than just one road game against a top-ten team to prove he’s clearly the guy. We’ve seen Joe Hubener start 11 games and have a pretty good idea what that offense looks like. What we don’t know is what the offense will look like with Ertz getting a considerable amount of experience.

Cole: If Ertz struggles over the next two games, a quarterback controversy could begin to unfold. However, I don’t expect that to occur as I believe Ertz will make strides. As Stanton pointed out, Ertz hadn’t thrown a pass in a game in nearly four years and has had two major knee injuries since. Some rust was to be expected. He will get more comfortable over the coming weeks and improve. While many fans want to see Alex Delton get some snaps Saturday to see what he can do, and that includes me, it’s also important that Ertz get plenty of reps with the starting offense since the unit as a whole is so inexperienced and needs to work together in game situations.

John: It’s definitely a fair question to ask. K-State’s run defense was actually pretty solid last year (they finished fourth in the Big 12 in league games against the run). Their issues were against the pass where they allowed more yards to Big 12 teams than Kansas and Iowa State. Taking that into consideration, it’s definitely concerning that Stanford’s first incomplete pass didn’t come until late in the third quarter.

The one difference this year is Dante Barnett. At worst, he should help force some more turnovers which will help with the bend but don’t break style of defense K-State plays. The Cats only had one interception by a defensive back last year and Barnett’s seven career picks should help add to that total.

Cole: That’s the big question. K-State allowed 5.2 yards per rush over the last nine games last season, so holding Stanford to 3.5 yards per rush is no small accomplishment. However, Stanford’s offensive style plays to K-State’s advantage, and K-State is typically good against teams who run the ball and don’t have a dual-threat quarterback. So I think that played a part in the Wildcats’ success against the run. Still, not many teams have bottled Christian McCaffrey up the way K-State did, and that should be commended.

While the pass defense was a big weakness last season and struggled at Stanford, the Cardinal run such a different offensive attack than what K-State will see in the Big 12 that it’s difficult to gauge how the Wildcats will match up against spread teams.

All of this being said, K-State looked to possess more speed on defense than it had last season, and that shouldn’t go unnoticed. I do think this defense will be significantly better than last year’s.

Stanton: When one of the strongest aspects of your defense is the linebacking core, and an opponent’s style of play allows you to feature that aspect, this is a legitimate question to ask. It is hard to say whether or not this defense will continue to look as good as they did against Christian McCaffrey and Stanford but I think that Kansas State has the pieces to be a stout group.

As we have said over and over again, Dante Barnett is the real deal and can help take this defense to the next level. What will be interesting to see once K-State enters Big 12 play is how defensive coordinator Tom Hayes utilizes the linebacking core. To get Mike Moore, Will Davis, and Elijah Lee all on the field at the same time while maintaining a nickel package may entail putting Lee down on the line as an athletic pass rusher, making life difficult for opposing tackles. Cornerback DJ Reed did not see as much action against Stanford as he will against spread opponents because in the base defense Donnie Starks moved out from the nickel to the corner position. As Reed gets more snaps we will get the chance to see what he is made of. The past has shown that when Tom Hayes has two solid corners and an experienced safety his defenses can create turnovers and compete against the high powered offenses of the Big 12.

No there is not another bye week you didn’t know about, Kansas State hosts the University of Kansas November 26th. The panel shares their thoughts on the Jayhawks this year and their chances when Big 12 play comes along.

Cole: I watched KU’s entire game last week against Ohio (three-and-a-half hours from my Saturday I’d like to have back), and the Jayhawks have improved at quarterback and receiver. However, they were dominated on both sides of the line of scrimmage against a team that just lost to Texas State the week before. It will be another long season for KU and I do not see the Jayhawks winning another game. Look for the Wildcats to dominate the Jayhawks once again on Nov. 26.

John: Never miss a chance to get a shot in at the ole rival, huh? Any thoughts of Kansas legitimately threatening to win multiple Big 12 games really went out the window when they fell behind Ohio 25-0. That’s not a good Ohio team at all. The Jayhawks still have a long way to go to think about winning in Manhattan. Todd Reesing ain’t walking through that door…

Stanton: There are no easy games, and I truly believe that. I think that Kansas has improved from last year and really missed an opportunity against Ohio this last weekend. I played with Kansas quarterback Montell Cozart at Bishop Miege high school and he is a team guy and great leader who is doing all the right things to help the Jayhawks improve. And his backup, Ryan Willis, who also played at Bishop Miege, can really sling it. They have a pair of electric receivers to compliment the quarterbacks in Steven Sims and LaQuivionte Gonzalez. I have been impressed with what I have seen and would not put it past the Jayhawks to win against Iowa State on November 12th in Lawrence. That being said I think the program is still at least a year away from being competitive in the Big 12 and Kansas State should take care of the Jayhawks at home on November 26th.

Stanton: Yes, there were a handful of pass interference calls that could have gone Kansas State’s way against Stanford, the MMA takedown on Byron Pringle in the end zone before half was a bit more blatant that the others. That being said I have to tip my cap to Stanford’s defensive backs after the first no call. If they are not calling it than why not take advantage whenever there is a jump ball, smart football on their part. I think that the officials will be sat down by their respective league’s director of officiating and will correct their mistakes.

To be honest, I was more shocked by the lack of targeting calls in games around college football and in the NFL. Texas safety Deshon Elliot put a punishing strike on the head of Notre Dame receiver Torii Hunter Jr in what appeared to be a targeting foul yet no flag was thrown. With the ‘concussion prevention’ atmosphere that college football has been trying to implement and given how violent the hit looked in real time, I was surprised that no flag was thrown. Even more interesting is the fact that rule changes this year allows the replay official to call targeting from the booth after assessing the video replay, and still no targeting foul was assessed. Other examples occurred in the Thursday night game between Denver and Carolina where Cam Newton seemed to be taking a helmet to the head every other play. In past years where targeting was called almost too frequently I was surprised to see officials missing the easy ones, especially when they have the option to go to the replay booth and pick up the flag if they made a mistake on the field.

Nothing, however, tops the officiating blunder in the game between Oklahoma State and Central Michigan this weekend. I am baffled that a collegiate officiating crew does not know the rules to the game they are presiding over. If I am an Oklahoma State fan I am beyond frustrated. Then again, after the Kansas State game in Stillwater last year where the officials completely forgot the down and distance, incorrectly awarding Oklahoma State a key first down late in the first half that led to a touchdown, I consider this error poetic justice. So I say “play it as it lies”, or that Central Michigan should retain their victory.

John: You’re going to get more of personal opinion here, but “outrage” at officials after a loss is weak. Yes, Byron Pringle got tackled in the endzone at the end of the first half. No, that call being reversed isn’t changing the outcome of the game. As well as K-State played on defense in the second half, that wasn’t a complete enough effort overall from the team to legitimately think the Wildcats should have won.

I’ll even reference Bill Snyder on this week’s Big 12 teleconference here. When asked about whether or not college football should look at being able to reverse the outcome of games like OSU-CMU, he responded with: “I make a thousand mistakes in a ball game and they won’t let me have any of them back.” There’s going to be some human error from referees in football games, and I tend to think some of that will even out over the course of a season.

Now please spare me the Allen Fieldhouse officiating conspiracy numbers.

Cole: The no-call at the end of the first half was egregious, but that didn’t decide the game. K-State would have had 6 seconds remaining from the 2-yard line if that’s called. So enough time for one play and then if the Wildcats didn’t punch it in, line it up and kick a field goal. So it’s certainly no guarantee the Wildcats get a TD there, but that missed call is baffling.

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