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Derek's Dish: Establishing realistic running game key moving forward

Count on K-StateOnline recruiting analyst Derek Young to offer his fresh, unique and informed observations following every game this fall.

GAME BALLS

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I’m still giving out three game balls, but I’d be lying if I said it was an easy task. If we’re being completely honest, there weren’t a lot of sterling performances to draw from.

For the third week in a row, I’m giving one to Matthew McCrane. The kicker has been nails and probably should be an all-conference selection following this season if he continues to be as reliable as he’s been. He connected on two field goals, and one was 50-plus yards again - he drilled a 51-yarder in the third quarter.

I would never have expected to give a ball to Trent Tanking when the Wildcats are defending against an offense based off of spread principles but here we are. He had an underrated performance. We probably should have taken more notice of it in ‘Eyes Don’t Lie.’ In particular, he disrupted a few of those crossing routes that had been mentioned repeatedly on our message board, ‘The Foundation.’

The final game ball from Saturday will be awarded to A.J. Parker. I surrender to those that suggest he could have better in the second half - I agree with that. However, I felt like Parker was exceptional in the first half. Perhaps this game ball should be given to whoever made the call to insert him into the starting nickel back role.

Gary Patterson's TCU Horned Frogs might be the Big 12's best hope for inclusion in the College Football Playoff.
Gary Patterson's TCU Horned Frogs might be the Big 12's best hope for inclusion in the College Football Playoff. (Associated Press)

FIVE UP, FIVE DOWN

Five Up, Five Down takes a more nationwide approach on my thoughts from the weekend.

UP

1. Big 12: I think the conference is in the playoff. Heck, TCU might go undefeated, which would definitely get the Big 12 in. If the Horned Frogs go undefeated, it probably means two wins over the Sooners. But another route is Oklahoma winning out. The Big 12 is in a surprisingly good spot. It just doesn’t mean anything to K-State.

2. The U: Miami rises up every 10-15 years. Well, the time has come. Mark Richt has the Canes looking fresh and dangerous. They’ll be in the Top 10 after a 5-0 start. They should move to 7-0 following games the next two weeks against Syracuse and North Carolina.

3. Charlie Strong: Does he get another shot somewhere? He’s got South Florida rolling. The Bulls are undefeated and could play in a New Year’s Six Bowl in his first season. Now, he may have Willie Taggart to thank somewhat for that. But they’re also certainly helped by San Diego State getting tripped up by Boise State and Navy losing to Memphis.

4. UNC basketball: They breathe a sigh of relief after the NCAA refuses to levy any punishment following a three-year investigation.

5. Iowa State: The beat rolls on. The Cyclones should be going bowling.

DOWN

1. Kansas State: The team projected to possibly go 11-2 is now in danger of not reaching a bowl game.

2. The State of Washington: No. 1 last week in ‘Five Up, Five Down,’ but boy, can things change in a hurry. The two Pac -12 teams combined for only 10 points on the week. Mike Leach and Washington State were shelled by Cal 37-3 while Washington fell to Arizona State 13-7.

3. Pac-12: See above. The conference needed the Washington schools to run the table. Now, the Pac-12 may need USC to catch fire and win out to be included in the playoff. It’d be hard to convince many that a one-loss Washington deserves a shot and a one-loss Washington State probably has zero chance.

4. Baylor: The Bears lost again. By a lot.

5. Bryce Love: He may run for 2,000 yards this year and not win the Heisman Trophy. Most of the country only pays attention to what happens east of the Mississippi, unless you’re USC. Saquon Barkley will get too much of the attention and publicity.

Wide receiver Byron Pringle was unable to haul in this pass Saturday against TCU.
Wide receiver Byron Pringle was unable to haul in this pass Saturday against TCU. (Associated Press)

WHEN DO YOU THINK AHEAD?

Kansas State is 3-3. The Wildcats started 3-3 a season ago as well but finished out 9-4, winning six of their final seven games. But even Bill Snyder admitted following the disappointment at home against TCU that there may be something going on and different things going wrong this year.

And that’s not really a good thing. It feels worse, and some hope and confidence seems to be lacking. So, when is the future considered? I’m not sure next weekend against Oklahoma is the proper time. I think you’re still ‘all-in’ and try and grab a season-changing victory.

But if the Wildcats fall to Oklahoma - and there likely won’t be a soul that picks the Wildcats to win next Saturday - I think it’s time to get some new guys in there for a bit more playing time and live experience with the bullets flying.

That would include Skylar Thompson. I think you need to know what you have and be convinced who next year’s quarterback is. I still would be tempted to throw him into the fire against the Sooners, to be honest. It also means more snaps for Elijah Sullivan, Eli Walker, Nick Lenners, Blaise Gammon and A.J. Parker.

But if they can’t surprise and walk out of Saturday in Manhattan with a win over Oklahoma, I’d consider finding additional snaps for those players. It’d be time to turn the page.

NEED AN ANSWER IN THE RUNNING GAME

Does the offensive line need to be more effective? Yes. Does there likely need to be a little bit more creativity? Yes. Do the running backs need to show more burst and explosion? Yes.

I don’t know where the solutions come from. I don’t know if the solutions are on the current roster. This area of the offense is a big problem and needs to be fixed, somehow and some way. Want to do better on third downs? Run the ball better. Gaining better chunks on first and second down make third down more manageable? Why isn’t it manageable? The run game lacks any effectiveness for one reason or another.

Is the read option really a read? Does the quarterback really have the option? I don’t know. But either it’s not a read by the quarterback and it’d be more effective if it was, or Alex Delton is making the incorrect read a lot of times.

This offense is going to be stuck in mud until there’s some answers on how to consistently run the ball better. I know Alex Barnes has not been as successful as a he was a year ago but I don’t think the solution is as simple as removing him from the lineup and inserting Mike McCoy, Justin Silmon or Dalvin Warmack like some have requested. I think the root of the issue is much deeper than that.

THROW WHEN YOU WANT, NOT WHEN YOU MUST

The statistic of the game Saturday was how each team fared on third down. TCU converted 9 of 18 times on third down while the Wildcats struggled to a tune of 2 for 15.

I don’t have a lot of answers for why the defense struggled to stop the Horned Frogs on third down. Three did come on the first drive of the game, though, when I think the cornerbacks were allowing too much of a cushion. Even D.J. Reed was playing pretty far off his man. I think they can challenge the receivers more and not be so worried about getting beat.

Offensively, it comes down to what you’re doing on first and second down. As we said, the struggling ground game is a big reason why they can’t get to manageable third downs.

Kansas State’s passing game is already limited. It is only complicated further when they’re putting itself into obvious passing situations. The trick for this team with Delton at the helm should be to throw when you want to and not when you have to.

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