2009 Texas Tech Opponent Prospectus
Game 1: North Dakota Fighting Sioux // Game 2: Rice Owls // Game 3: Texas Longhorns // Game 4: Houston Cougars // Game 5: New Mexico Lobos // Game 6: Kansas State Wildcats
The Bill Snyder era, part deux begins in 2009. Unfortunately, I have some serious reservations about the ability of a coach to re-capture that magic what he had under his first tenure, but from the tremendous amount of upheaval at Kansas State, I can understand the need to hire what you know.
Join me after the jump for a closer look at Kansas State.
General Information
| Opponent | Kansas State University |
| Nickname | Wildcats |
| Location | Manhattan, KS |
| Enrollment | 17,000 (Undergraduate) |
| Conference | Big 12 |
| Head Coach | Bill Snyder |
| 2008 Record | 5-7 (2-6) |
| Starters Returning/Lost | 14/8 |
| Blogs | Bring On The Cats |
| Links |
2009 Roster 2009 Spring Game Recap |
Statistics
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| Statistic | Kansas State | Texas Tech |
| Pass Offense | 269.58 (19) | 413.15 (1) |
| Rush Offense | 132.50 (76) | 117.84 (94) |
| Total Offense | 402.08 (34) | 531.00 (4) |
| Scoring Offense | 34.92 (19) | 43.77 (3) |
| Pass Efficiency | 135.12 (36) | 158.76 (9) |
| Sacks Allowed | 1.33 (24) | 1.00 (4) |
| Pass Defense | 261.42 (106) | 242.23 (94) |
| Rush Defense | 216.67 (112) | 140.38 (61) |
| Total Defense | 479.08 (117) | 382.62 (79) |
| Scoring Defense | 35.83 (110) | 27.85 (74) |
| Pass Efficiency Defense | 138.27 (95) | 130.56 (72) |
| Sacks | 1.76 (83) | 2.62 (18) |
| Tackles For Loss | 5.75 (58) | 4.85 (95) |
| Turnover Margin | -0.58 (94) | 0.62 (22) |
Top Returners
| Category | Player |
| Rushing | Lamark Brown (118 / 412 yds / 5 TD) |
| Passing | Carson Coffman (25-41 / 282 yds / 1 TD / 2 Int) |
| Receiving | Brandon Banks (67 rec. / 1,049 yds / 9 TD) |
| Tackles | Joshua Moore (76) |
| Sacks | Brandon Harold (3.0) |
| Interceptions | Joshua Moore (3) |
A Few Things
- Harolding Harold: I was so very close to voting DT Brandon Harold as my first team preseason defensive tackle. If I had, I realize that it would have been premature, but what I saw from Harold, as a true freshman last year, was nothing short of spectacular. I have no idea if he's going to play DT or DE, but he can be a dominating player and he's only going to improve on his 10.5 tackles for a loss and 3 sacks.
- Coaching Up Coffman: The only time that I was able to watch QB Carson Coffman was in mop-up duty against Texas Tech last year, and I realize that it was just mop-up duty, but I think Coffman is going to be just fine at the quarterback position for the Wildcats. I don't know that he's going to light the world on fire, but I don't think he's going to be the reason why Kansas State loses games.
- Struggling Defense: However, I do think that Kansas State will lose games because of the less than stellar defense. If there's one thing that Snyder should be able to improve upon, it's the defense, where Kansas State finished 117th in total defense last year. And it wasn't just one facet of the defense that struggled, it was the rush and pass defense that couldn't seem to stop anyone. Co-defensive coordinator Vic Koenning should help improve this Wildcat defense. Maybe not this year, but he has a solid track record as a defensive coordinator.
- Brown Is Not Running: Although Lamark Brown is the leading returning rusher for last year, he made the switch from WR to RB and back to WR last year (I think). From reviewing the spring game numbers, Keithen Valentine will be your lead running back come this fall. It appears that Valentine was one of the JUCO signees last year and he'll be a senior this year.
- I Loves me Some Banks: Banks is one of those players that I think you could see at just about any college and you wouldn't have a clue that he can play some football. Standing at a slight 5'7", 150 pounds, he's the kind of player that you might see playing for Texas Tech. Undersized, but not undervalued, at least by his team. Banks is that guy for Kansas State, and if you don't remember last year, he can absolutely explode during a game, with 4 games where he had over 100 yards receiving (153, 127, 145 and 116).
- Moore's Not Bad: CB Joshua Moore is one of those guys that you probably haven't heard of, but he's actually has some pretty good numbers. The poor pass defense was not a result of Moore's effort, as he had 12 passes broken up, lead the team in interceptions and led the team in tackles . . . all as a sophomore.