Five things we learned from Kansas State’s impressive 31-12 victory against TCU
The Kansas State football team took care of business as a home favorite and had no trouble defeating TCU 31-12 on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
It was a welcome change for the Wildcats (5-3, 2-3 Big 12), who otherwise have played exclusively stressful games since conference play began. They took an early lead over the Horned Frogs (3-5, 1-4) and never looked back thanks to a solid offensive performance from Skylar Thompson and Deuce Vaughn, plus a stellar outing from defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah.
K-State left little doubt that it was the better team.
Here are a few key takeaways from the game before K-State turns its attention to Kansas and the Sunflower Showdown next week in Lawrence.
Record-setting day for Anudike-Uzomah
Hindsight is always 20/20 when it comes to college football recruiting, but it’s hard to believe Kansas State was the only team from a power conference willing to take a chance on Felix Anudike-Uzomah.
The sophomore defensive end continued his rampage against opposing quarterbacks by matching a school record with four sacks on Saturday.
K-State originally declared that he had six sacks, which would have tied the FBS single-game record, but the NCAA later ruled that two of them weren’t even tackles because he forced fumbles on both plays and those fumbles resulted in positive rushing yardage for TCU when the Wildcats jumped on the loose balls. Therefore he didn’t record a sack or tackle on either play.
Still, it was a huge day for him.
A dance party broke out around Anudike-Uzomah when his achievements were announced late in the fourth quarter. He smiled ear to ear and held his arms out wide to soak up the moment.
That gives him a whopping 10 sacks on the season.
Anudike-Uzomah was an unstoppable force against TCU quarterbacks Max Duggan and Chandler Morris. He continually won the line of scrimmage and blew up plays in the backfield. He also forced a fumble on a fourth-down conversion attempt with TCU in the red zone and another in the fourth quarter. Both came against quarterback scrambles.
It didn’t matter how many blockers TCU lined up in front of him. He beat double teams and even found a way to impact plays when the Horned Frogs ran in the opposite direction of where he was lined up.
It’s clear Anudike-Uzomah is playing at an all-conference level ... if not more. Right now, he is making an argument for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and possibly All-American.
Few, if any, pass rushers are playing better than him at the moment.
Start making bowl plans
The Wildcats technically need one more victory to secure bowl eligibility, but that seems like a formality with struggling Kansas next on the schedule
K-State has won 12 straight games against the Jayhawks, and that seems unlikely to change next week.
Chris Klieman’s team is aiming for more than just a bowl trip at this point, though. With momentum on their side, the Wildcats can now try to beat the 8-5 mark Klieman posted in his first season in Manhattan in 2019.
Injury concerns on offense
K-State’s offense was not at full strength at the end of this game.
Receiver Malik Knowles and Phillip Brooks were both unable to play in the fourth quarter with unspecified injuries, and No. 2 running back Joe Ervin surprisingly wasn’t in uniform.
On top of that, receiver Tyrone Howell was unavailable after being ejected for throwing a punch during a skirmish between both teams in the third quarter.
Knowles could be seen limping throughout the second half on the sideline. Brooks appeared to be fine but did not return punts as he usually does in the fourth quarter. Klieman said both players were held out for precautionary reasons.
Klieman also said that Ervin was sick and missed this game with a virus, but he is expected to return next week.
Still, their situations will be worth monitoring moving forward. K-State was hampered at times without them in this game.
Another strong game on defense
K-State may have legitimately turned a corner defensively during the second half of its 25-24 victory over Texas Tech last week.
The Wildcats have only allowed 12 points over their past six quarters, and TCU scored its only touchdown in garbage time ... after Anudike-Uzomah had been taken out of the game.
The Horned Frogs gained 340 yards and averaged 4.9 yards per play on Saturday.
Those are impressive numbers against for K-State against an opponent that was averaging 454 yards and 34.3 points before this game.
Ground game gets going
Thompson led K-State on offense by completing 13 of 21 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown. It was his fourth straight game with at least 200 passing yards. He remains on a heat streak.
But that was to be expected against a TCU defense that is uncharacteristically mortal under coach Gary Patterson.
K-State rushing for 148 yards and three touchdowns was more notable. The Wildcats have struggled to move the ball on the ground since Big 12 play began, but that wasn’t the case in this game.
Vaughn led all rushers with 109 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. His best run came on a 42-yard rush on a fourth-and-1 that gave the Wildcats a touchdown and a 14-3 lead in the second quarter. He also had an impressive short touchdown run in which he lept over a pile of defenders on his way into the end zone.
Thompson also looked quick running the ball and finished with 18 yards and a touchdown. This was an effort K-State will try to build on.
This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Five things we learned from Kansas State’s impressive 31-12 victory against TCU."