Three seasons removed from playing in the Big 12 Championship Game, TCU and Kansas State will square off Saturday in Manhattan looking to find the groove that recently put them at the top of the conference.
Kansas State (2-4, 1-2 Big 12) gave up a late 14-point lead in a 35-34 loss at Baylor on Saturday. TCU (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) is coming off a home win over Colorado. But the Horned Frogs had to overcome an early two-touchdown deficit.
Neither team is hitting on all cylinders right now.
The Frogs still control their own destiny on the road to the title game in December. They’re tied for eighth place, but they’re just a game behind a four-team logjam at the top. They probably need to play better than they did against Colorado, but any win is significant.
“We had some corrections, obviously, to make from the game. We got that stuff cleaned up, put it behind us and moved on. I thought today was really spirited,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said Tuesday. “We’re going to have to practice at a high level this week to get ready to go play against a really good team in a very tough environment.”
TCU depends heavily on the passing game, averaging 311.6 yards per matchup, third best in the Big 12. The problem is their pass defense is third from the bottom in the conference with 249.2 yards allowed per game.
Quarterback Josh Hoover, who was named Big 12 co-Offensive Player of the Week, ranks only behind Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson in passing yards per game (303.4) and has thrown 15 touchdowns. But he’s also tied for the conference lead with four interceptions.
Kansas State is in or below the middle of the pack in most team stats, including 13th in total offense and 14th in rushing offense. Quarterback Avery Johnson is the team’s leading rusher with 209 yards in six games.
The Wildcats are eighth in passing yards. Johnson passed for 344 yards and two touchdowns against Baylor.
“We played well enough on Saturday, but we didn’t play well enough, especially at critical times, to come out of there with a win,” coach Chris Klieman said Monday. “We’ve got to stay the course. We’ve got to keep fighting, keep battling and get ready for a really good TCU team coming in here.”