Kansas State-TCU college football preview
When/where: 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas
TV/radio: Fox (Ch. 4); WHB (810 AM)
The series: Kansas State leads 4-3
The line: TCU by 6
KANSAS STATE (7-1, 5-0 Big 12)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Aug. 30 | Stephen F. Austin | W, 55-16 |
Sept. 6 | at Iowa State | W, 32-28 |
Sept. 18 | Auburn | L, 20-14 |
Sept. 27 | UTEP | W, 58-28 |
Oct. 4 | Texas Tech | W, 45-13 |
Oct. 18 | at Oklahoma | W, 31-30 |
Oct. 25 | Texas | W, 23-0 |
Nov. 1 | Oklahoma State | W, 48-14 |
Saturday | at TCU | 6:30 p.m. |
Nov. 20 | at West Virginia | 6 p.m. |
Nov. 29 | Kansas | TBA |
Dec. 6 | at Baylor | TBA |
TCU (7-1, 4-1 Big 12)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Aug. 30 | Samford | W, 48-14 |
Sept. 13 | Minnesota | W, 30-7 |
Sept. 27 | at SMU | W, 56-0 |
Oct. 4 | Oklahoma | W, 37-33 |
Oct. 11 | at Baylor | L, 61-58 |
Oct. 18 | at Oklahoma State | W, 42-9 |
Oct. 25 | Texas Tech | W, 82-27 |
Nov. 1 | at West Virginia | W, 31-30 |
Saturday | Kansas State | 6:30 p.m. |
Nov. 15 | at Kansas | TBA |
Nov. 27 | at Texas | 6:30 p.m. |
Dec. 6 | Iowa State | TBA |
What’s at stake
Both teams are hoping to score a marquee victory that will boost their playoff chances. K-State can keep its stranglehold in the conference race with a victory. TCU can move into a first-place tie with a win.
Cheers if …
K-State scores touchdowns when it reaches the red zone. That hasn’t been a given for the Wildcats this season, and this will be a high-scoring game. So they need to take advantage of their opportunities.
Jeers if …
TCU forces multiple turnovers. Give the Horned Frogs two extra drives and they are almost always going to win.
Three things about TCU
1 TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin has become a Heisman Trophy contender a year after playing receiver. With 2,472 yards and 22 touchdowns passing on top of 423 yards and four touchdowns rushing, he leads the Big 12 in total offense.
2 The best word to describe TCU’s defense may be “opportunistic.” The Horned Frogs lead the nation with 26 forced turnovers.
3 TCU is one bad quarter away from an undefeated record. In their only loss, the Horned Frogs coughed up a 17-point lead and fell to Baylor 61-58.
Key matchup
K-State’s defensive line vs. Trevone Boykin. Though Boykin is a skilled runner, he is most dangerous as a pocket passer. When opposing defenses have given him time to read through his passing options and throw down field, he has lit up the scoreboard. The Wildcats need to provide a steady pass rush against him and force him to throw on the run.
KANSAS STATE OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 16 | Tyler Lockett | 5-11 | 175 | Sr. |
WR | 14 | Curry Sexton | 5-11 | 183 | Sr. |
LT | 55 | Cody Whitehair | 6-4 | 309 | Jr. |
LG | 77 | Boston Stiverson | 6-4 | 312 | Jr. |
C | 66 | B.J. Finney | 6-4 | 303 | Sr. |
RG | 68 | Luke Hayes | 6-6 | 295 | Jr. |
RT | 65 | Matt Kleinsorge | 6-5 | 306 | Jr. |
TE | 85 | Zach Trujillo | 6-5 | 256 | Sr. |
WR | 6 | Deante Burton | 6-2 | 205 | So. |
QB | 15 | Jake Waters | 6-1 | 210 | Sr. |
RB | 20 | DeMarcus Robinson | 5-7 | 209 | Sr. |
K | 16 | Matthew McCrane | 5-10 | 165 | Fr. |
KANSAS STATE DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 44 | Ryan Mueller | 6-2 | 245 | Sr. |
DT | 60 | Will Geary | 6-9 | 290 | Fr. |
DT | 95 | Travis Britz | 6-4 | 293 | Jr. |
DE | 75 | Jordan Willis | 6-5 | 250 | So. |
LB | 9 | Elijah Lee | 6-3 | 214 | Fr. |
LB | 35 | Will Davis | 6-0 | 223 | So. |
LB | 21 | Jonathan Truman | 5-11 | 219 | Sr. |
CB | 33 | Morgan Burns | 5-11 | 195 | Jr. |
SS | 22 | Dante Barnett | 6-1 | 186 | Jr. |
FS | 20 | Dylan Schellenberg | 6-9 | 195 | Sr. |
CB | 7 | Danzel McDaniel | 6-1 | 205 | Jr. |
P | 14 | Nick Walsh | 5-10 | 198 | Fr. |
TCU OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 7 | Kolby Listenbee | 6-1 | 183 | Jr. |
WR | 20 | Deante’ Gray | 5-10 | 175 | Jr. |
LT | 59 | Tayo Fabuluje | 6-7 | 360 | Sr. |
LG | 77 | Jamelle Naff | 6-4 | 325 | Jr. |
C | 55 | Joey Hunt | 6-3 | 295 | Jr. |
RG | 65 | Brady Foltz | 6-4 | 320 | Jr. |
RT | 74 | Halapoulivaati Vaitai | 6-6 | 308 | Jr. |
TE | 43 | Cliff Murphy | 6-4 | 288 | Sr. |
WR | 13 | Ty Slanina | 6-0 | 193 | So. |
QB | 2 | Trevone Boykin | 6-2 | 205 | Jr. |
RB | 23 | B.J. Catalon | 5-9 | 190 | Jr. |
K | 33 | Jaden Oberkrom | 6-3 | 187 | Jr. |
TCU DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 94 | Josh Carraway | 6-4 | 250 | So. |
DT | 96 | Chucky Hunter | 6-1 | 305 | Sr. |
DT | 57 | Davion Pierson | 6-2 | 305 | Jr. |
DE | 93 | Mike Tuaua | 6-3 | 253 | Jr. |
LB | 54 | Marcus Mallet | 6-1 | 227 | Sr. |
LB | 47 | Paul Dawson | 6-2 | 230 | Sr. |
CB | 11 | Ranthony Texada | 5-10 | 170 | Fr. |
SS | 17 | Sam Carter | 6-1 | 215 | Sr. |
FS | 26 | Derrick Kindred | 5-10 | 210 | Jr. |
WS | 1 | Chris Hackett | 6-2 | 195 | Jr. |
CB | 25 | Kevin White | 5-10 | 174 | Sr. |
P | 37 | Ethan Perry | 6-4 | 230 | Jr. |
Kellis Robinett’s pick: Kansas State 35-33
In games played between even teams, the team that makes the fewest number of mistakes usually wins. This game is dead even on paper, so give the Wildcats a slight edge.
Kellis Robinett, krobinett@kcstar.com
This story was originally published November 6, 2014 at 3:07 PM with the headline "Kansas State-TCU college football preview."