K-State Q&A: DJ Giddens, Khalid Duke, TCU game analysis, next Big 12 TV deal and more
It’s time for another K-State Q&A.
There are tons of great questions to cover this week, so let’s dive right into them. Thanks, as always, for providing them. You guys are the real MVPs.
Most definitely.
DJ Giddens got an opportunity to shine in the fourth quarter of the Iowa State game when Deuce Vaughn exited the contest with an injury, and he took advantage of it by rushing for 32 valuable yards on eight carries that helped the Wildcats kill the clock and ecape with a victory.
Chris Kliemand Collin Klein have both hinted that he will see a bigger role within the offense this weekend against TCU.
But I wouldn’t expect a huge spike in usage from K-State’s backup running back.
Deuce Vaughn is still the star of the show. Taking him off the field for any other running back doesn’t make a ton of sense. I could see Giddens averaging something like five carries for the remainder of the season.
He is currently averaging 4.3, but the bulk of his touches came when Vaughn was unable to play against Tulane and Iowa State.
The Wildcats need to get him on the field more than they have. He is a punishing runner, and when K-State is in obvious rushing downs there is no harm in having him handle the ball instead of Vaughn on occasion.
For now, that is all he brings to the table, though. Giddens is still mastering the playbook, so it’s hard to get him on the field when K-State needs a running back to stay back in pass protection or run a route. But he can be very valuable when K-State needs a few yards between the tackles.
I am expecting Khalid Duke to play against TCU. Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said that the linebacker remains on track to suit up when we spoke to him on Thursday.
But Desmond Purnell has played really well in place of Duke. So even if Duke is limited I’m not sure that will hinder K-State all that much on defense.
Three keys to beating TCU ...
1. Create turnovers on defense: The Wildcats have been extremely opportunistic at home, forcing nine takeaways against South Dakota, Missouri, Tulane and Texas Tech. That has not been the case on the road. K-State hasn’t forced a single turnover away from Manhattan. That will need to change against TCU and its high-powered offense.
2. Run the ball for big yardage: If K-State beats TCU, it will probably have to follow similar formula to the Oklahoma game. Adrian Martinez and Deuce Vaughn combined for 262 rushing yards and four touchdowns against the Sooners, allowing them to not only score 41 points but also chew up clock and give K-State rest on defense.
3. Build an early lead: The Wildcats are built to play from ahead, not from behind. They are only averaging 6.7 yards per pass. I don’t like their chances of playing catch up against the Horned Frogs on the road. But if they jump out 14-0 like they did at Oklahoma or 13-0 like they did against Texas Tech or 7-0 like they did at Iowa State, they can dictate the tempo of the game.
A big play or two on special teams would also help.
I’m not sure how to grade K-State’s transfer additions.
Players like Adrian Martinez, Kobe Savage, Josh Hayes and Drake Cheatum have been home runs.
But other high-profile transfers like Shawn Robinson, Will Honas and Branden Jennings weren’t able to play a single down.
Gavin Forsha, Anthony Frias and Jadon Jackson haven’t made much of an impact, either.
The first four names I mentioned have all been heavy hitters, so K-State gets an overall passing grade. Maybe a B? But it’s not like the Wildcats are batting 1.000 when it comes to transfers.
My prediction for the Big 12 championship game: Texas vs. the K-State/TCU winner.
E-MAIL QUESTION: How likely is it that ESPN will send “College Gameday” to Manhattan next week for Kansas State and Oklahoma State? I think there’s a good chance it happens! - Andrew B.
If Oklahoma State and K-State both win on Saturday, that game might very well end up hosting “College Gameday” on October 29.
But that is a big if.
Texas is favored by nearly a touchdown against Oklahoma State and it’s unclear if Spencer Sanders will be healthy enough to play. K-State is a 3.5-point underdog at TCU.
I both underdogs win that will setup a battle of ranked opponents at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. They would likely both be in the top 15. It would be hard to say no to that.
Their main competition would come from Penn State at Ohio State and maybe Notre Dame at Syracuse, because “College Gameday” has never been to the Carrier Dome before.
I don’t see Syracuse winning at Clemson. Penn State is favored against Minnesota. Ohio State will almost certainly beat Iowa.
ESPN would have to go off the radar like it did with Appalachian State earlier this season for any other game to make sense.
Here’s guessing Penn State at Ohio State is the current favorite, but Oklahoma State at K-State could definitely be in the mix. It all depends on how things shake out on Saturday.
I’m honestly not all that surprised by what KU or Iowa State are doing this season.
My bold preseason pick for the Big 12 was that the Jayhawks would finish not last for the first time since the Mark Mangino days. I expected them to be better. Iowa State lost a four-year starter at quarterback and a NFL star at running back. Everyone knew the Cyclones were going to take a step back.
But I guess I will side with Iowa State, because it has the best defense in the Big 12 and still can’t find ways to win games. If the Cyclones had any offense at all they would be undefeated right now.
Tough call.
K-State’s next three games against TCU, Oklahoma State and TCU will go a long way toward deciding which two teams play for a Big 12 championship.
You could make a case for all three, but I’m going to go with Texas. The Longhorns already have one loss in conference play and need all the tiebreaker help they can get if they hope to make it to Arlington.
The Wildcats could be in the exact same spot if they don’t sweep their next two games. That could be an elimination game.
If the Big 12 can secure a new media rights deal with ESPN and FOX way ahead of schedule and for more money than the conference is currently bringing in that would be an excellent thing for Kansas State because it signals to the rest of college sports that this conference isn’t going anywhere.
The Big 12 distributed approximately $40.6 million to each of its 10 members last year. If Brett Yormark, as promised, can convince the conference’s TV partners to pay enough for that number to increase after Oklahoma and Texas leave for the SEC and then BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF join the conference ... well ... let’s just say Yormark is one amazing negotiator.
A new, lucrative TV deal would also put the Big 12 in a position to raid the Pac-12.
It is unclear what kind of TV deal the Pac-12 will get moving forward. That conference may end up striking a deal with a streaming provider like Apple TV or Amazon Prime. While there is nothing wrong with that, the Big 12 could end up with a better package. If it already has secured a better deal with more proven commodities like ESPN and FOX, maybe schools like Oregon and Washington look to join the Big 12.
More than anything, though, a new TV deal would end any talk of the Big 12 losing half its value without Oklahoma and Texas.
Oh, come on. It wasn’t that bad!
I actually had some other people reach out to say they liked the Instagram story of Jerome Tang asking me a question at Big 12 men’s basketball media day. Maybe we should do it every week.
Or not.
It was awkward in the sense that neither one of us were expecting that to happen. K-State’s social media team asked Tang and me if we would flip the tables and have him ask the reporter a question. We both gave each other a look that made it clear we didn’t think anyone wanted to hear what I had to say about the basketball team but we played along.
He threw me a curve ball, though. The question was supposed to be about my favorite K-State basketball memory. So I was standing there trying to decide between Askia Jones scoring 62 points in the NIT, Jacob Pullen gunning down Xavier or Barry Brown/Kamau Stokes/Dean Wade winning a Big 12 championship as seniors and then Tang asked what my favorite memory was of him.
I went with the first thing that entered my mind: Tang screaming “it’s great to be a Wildcat” at his introductory news conference.
To be fair, it was a cool moment. Lots of enthusiasm!
I could go a few different ways with this answer.
On one hand, it would be cool to be born a vegetable sandwich from Subway. No one would ever eat you.
On the other hand, it would also be fun to be born a pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw, fried onions and jalapenos. That kind of sandwich leaves a mark.
I’m going with pickle as the side item. Rick Sanchez managed to get a lot done after transforming himself into a pickle in that one classic “Rick and Morty” episode.
Here’s a quick rundown of how former Big 12 football teams are performing this season:
- Colorado 1-5
- Missouri 2-4
- Nebraska 3-4
- Texas A&M 3-3
That’s a combined record of 9-16 for those who are bad at math.
If those four schools had a do-over, I am very confident Missouri and Nebraska would like to find a way to make things work in Big 12. The Huskers will never be dominant again and they have no natural rivals in the Big Ten. The Tigers lost all basketball relevency by switching conferences and miss their old friends, too.
Texas A&M is probably better off in the SEC, even if it hasn’t won anything significant since switching leagues. Colorado just doesn’t seem to care about sports, so the Pac-12 kind of works for the Buffaloes, too.
But none of them gained anything other than money by leaving their old conference behind.
Deep down, I think UCLA and USC know they will miss the Pac-12 after they leave for the Big Ten.
The money might be better somewhere else, but nothing beats the experience of having rivals and rubbing it in their faces when you win a trophy.
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 8:00 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: DJ Giddens, Khalid Duke, TCU game analysis, next Big 12 TV deal and more."