(Photo: Topeka Capital-Journal)
There’s no sugarcoating what Arizona State football is going up against this Saturday.
In their final game outside the state of Arizona this regular season, the Sun Devils will head up north to Manhattan, Kan. to face a fellow Big 12 contender in No. 20 Kansas State. Picked to finish second in the Big 12 Preseason Media Poll, the Wildcats (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) are currently fifth in the conference and slotted in at No. 16 in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings.
This success isn’t anything abnormal under head coach Chris Klieman, though — it became the standard almost upon his arrival five years ago.
In the first seasons following the conclusion of legendary head coach Bill Snyder’s second stint at Kansas State, Klieman led the Wildcats to an 8-5 mark and an appearance in the Liberty Bowl, where they were defeated by Navy. Since then, his team has failed to win at least eight games only once: in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
Kansas State appears to be well on its way to meeting that quota this year. Undefeated at home with a 4-0 record, it currently owns seven wins with two of its final three games of the year coming at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Thanks to a bye last week, the Wildcats have had nearly two weeks to sit on their loss at Houston on Nov. 2 and will look to get back on track in front of a packed house this weekend.
In other words, ASU coming out of Manhattan with a win — which is needed to keep its slim Big 12 Championship Hopes Alive — is certainly in the question, but it will nonetheless prove a tall task.
“It’s a great challenge,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “This team’s picked to win the Big 12 by a lot of people, and they’ve, for the most part of the season, backed it up other than a few blunders here and there. But we’re playing with a team that’s picked to win the league off of their bye in their city… Hopefully our guys can understand the challenge and go rise to it.”
Offense
Total Offense: 3,803 yards (7th Big 12), 422.6 yards/game (6th Big 12), 281 points (9th Big 12)
Passing: 1,928 yards (11th Big 12), 214.2 yards/game (10th Big 12)
Rushing: 1,875 yards (3rd Big 12), 208.3 yards/game (3rd Big 12)
If Kansas State’s offense has had a calling card during Klieman’s tenure with the Wildcats, it’s been running the football. In the previous five seasons with then-offensive line coach and current first-year offensive coordinator Conor Riley on staff, the Wildcats have ranked fifth or higher for total rushing yards three times. That success appears to be carrying over in Riley’s inaugural campaign in his new role.
Through nine games of the 2024 slate, Kansas State ranks third in the conference for total rushing yards and rushing yards per game. A big reason for this year’s prowess on the ground is junior back DJ Giddens. A 2023 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after breaking 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, he’s five yards shy of doing it again. Giddens only has five rushing touchdowns to his name but has nonetheless been one of the most effective running backs in the conference.
“He’s physical,” ASU defensive coordinator Brian Ward said. “He’s got great contact balance, he’s got his great vision. He just knows how to run through the smoke, so to speak, on some of his inside runs. He’s just talented back, patient runner. (You) can’t fall asleep on him because you can knock him down for a couple-yard gain, a couple-yard gain and all of a sudden, boom.”
The Wildcats also have a starting-caliber player backing up Giddens in sophomore Dylan Edwards. The 2021 Gatorade Player of the Year in Kansas and consensus four-star prospect in the class of 2022, Edwards began his collegiate career under Deion Sanders at Colorado where he established himself as a dual threat, rushing for 321 yards and a touchdown while making 36 receptions for 299 yards and four scores.
Now at Kansas State, Edwards has thrived in the backup role. He owns 240 yards and three touchdowns on 50 carries while still proving effective in the receiving game, racking up 17 receptions and a score.
It also helps that Kansas State’s offensive line has been among the best in the nation. Not only does it create lanes for its running backs, but it is also tied for the eighth-fewest sacks allowed in the country, protecting sophomore quarterback and budding star Avery Johnson.
After sitting a year behind then-senior signal caller Will Howard, who departed last offseason and landed at Ohio State, Johnson has burst onto the scene in 2024, passing for 1,892 yards (9th Big 12) and 17 touchdowns (5th Big 12) while completing 61% of his throws. But it isn’t just his arm that makes him so dangerous; the former consensus four-star prospect also contributes to Kansas State’s rushing attack and has 391 rushing yards with four scores on the ground to date.
“(Johnson)’s a star,” Dillingham said. “He’s a really good, smart kid that runs a 4.3 (40-yard dash), he can throw it 50-something yards and is super intelligent. So he’s got a really bright future in football.”
Johnson’s most consistent option has been sophomore wide receiver Jayce Brown. Fresh off a promising 437-yard, three-touchdown freshman season, the Florida native has already matched that touchdown total and contributed 604 receiving yards in 2024.
Kansas State has two more players with three touchdowns on the season: redshirt freshman Will Anciaux and sophomore tight end Garrett Oakley. Senior Will Swanson and sophomore Brayden Loftin are two more tight ends who have each found the end zone multiple times. Junior wide receiver Keagan Johnson has the second-most receiving yards on the team with 340.
While it’s clear their preferred method of attack is on the ground, the Wildcats are capable of throwing the ball, too. Either way, Kansas State’s offense will prove a stiff test for ASU’s defense, which ranks second in the Big 12 against the run and fifth in total yards allowed.
Defense
Total Defense: 2,967 yards (4th Big 12), 329.7 yards/game (4th Big 12), 195 points allowed (4th Big 12)
Passing: 2,072 yards (10th Big 12), 230.2 yards/game (10th Big 12)
Rushing: 895 yards (1st Big 12), 99.4 yards/game (1st Big 12)
Save for 2020, Joe Klanderman’s unit has been among the best in the Big 12 throughout his first five seasons at Kansas State, ranking inside the conference’s upper echelon for yards and points allowed year over year.
It looks to be the same story in 2024.
The Wildcats’ defense, as a whole, has been strong, but what really stands out is their ability to smother the run. In a conference with several talented running backs, Kansas State has posted the stiffest rushing defense in the Big 12 and is the only team to hold opponents under 100 yards per game on the ground.
Klanderman uses an odd front — which uses fewer defensive linemen to allow more players to go into coverage or pressure the quarterback — on defense, which has resulted in the Wildcats wreaking havoc in opposing backfields. Kansas State’s 25 sacks are tied for the 27th-most in the country and the second-most in the Big 12 while their 59 tackles for loss rank 40th nationally.
Senior defensive end Brendan Mott has been at the forefront of this prowess. Through nine games this season, he boasts 9.5 tackles for loss (2nd Big 12) in addition to eight sacks, the most in the conference. After Mott, there is a significant drop-off in the sacks department, but junior linebacker Desmond Purnell and sophomore defensive end Tobi Osunsamni are each tied for second on the team with 2.5 a piece.
“We’ve struggled with all the odd-front teams we’ve faced,” Dillingham said. “So that’s another thing that compounds the challenges. We’ve got to go play better versus the odd-man front than teams in the past.”
Sophomore linebacker Austin Romaine has paced the Wildcats in tackles thus far, contributing 69 total tackles, the eighth-most in his conference. Senior linebacker Austin Moore ranks second on the team with 40 tackles while junior cornerback Jacob Parish and senior safety Marques Sigle have each accrued 39.
While Kansas State’s pass defense has looked vulnerable at times, it has forced eight turnovers through the air, good for sixth in the conference. Sigle leads the team with three picks and is tied for second in the Big 12 while junior safety VJ Payne has two of his own.
Although ASU’s offense is getting a major reinforcement in senior running back Cam Skattebo, who has the third-most rushing yards in the Big 12 and missed last week due to a shoulder injury, going against Kansas State’s stout defense will be anything but a walk in the park. But it’s a game that the Sun Devils must win in order to keep their slim Big 12 Championship hopes alive as there is no more room for error.
“I told teammates that we should expect to be in this situation,” redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt said. “It’s really fun and enjoyable, but it’s where I expect to be. It’s nothing crazy and I love the bright lights, so I’m just excited.”
