Date: Saturday, November 4, 2023
Kickoff: 11 a.m.
Location: Austin, Texas
Stadium: Memorial Stadium (100,119)
Series: Texas Leads, 13-10
THE TOP 5
1) Following two dominating home wins over TCU and Houston, Kansas State heads back out on the road as the 25th-ranked Wildcats travel to Austin, Texas, to square off against the seventh-ranked Longhorns. The game will kick at 11 a.m. and be televised nationally on FOX with Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Jenny Taft (sidelines) calling the action.
2) The Cats are one of six Power 5 teams to rank in the top 15 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. They enter play this week ranked 13th by scoring 37.4 points per game. Since Collin Klein took over as offensive coordinator for the 2021 Texas Bowl, K-State is averaging 34.5 points per game, which includes five games this season of 40 or more points.
3) K-State's ground game has led the way as it checks in at No. 5 in the country with 226.0 rushing yards per game. Senior Will Howard and freshman Avery Johnson have both directed a K-State offense over the last three weeks that has averaged 40 points and 472 yards per game. Howard has thrown for five touchdowns with no interceptions, while Johnson has five rushing touchdowns and two passing scores.
4) Last week against Houston, the Kansas State defense blanked the Cougars, 41-0, as the Wildcats have not given up a touchdown since the 7:31 mark of the third quarter in the Texas Tech game, yielding only three points during that stretch (142:31). Over the last two seasons, K-State has held 14 of its 15 Big 12 opponents under its season scoring averaging entering the game.
5) The K-State defense enters the week ranked in the top 25 nationally in third down defense (6th – 28.9%), scoring defense (14th – 15.9 ppg), pass efficiency defense (16th – 114.14) and rushing defense (23rd – 109.4 yds/gm). Since the Cats switched to a 3-3-5 alignment to start the 2021 season, K-State has allowed just 20.2 points per game to tie for 15th in the nation and first in the Big 12.
TEAM NOTES
RECENT RECAP
• K-State dominated in all three phases in a 41-0 shutout win over Houston. Will Howard started the game 12-for-12 through the air and finished 15-of-17 for 164 yards and two touchdowns, while DJ Giddens rushed for 96 yards and two scores.
• Defensively, the Cats shut out the Cougars while forcing two turnovers. It was the first time a Houston team had been kept off the scoreboard since 2000. Houston had been averaging 28.9 points per game entering the contest.
• Prior to that, the Cats recorded a 41-3 win over TCU. Howard and Avery Johnson both engineered a Wildcat offense that generated 406 total yards in the first half and 587 for the game. The Cats ran for a season-high 343 yards on the ground as nine different Wildcats carried the ball, the most ball carriers since nine players also logged a rush at Kansas in 2021.
• Defensively, the Cats kept the Frogs out of the end zone for the first time this season and held them to three total points. TCU averaged more than 33 points per game entering the contest.
• In K-State's last road game, the Wildcats earned a 38-21 victory at Texas Tech for their eighth-straight win in the series.
• K-State rushed for 272 yards and forced three Red Raider turnovers. Johnson ran for five scores, while running back Treshaun Ward had a big night with 118 yards on 15 carries.
• Defensively, Kobe Savage picked off two Tech passes en route to Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
SCORING SURGE
• K-State has scored at least 38 points in eight of its last 10 regular-season contests dating back to last season, its most in a 10-game stretch since doing so nine times over the 2002 and 2003 seasons
• Included in that stretch was a three-game streak of Big 12 regular-season games with at least 40 points, the longest by the Wildcats since 2012 when they had 55 points against both West Virginia and Texas Tech, and 44 points against Oklahoma State.
• Since Collin Klein started calling plays for the 2021 Texas Bowl, K-State's offense has averaged 34.5 points per game.
• The Cats currently rank 13th nationally and second in the Big 12 with 37.4 points per game this season, a figure that ranks sixth in school history.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
A BIG TURNAROUND
• The K-State defense switched from a four-man front to a 3-3-5 alignment in 2021, and the change has paid off.
• In the 35 games since the defensive switch, the Cats are allowing just 20.2 points per game, which ranks 15th in the nation and tops in the Big 12.
• The Wildcats surrendered just 21.0 points per game in 2021 and 21.9 points per game last year. It marked the first time K-State allowed less than 22.0 points per game in consecutive seasons since going 13-straight years from 1991 to 2003.
• K-State enters the week ranked 14th nationally and first in the Big 12 by allowing 15.9 points per game. The last time the Wildcats allowed under 20.0 points per game in a season was 2003 (16.3).