Kansas State's Ground Game Meets Colorado's Turnover Problem at Folsom Field

Kansas State has made its formula plain this season. When the Wildcats rush for 200 yards or more, they win. When they fall short, they lose. They visit Colorado (2-5) at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Oct. 31, at noon MT, with the game airing on TNT and KOA radio. Colorado leads the series 45-22-1.

Kansas State (4-3) has cleared 200 rushing yards four times and won each game: 312 against Nicholls, 295 against Washington State, 201 against Tulane and 359 against Kansas. In its three losses, the Wildcats managed 155 yards at Cincinnati, 117 against Houston and 84 at Arizona State.

The Arizona State game is the one Colorado will want to study. Kansas State played it without quarterback Avery Johnson, who has run for 462 yards at 9.1 yards per carry and is listed as out for Saturday. Backup Jacob Knuth, who started last week in Tempe, is listed as doubtful. First-year coach Collin Klein has not named a starter.

Klein, a Loveland High School graduate, said Monday that his team knew the offense had to win the line of scrimmage last week. "We did not do that," he said. Without a run game, he said, nothing relieved pressure on the rest of the offense. Kansas State's running backs combined for 61 yards on 22 carries, the Wildcats faced eight third downs of 7 yards or longer, and they went 0-for-4 on fourth down.

Colorado's biggest issue is giving the ball away. The Buffaloes (2-5 overall, 0-4 Big 12) have committed 16 turnovers in seven games. Quarterback Isaac Wilson has thrown seven of the team's 10 interceptions, the most in the Big 12, including three against Texas Tech and two each against Utah and Oklahoma State. Kansas State's defense has just one interception, the fewest in the conference, among four takeaways. The Wildcats have given the ball away only six times, while Colorado's defense has forced seven turnovers.

Tight end Brady Kopetz pointed to the response after errors. "We just need to handle adversity better," he said. Coach Deion Sanders listed his keys as running the ball, creating turnovers and eliminating penalties, adding, "We've got to have some kind of consistency."

Sticking with the run has been part of the challenge. In Colorado's only FBS win, 14-13 at Georgia Tech, the Buffaloes ran 49 times and passed 27. At Oklahoma State, they ran 21 times for 57 yards in the first half and led 24-23 at the break. In the second half they ran nine times for minus-1 yard, and JaQuail Smith touched the ball just twice.

Kansas State's run defense has varied sharply. It allowed 96 rushing yards per game in nonconference play but 204.8 against Big 12 opponents. Last week, Arizona State's Cardae Mack ran for 159 yards and four touchdowns. Colorado's defense is trying to move past a 57-point night in Stillwater. Linebacker Gideon Lampron, the team's leading tackler, said the Buffaloes must be disciplined, avoid offsides penalties and not repeat the 29 missed tackles from that game.

Klein has local ties. His father grew up in Boulder and he has family across the Front Range, though he said he grew up more of a Colorado State fan and never attended a Buffs game. Sanders said he did not know Klein was a local, calling him a "heck of a play caller."

Saturday opens Colorado's final five games, and the Buffaloes can afford only one loss if they want to reach a bowl game. "We still want to win a bowl game. We still want to win out," Kopetz said. Sanders was equally defiant: "I don't see, oh, we're going to get our butts kicked. I don't. I never see that."