2011 Kansas State Football Predictions

Written by Jack Jones

Bill Snyder put together the greatest rebuilding job in college football history when he took over a team in 1989 that went 0-21-1 the previous two seasons, combined. He took the Kansas State Wildcats to 11 consecutive bowl games from 1993 through 2003, and even had them as a national title contender in five of those seasons. He decided to step down in 2005, but returned in 2009. Snyder turns 72 in October and is coming off a successful 2010 season.

The Wildcats went 7-6 last year and made it to the Insight Bowl. There, they would lose to Syracuse 34-36 in one of the most entertaining games of the bowl season. Snyder enters his 20th season as Kansas State head coach, and he brings back 13 starters from last year’s squad. The defense should be improved, but the offense will take a hit after losing QB Carson Coffman and RB Daniel Thomas to graduation. Here is a look at how the Wildcats shape up on both sides of the ball heading into the 2011 season.

Offense:

Despite only bringing back five starters on offense last season, the Wildcats improved dramatically. They put up 33.6 points and 379 total yards per contest. They do return six starters from last year’s squad offensively, but lose their two most important players in Thomas and Coffman. The candidates to take over for Coffman under center will be Collin Klein and junior college transfer, Justin Tuggle. Klein was the team’s second-leading rusher (586 yards, 6 touchdowns) last season, but only attempted 18 passes. Tuggle is the son of former Atlanta Falcons LB Jesse Tuggle. He has drawn comparisons to former Wildcat great Michael Bishop, and also Cam Newton who was a Blinn junior college QB like Tuggle. His size and mobility make him the perfect fit for this offense, and the likely starter in 2011.

Daniel Thomas is impossible to replace at running back. He rushed for 1,585 yards and 19 touchdowns last year. Also gone is backup William Powell, who was the second-leading rusher among running backs with 251 yards on 10.9 yards/carry and 4 touchdowns. Sophomore Bryce Brown will take over for Thomas in the starting role after coming out of high school as one of the top RB recruits in the country. He transferred from Tennessee and is primed for a monster season in this offense. Sophomore John Hubert and redshirt freshman DeMarcus Robinson will compete for carries as well. While raw, this group of tailbacks is not short on talent.

The Wildcats will return two of three starters at receiver. The do lose their top wideout from last year in Aubrey Quarles, who caught 51 balls for 760 yards and 5 touchdowns. Back are junior Chris Harper (25, 330, 4) and sophomore Tremaine Thompson (19, 258, 0). Junior Broderick Smith (14, 191, 3) figures to take over at the other starting receiver spot. Thompson missed six games last year and is the most talented of the bunch. Senior Rodney Kenner and junior Zach McFall add depth to what is a more experienced unit this season.

The offensive line was absolutely dominant in the run game last year, paving the way to 199 yards and 4.7/carry from their running backs. This year they only return two starters along the line, and lose a pair of second-team All-Big 12 performers in LG Zach Kendall and C Wade Weibert. While only two starters are back, they do return five linemen with starting experience (42 career starts). The Wildcats are set at the tackle positions with seniors Clyde Aufner and Manase Foketi, who are their two returning starters. They are likely to start talented redshirt freshman BJ Finney at center, while sophomore Keenan Taylor and senior Colten Freeze take over at the guard positions.

Defense:

The defense has a lot of room for improvement after giving up 29.1 points and 446 total yards per game a year ago. With seven returning starters, this unit should be much better in 2011. Their top five tacklers are back and eight of their top nine overall. It all starts up front where the Wildcats were terrible a year ago, allowing 231 rushing yards/game on 5.9 yards/carry. It was the most yards allowed on the ground by any K-State team since Snyder arrived in ‘89. The Wildcats lose two starters up front, with junior DT Ray Kibble and junior DE Brandon Harold returning. Harold was a freshman All-American and has a combined 18 tackles for loss the past two seasons. Senior DT Raphael Guidry is experienced, registering 5.5 TFL last season. Junior college transfer Meshak Williams is a nice talent and takes over at DE opposite Harold. Adding depth are Jordan Allred and Braden Wilson, who each saw significant action in the spring.

Kansas State started five different linebackers last season, and all five return. Throw in the addition of Miami transfer Arthur Brown, and this figures to be one of the better linebacking corps in the Big 12. With so much experience back at the position, the Wildcats switched form a 4-2-5 formation to a 4-3 in the spring. Brown will move into the starting role at MLB, while talented sophomore Tre Walker returns at SLB after registering 47 tackles and 2 TFL last season despite only making two starts. Emmanuel Lamur (46, 3) figures to start at WLB. The Wildcats feature several backups with starting experience from last year, including Alex Hrebec (77, 2), Jarell Childs (53, 1) and Blake Slaughter (47, 2).

The secondary was one of the biggest team strengths a year ago, allowing just 214 passing yards and 55.3% completions. This unit was forced to make too many stops though, as CB David Garrett led the team in tackles (92) while FS Tysyn Hartman was second (86) and SS Ty Zimmerman was fourth (74). The good news is that all three of these talented defensive backs return. This trio combined for 13 pass break-ups and 6 interceptions a year ago. Snyder always tends to have a deep secondary, and that will be the case in 2011. He brought in four junior JUCO’s, including Nigel Malone, who is likely to replace the graduated Terrance Sweeney (9 pass break-ups, 2 INT) at cornerback. SJSU transfer Tanner Burns had 96 tackles in 2009 and adds depth at safety.

Big 12 Prediction: 7th Place – Snyder has brought in a lot of nice JUCO’s as well as some very highly touted transfers in RB Bryce Brown and MLB Arthur Brown. This team should be improved on defense, but the offense is what has me worried. Certainly Brown and Tuggle have the talent to fill the big shoes left by Thomas and Coffman, but matching their production is not going to be easy. The offensive line is a lot less experienced, and the Wildcats didn’t really do anything to improve a lackluster receiving corps. This team is going to be in a lot of ugly ball games this season, and must find a way to win the close games if they want to finish higher than where I have them ranked. I can’t see one game on their schedule that I’m certain they are going to win in conference play, though they have the potential to upset almost anyone. They can finish 4-5 in the Big 12 at best, but 3-6 or 2-7 is more likely.

Big 12 Football Predictions by Team
Iowa State Football Predictions	Kansas Football Predictions
Kansas State Football Predictions	Missouri Football Predictions
Baylor Football Predictions	Oklahoma Football Predictions
Oklahoma State Football Predictions	Texas Football Predictions
Texas A&M Football Predictions	Texas Tech Football Predictions

College Football Predictions
ACC Football Predictions	Big 12 Football Predictions
Conference USA Football Predictions	Independents Football Predictions
PAC 12 Football Predictions	SEC Football Predictions
Big East Football Predictions	Big Ten Football Predictions
MAC Football Predictions	Mountain West Football Predictions
Sun Belt Football Predictions	WAC Football Predictions

Other Resources:

Bettors World – They see the Wildcats reaching six or seven wins this season.

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