Kansas State is coming off a loss to Texas. The Wildcats will host TCU on Saturday.

K-State Football Weekly Press Conference Quotes
Head Coach Bill Snyder

On the team’s attitude following a tough loss…
“I am probably going to wait a few days to make it a real determination in my own mind. I thought they came back with some determination with how angry they were.”

On Alex Delton’s passing ability…
“Alex has a strong arm. He is an athlete. He throws the ball well. As for anybody at that position, he wouldn’t be there if he couldn’t throw the ball. I think the important thing is to manage the process and go through the progressions and make the right decisions about where to go with the ball.”

On his reflections after re-watching the Texas game…
“First and foremost, Texas is a very good football team. As I said before, they continue to make improvement, and that is expected with a new staff and new system. They played a very good game, and I do not want to take that away from them, but we left a lot on the table defensively and we did offensively as well. We got a few points on the board against a very fine defense, but we had the opportunities on offense to win it. We didn’t do what we needed to do.”

On the depth at quarterback…
“Jesse (Ertz) is number one, Alex (Delton) is number two. Skylar is doing well – he is getting repetitions in practice. Not too many third-string guys get a lot of reps in practice, but he gets a fair share of them.”

On Big 12 competition and playing a ranked team…
“I think for players it truly does make a difference. From a coaches’ standpoint, they are all good. I do not care if they are ranked – they are all good. People talk so much about the balance and you look across the league and see the things that are happening. It just makes sense that there are a lot of good football teams in this conference. I would like to think that everybody would be highly motivated no matter who you were playing. I think that part of it, I have concerned myself with.”

On facing a top-10 team…
“The way I look at it, they (Big 12 teams) are all top-25 teams to me. I guess it is hard for people to understand that, but that is what makes college football so great. Just look at Iowa State and Oklahoma. Obviously anybody can beat anybody on any given day. It is all about the same thing – who prepares the best, who plays the best and who coaches the best. That will never change.”

On TCU quarterback Kenny Hill…
“He wasn’t all that bad when he came into the ballgame against us a year ago. They talk about him being improved, and I certainly can see that. That is how it should be. You should be getting better and better all the time even us old people should be getting better over time. He is throwing the ball well and he is 10th in the nation in completing 69-percent of his passes. He can bring the ball down when he wants to and run. There are times when you’re watching him on tape and see he has above-average speed. Then you watch a few more plays and you can tell he has excellent speed. I do not know what is clock time is, but he can run.”

Sophomore Quarterback Alex Delton
On his mindset when entering the Texas game…
“It is an intense moment. It kind of throws you off, but my role is to be ready. I feel that I was ready. When I got in there, I had some nerves going, but after the first snap I felt fine and was ready to execute our game plan.”

On if he knew he was going to enter the game…
“Last week, we anticipated me possibly going in the game, but you never really know. Jesse (Ertz) was playing well, but they called my number and I was ready to go. We did some positive things, and then there are some things we can work on. We are just going to move forward and try to get on the right path this week.”

On if he was looking for a chance to show off his arm …
“I don’t know if it is necessary. I like making plays for this offense, whether it is with my legs or my arm. Anytime you can make a big play, regardless of how you are doing it, is a big thing for the offense. Last week I made some big plays with my with legs and our offensive line did a great job. I am excited to get in there and make some plays with my arm. We have guys who are threats downfield that I feel confident throwing the ball to.”

On how he spends his time on the sidelines…
“I take every play in mentally and try to put myself in the shoes of Jesse (Ertz). I am looking at their defense to see what coverage they are in. I try to visualize the play and go through the play mentally, so if I get thrown in the game, no curveballs are thrown at me.

Sophomore Wide Receiver Dalton Schoen
On the support he has received this year…
“I have heard from a lot of high school friends, teammates, and people from back home who have all seen on social media platforms what I have been doing. They are all congratulating me and happy to see me having some success after knowing me my whole life and seeing me grow up.”

On the improvement of the passing game…
“It was definitely an improvement. We had better execution and did a better job of being where we needed to be. We spread the ball around and made some catches. There is still room to get better, and we have to obviously do better if we want to win the game.”

On his 82-yard touchdown catch…
“I have seen the play quite a few times on film and social media. It really worked out well for us that they had a linebacker in as the nickel. I was able to get an easy release behind him and the safety above me went to a cover two look and got way off the hash. I was able to bend it back to the middle of the field and caught the ball with a lot of space and just ran away from him.”

On putting Texas behind them as a team…
“As quickly as we can get all the mistakes corrected and then move on to prepare for next week. We need to make sure we fix the mistakes we made in the game and get things locked up – whether it is on offense, defense or special teams – and then start game planning for TCU.”

Senior Linebacker Jayd Kirby
On the team after the loss…
“It hurt and we were all pretty upset about it. Yesterday at practice, we just all had the mindset of getting better.”

On the defense…
“Right now our main focus is just on getting better. I feel like we had been improving each and every week until Texas. We just took a step back and need to fix what we need to fix there.”

Sophomore Defensive End Kyle Ball
On playing against TCU quarterback Kenny Hill…
“He is a great quarterback with some good speed. It is just about keeping him in the pocket and do what we have to do to rush the passer. We have to keep him from scrambling and that is the biggest thing. In the Texas game, he (Sam Ehlinger) scrambled and got the first down, and I give credit to him. Going forward, we need to learn from our mistakes and not let that happen again against TCU.”

On playing TCU…
“It is pretty exciting and we are all pumped. It is nice coming back home for that game. They are a great team this year and this is going to be a big challenge. We are looking forward to it.”

On TCU’s offense…
“They have a lot of speed up front. They are pretty talented and big. It is just going to be a lot about how to combat that speed they have. We need to fit up on our assignments and do it quicker. You might hit your gap, but if you are late on, it they can still break free. It is about being good on their schemes, knowing how to defend it and just going after them.”

Senior Place Kicker Matthew McCrane
On playing TCU…
“It is a good opportunity for us. We have set some goals in place from the beginning of the year. I don’t think those are out of reach. We have a lot of work to do to be able to do that. I don’t think that is something we are going to count out just yet. We have a chance with TCU coming in this weekend. We have a tough schedule the next couple of weeks. Our goal is still that, which is make to it to the Big 12 Championship game. As players, that is our goal and hopefully the coaches support that.”

On the game last week…
“As a special teams unit, I think we did fairly good. Our returns have been struggling the past couple if weeks. We have to turn that around and get it fixed. We just have to do our jobs and let it play out. Overall. offensively we have some work to do and we have a lot to improve in with special teams.”

————
RYAN LACKEY
Asst. Director/Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

Coming off a heartbreaking double-overtime loss at Texas last week, Kansas State will look to rebound in the first of two-straight home games against ranked opponents when the Wildcats host sixth-ranked TCU on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The contest kicks at 11 a.m.

A LOOK AT K-STATE

• Guided by Hall of Famer Bill Snyder, who is in his 26th year at the helm, the Wildcats are looking to defeat a top-10 team at home for the first time since 2006.
• Senior Jesse Ertz enters the game tops in the nation in yards per completion (16.91) and 10th in yards per attempt (9.30).
• Ertz also leads the team with 336 rushing yards and has 1,399 in his career to rank third in school history in career rushing yards by quarterbacks.
• Six different Wildcats have scored on the ground this year, while four different receivers have carded a touchdown catch, led by Dalton Schoen’s three.
• Schoen is coming off a career day at Texas when he hauled in five catches for 128 yards and touchdowns of 82 and 12 yards.
• K-State’s defense continues to put in solid work as the Wildcats head into the weekend with the league’s No. 2 unit in total defense and tops in pass defense and pass efficiency defense.
• K-State held its first four opponents to under 21 points for the sixth time under Snyder, joining the 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 teams.
• K-State also enters the TCU game ranked 11th nationally in turnover margin (+6), 32nd in scoring defense (20.0 points per game) and 44th in total defense (356.0).
• The Wildcats are led by linebacker Trent Tanking, who is 14th in the Big 12 with 37 tackles, while defensive tackle Will Geary has a team-best 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks, the latter tying for fifth in the Big 12.
• Kendall Adams became just the third Big 12 player ever to return an interception for a touchdown and a fumble for a score in the same game against Charlotte as he earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.
• Adams had another solid outing against Baylor with eight tackles, one for a loss, a pass breakup and an interception, giving him three picks over his last six games.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES

• The all-time series is tied, 5-5, with the Wildcats holding a 3-2 advantage since TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012. K-State is also 3-2 in games played in Manhattan.
• The road team has won each of the last two contests.
• It’s the second-straight time TCU travels to Manhattan as a ranked team. In 2015, the second-ranked Horned Frogs earned a 52-45 win, a game in which the Wildcats led, 35-17, at halftime.

RYAN LACKEY
Assistant Director | Athletics Communications

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Big 12 Conference and its television partners announced Monday that Kansas State’s October 21 Homecoming contest against Oklahoma has been placed on the six-day ready list and the exact game time and television designation will be announced on Sunday.

 

If the game is broadcast on the ESPN family of networks – ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 – the Wildcats and Sooners will kick at 11 a.m. If the game is televised by FS1, the game will begin at 2:30 p.m. If selected by FOX, the game will be at either 3 p.m., or 7 p.m.

 

Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 74-19-4, including an 11-5 mark since the Big 12’s first season of 1996. The Wildcats are in search of their first home victory over the Sooners since a 42-35 triumph in 1996.

 

Kansas State hosts sixth-ranked TCU on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The 11 a.m., contest will be televised nationally on FS1.

 

Scattered singles for the game against the Horned Frogs are on sale for $45 and can be purchased by clicking here. Standing-room only tickets can be purchased for $75 by clicking here, and a $199 standing-room only Wildcat 4 Pack is available here.

 

Limited ticket options for all remaining home football games can also be purchased online by clicking here, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.

 

AUSTIN, Texas – Running back Chris Warren III’s 2-yard run in the second overtime lifted Texas to a 40-34 victory over Kansas State at Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.

 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The K-State defense came prepared early as Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger came out slinging on the first play from scrimmage of the game, but was intercepted by safety D.J. Reed. Reed was able to jump the deep Texas pass, and record the sole Wildcat takeaway of the game. Following the interception, the Wildcats were able to get into scoring position on their second offensive possession, as kicker Matthew McCrane drilled a 54-yard field goal to put K-State on the scoreboard first.

 

After holding the Longhorns on a fourth-down attempt, K-State was able to march the ball 97-yards down the field on the strength of an 82-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jesse Ertz to wide out Dalton Schoen. Ertz connected with Schoen across the middle of the field, and Schoen was able to use his speed to outrun the Texas defenders.

 

The second quarter served as a shootout between the teams, as there were 35 points scored in the quarter. The Longhorns connected on a misdirection pass from Ehlinger to Warren, who was able to find open space on a wheel route, giving Texas the lead going into halftime, 21-17.

 

In the second half, Ertz left the game with an injury, and was replaced by sophomore Alex Delton. Delton added a rushing spark, that led to his first career rushing touchdown on a two-yard scat that found the end zone. The Wildcats would add a McCrane field goal on the subsequent possession.

 

Leading 27-24 with only minutes remaining, Texas was able to get into scoring position to knot the game at 27 behind a 34-yard field goal by Joshua Rowland.

 

With the game tied at 27, K-State was forced to punt with under a minute left. The Longhorns marched down the field and attempted a 45-yard field goal from the right hash mark, that sailed right of the uprights. The game was tied at 27 at the end of regulation.

 

In overtime, Texas received possession first and scored on their first play from scrimmage, on a strike from Ehlinger to Jerrod Heard. K-State responded with an eight-yard rush from Delton to force a second overtime at 34-34. The Longhorns would hold the Wildcats to a missed 53-yard field goal, and score a game-winning touchdown on the subsequent drive, taking the game 40-34.

 

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Sophomore wide receiver Dalton Schoen had a career day, hauling in a career-high 128 receiving yards on 5 receptions and two touchdowns. Schoen’s 82-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was the longest play from scrimmage this season, topping his 70-yard reception against Central Arkansas on September 2. Schoen hauled in his second touchdown reception of the game on a 12-yard pass from Ertz in the second quarter, setting a career-high in touchdown receptions.

 

Quarterback Alex Delton added a threat to the running game when he came in for Ertz, adding 79 rushing yards on 12 attempts and two touchdowns. Delton went 2-for-5 through the air for 30 yards.

 

Ertz accounted for 224 yards through the air on 12-for-18 passing and two touchdowns.

 

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Junior defensive back D.J. Reed snagged his fifth career interception on the first defensive play from scrimmage. Reed jumped the deep pass from Ehlinger, marking his second interception of the season.

 

After allowing Texas to get into the red zone in the first quarter, the K-State defense came up with a critical hold on fourth down, as the Longhorns attempted to go for it on fourth-and-one in Wildcat territory. The defense forced an incompletion on fourth down to take over possession, the first since September 2^nd against Central Arkansas.

 

The Wildcat defense was led by a trio of tacklers that hit double digits in tackles, as Denzel Goolsby, Jayd Kirby and Trent Tanking all reached 11 tackles in the game. The total marks the career high for the three defenders, and marked the second time Tanking reached double digits in tackles this season.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS STARS OF THE GAME

Last week’s Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, Matthew McCrane picked up where he left off, connecting on a 54-yard field goal in the first quarter marking a career-long, and the eighth-longest field goal in school history. McCrane also added a 33-yard field goal in the fourth, and connected on all of his extra points, going 4-for-4 in the game. Last week against Baylor, McCrane went 4-for-4 in field goals, one shy of the single-game school record by a kicker.

 

Freshman AJ Parker came up with a huge play on the punt team, as punter Nick Walsh booted the ball deep into Texas territory, as Parker tip-toed the end zone line and pinned Texas at the one-yard line. The aware play by Parker led to a Texas punt.

 

STAT OF THE GAME

Matthew McCrane’s 54-yard field goal on the Wildcat’s first possession marks the eighth longest field goal in school history. McCrane’s 54-yarder also marks a career long.

 

SEASON RECORD UPDATE

K-State 3-2 (1-1 Big 12)

Texas 3-2 (2-0 Big 12)

 

WHAT’S NEXT

K-State will return home on Saturday, October 14 to take on the TCU Horned Frogs at Bill Snyder Family Stadium at 11:00 a.m.The game will air on Fox Sports.

 

–www.kstatesports.com–

 

Kansas State University, the nation’s first operational land-grant institution and a Carnegie Foundation Tier One university, is recognized as one of the nation’s best colleges with world-class research and academic excellence located in America’s No. 1 College Town (Manhattan, KS).

————
TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

PREP FOOTBALL

Andover 42, Newton 14

Andover Central 43, Circle 21

Atchison 50, KC Harmon 0

Attica/Argonia 68, Fairfield-Cunningham 22

Axtell 62, Wetmore 26

BV North 49, BV West 14

Basehor-Linwood 21, Lansing 13

Bishop Miege 54, Mill Valley 21

Blue Valley 38, Blue Valley Southwest 10

Caldwell 46, Norwich 0

Canton-Galva 66, St. John 32

Central Plains 52, Little River 12

Centralia 50, Washington County 0

Cheylin 40, Western Plains-Healy 0

Cimarron 30, Elkhart 6

Clay Center 48, Abilene 6

Conway Springs 44, Mulvane 13

DeSoto 42, Baldwin 0

Derby 34, Salina Central 0

Dodge City 7, Hays 3

Doniphan West 44, Horton 34

El Dorado 55, Independence 6

Garden Plain 38, Douglass 16

Greenfield, Mo. 50, Crest 0

Haven 14, Hillsboro 13

Hesston 30, Kingman 14

Hoisington 32, Nickerson 14

Hoxie 54, Quinter 0

Hutchinson 49, Salina South 14

Iola 43, Osawatomie 19

Jackson Heights 52, Wabaunsee 0

Jefferson North 12, Christ Preparatory Academy 6

KC Piper 58, KC Bishop Ward 0

KC Schlagle 54, KC Sumner 7

Labette County 31, Frontenac 17

Lawrence 28, Olathe South 14

Leavenworth 17, SM North 7

Louisburg 33, Spring Hill 0

Macksville 46, Kiowa County 0

Maize South 49, Winfield 21

Manhattan 42, Junction City 12

Marion 14, Hutchinson Trinity 6

Marmaton Valley 46, Madison/Hamilton 6

Maur Hill – Mount Academy 45, Riverside 8

McPherson 35, Rose Hill 0

Moundridge 44, Inman 8

Nemaha Central 30, Perry-Lecompton 13

Neodesha 60, Bluestem 18

Northern Valley 68, Wilson 0

Olathe North 41, SM West 6

Olpe 61, Yates Center 0

Oxford 52, Peabody-Burns 6

Paola 37, Bonner Springs 14

Pittsburg Colgan 49, Riverton 6

Pratt 39, Halstead 30

Pretty Prairie 55, Bucklin 8

Rolla def. Fowler, forfeit

SM East 43, Olathe East 14

Sabetha 57, Atchison County 8

Santa Fe Trail 30, Prairie View 27

Satanta 56, Kinsley 14

Shawnee Heights 27, Topeka Hayden 14

Silver Lake 41, Riley County 14

Smoky Valley 22, Lyons 0

South Barber 20, Chase 0

South Central 47, Pratt Skyline 0

St. John’s Beloit-Tipton 48, Tescott 12

St. Mary’s 26, Rock Creek 21

St. Thomas Aquinas 34, St. James Academy 14

Stafford 34, Ashland 0

Sylvan-Lucas 46, Lakeside 6

Syracuse 35, Sublette 0

Tonganoxie 41, KC Turner 8

Topeka Seaman 27, Emporia 13

Troy 36, McLouth 12

Wakefield 56, Frankfort 8

Wellsville 70, Anderson County 12

West Franklin 42, Chase County 12

Wichita West 47, Wichita North 0

POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS

Beloit vs. Southeast Saline, ppd. to Oct 7th.

Clifton-Clyde vs. Burlingame, ccd.

Ellinwood vs. Goessel, ppd. to Oct 7th.

Ellsworth vs. Minneapolis, ppd. to Oct 7th.

Republic County vs. Russell, ppd. to Oct 7th.

Rock Hills vs. Pike Valley, ppd. to Oct 10th.

Sterling vs. Ell-Saline, ppd. to Oct 7th.

Victoria vs. Bennington, ppd. to Oct 8th.