S11 X's and O's Preview: How K-State Has Evolved On Both Sides of The Ball
This is Part 3 of my Baylor-Kansas State preview, covering the Wildcats from an X’s and O’s perspective. Part 1 covered their roster, and Part 2 covered them statistically.
Klieman’s Wildcats Evolving Their Scheme in Year 7
Kansas State comes to Waco with a 2-3 record and is coming off a solid win against UCF. However, this KSU team is a little different than the ones BU faced in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Chris Klieman has been the head coach at KSU since 2019 after winning four FCS National Titles at North Dakota State. He’s an accomplished coach who led KSU to the 2022 Big 12 title and made it an annually tough opponent after Bill Snyder retired.
Offense
KSU has adapted its offense over the years from what Klieman and his staff ran at North Dakota State and earlier at KSU. When they arrived, it was a very much a smashmouth, big formation offense built around A-gap power, as you see in this clip.
However, over time, it became less about that and more about spreading variations of the same ideas.
They even managed to blend the old school KSU patient QB run staples with an A-gap power.
They also built looks off of those wrinkles.
They were more spread but still had a foundation in superior line play and blocking scheme wrinkles.
However, under new offensive coordinator Matt Wells, it’s become a lot less downhill running and more finesse this season. Wells is a coach with extensive experience in spread offenses, having worked with them both as an assistant under Steve Kragthorpe and during his tenure as head coach at Texas Tech and Nevada. The offense is a blend of what he’s done and what KSU has done. It bases out 12 (one back, two tight ends) or 11 (one back, one tight end) personnel, but they will frequently split their tailbacks and TEs out as wide receiver alignments. To be fair, KSU has had success with this for a while now.
Their run game is mostly zone and counter-based, with some QB read and inverted sweep reads now. A-gap power has largely been de-emphasized, and it’s odd to see.
However, Wells still stresses you in unique ways. He will utilize motion and formations to gain an advantage. Here is an example where they put the tailback in the slot, faked a potential sweep, and used that action to gain an edge on the backside.
Also, many of his basic pass patterns show up in new packaging. This concept is just a formation-swapped version of what he ran at Texas Tech.
In addition to this one, I have seen many staples from his time in Lubbock show up as well. KSU will show a lot more empty sets than they did in recent years, and they put a fair amount on their young, highly touted QB, Avery Johnson. He’s not consistent but has the arm talent and mobility to really stress a defense to its breaking points.
Given his slender build and the general desire not to injure their QB, they have incorporated some Wildcat packages where a non-QB or mobile backup QB takes the ball as a runner with option reads possibly attached. This play by Jayce Brown was one that went for a 75-yard touchdown against Arizona.
Against UCF, they broke out a package where backup QB Blake Barnett, who happens to be a 220-pound former track athlete, joins Johnson in the backfield at either QB or RB, and they run Wildcat-style option read runs or direct QB runs with it. Baylor needs to be ready for it and the kinds of trick plays that OSU tried with a second current or former QB on the field.
Defense
DC Joe Klanderman has been with Klieman since the NDSU days and has been DC since 2020, overseeing KSU’s defensive evolution that I credit with enabling them to compete for the Big 12 title in 2022.
When he first arrived at KSU through 2020, they based out of a four-down split safety defense that had significant Tampa 2 influences. After seeing their defense shredded by the wide-open Big 12, they adapted to a more Iowa State-style 3-3 stack from 2021 to 2024. This season they’ve adapted again to a hybrid 3-3-5 that acts a lot more like a one-gap 3-4 or the Phil Bennett three-man front at Baylor from late 2015 to 2016.
Their base defense will feature:
- Three Down Lineman: Two Defensive Ends and an NT.
- Three Linebackers, but the BUCK is a hybrid DE/LB who can rush the passer or drop in coverage on the edge.
- Five Defensive Backs, with the STAR being more of a safety-type player.
The BUCK will often be on the line but can line up as an overhang between the line and a slot, as well as sit behind the NT a few yards as a possible interior rusher.
Since the 3-4 is the origination point for their rules, teams can potentially get the STAR or WLB into tough alignments for run or pass by using formations that put the strength into the boundary. Here, we have a play where the heavier WLB is positioned close to the slot receiver, and the lightweight STAR is positioned across from the B gap, which isn’t ideal.
In coverage, they will do a lot of different things. KSU is not afraid to play man coverage, and they have the talent to hold up in it, but the broadcasters said that over the first three games, they were in zone three-fourths of the time, so it’s not something they consistently rely on.
I’ve seen a fair amount of Cover 3, Quarters, Cover 2, Tampa 2 and different variations on man coverage. They are pretty multiple and will use their STAR and BUCK positions in different ways to augment those coverages.
There will be series where you see them act like the 2010-2020 KSU defenses that rush four and play conservatively, and others will see them bring pressure and single you up. They also do a good job of showing one and giving you another to worry with.
A new alignment can potentially result in unfavorable matchups, however, as opposed to a more traditional four-down or three-down approach with specific body types assigned to each position. They were a little small at DE and BUCK against four linemen on the playside that really helped Arizona wash them out of their gaps on this long run.
Final Questions
What has been the source of their struggles this year after showing recent promise?
The defense has largely been ok other than a couple of long plays this season. With as much movement and disruption as they do, that’s part of the tradeoff.
Offensively, however, it’s been several things. Some of it has just been bad blocking. Here, they run a zone read, and two guys get nobody. Even with the QB and his blocking escort accounting for two guys, they have a backside DL and frontside LB completely untouched to hit the RB. I’ve been shocked at some of what I saw on tape, as KSU usually isn’t that shaky.
Pair this with a lot of smaller ball carriers, and the ability to grind out conversions is lessened. Now they were better with a reshuffled line vs UCF, so BU may be catching them at the wrong time.
From there, you put a lot on a young QB in long yardage, and the inconsistency that typically accompanies a young QB facing pressure and new wideouts can lead to sputtering results even if they are talented.
Do you see a clearer path to victory by adding more defenders to the box and fitting traditional run blitzes keyed on the RB, or should Baylor look to contain the K-State offense by keying on the QB run?
Arizona had a lot of success coming after them, using stunts, blitzes and pressures. I think there’s a good argument for it here. With that said, I could see Dave Aranda try his bread and butter since their line isn’t a strength. They are a far cry from the lines in 2022 and 2023 that gave BU fits.
I do hope Aranda mixes up some more aggressive coverages. Too many conversions in those games showed BU outnumbered at the point of attack outside. This key conversion was a good example as the play call didn’t allow them a shot to stop this pre-snap motion swing pass conversion
I think you need a spy on Johnson at times in key situations, but he’s a guy who wants to pass. He is reluctant to run and take hits, and it may not be as urgent a requirement as it was for Jackson Arnold or Sam Leavitt.
You have to be sound against the designed runs and QB reads. Both Johnson and Edwards are very dangerous and fast.
This is a legit question and not sarcasm, I promise. The narrative from the administration and Baylor media has been "Dave is one of the best defensive minds in the country. It's not like he just forgot how to coach defense." From an X's and O's perspective, would you agree? I'm not someone who knows defensive play calling at all… are we a bad defense due to scheming and play calling or because our players are all bad at doing their individual jobs? Or maybe collective jobs?
He is a great defensive mind. The question is, can he get the pieces he needs here, and can he adapt to what he has? Baylor’s struggles are a mixed bag.
- Some of it is stretches of poor playcalls. Playing too soft in coverage and letting Auburn run on you instead of making them pass was a good example, as was waiting so long to pressure OSU’s young QB.
- Some of it is injuries and poor execution. The opening play of last week’s game should have been a short gain on the chalkboard, but a player busts his assignment. Another play had a spy on, and the spy gets too far upfield and lets the scramble go for a possible conversion. The Colorado game last year is an easy win on the Hail Mary play if one JACK linebacker rushes the correct gap, for example.
It’s been rough watching this defense, but they have had moments of putting things together, like most of the ASU game. However, the results have been inconsistent at best.
Why are we waiting to blitz, stunt, etc., until the second half?
Against an OSU team you knew you could beat, it makes sense to keep some of that off film, so teams have less time with your specific blitz packages and less time to devise counterpunches to them. With that said, I wasn’t happy watching the defense on Saturday, and it probably should have been done earlier.
Prediction?
You have two units that have had their occasional hiccups but have largely performed very well in the Baylor offense and the Kansas State defense. You also have the other side of the ball for each with sputtering results.
I think that KSU’s struggles to run the ball out of their base offense will play into Aranda’s hands. I don’t trust consistency from either team, but I think Baylor has the better quarterback, better lines and better weapons outside, and it’s enough to secure the win.
- Baylor: 30
- Kansas State: 24
