Q&A: Kansas State Insider

I exchanged questions with Kansas State expert Curtis Kitchen. Here are his answers to my questions.
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Curtis Kitchen has followed the Big 12, Kansas State and national college basketball beat including K-State's run to the NCAA Tournament Elite 8 in 2010. You can currently follow his work at his blog: CurtisKitchen.com and with KCSP 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City. In the past, he also covered the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting KC) for Major League Soccer's mlsnet.com site as well as the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals for Sports Radio 810 WHB. His freelance portfolio ranges media outlets and publications, including gopowercat.com (part of the Rivals network), collegehoopsnet.com and the Miami Herald.
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1) What makes Collin Klein so dangerous?

Arthur Brown is the leader of the Wildcats' defense.

Kitchen: "What makes Collin so dangerous is that his opponents never seem to give him full credit. Though not nearly as often these days, you'll still hear or read an occasional postgame comment from a defender saying Klein surprised them with his speed or decision making or both. He's good. Period. Plus, if it's possible, Klein has mastered Bill Snyder's read-and-check offense more than any other quarterback in K-State history... Jonathan Beasley aside."

2) We've heard a lot about Collin Klein, who are Kansas State's other weapons on offense and what can they do?

Kitchen: "In Snyder's ever-changing offense (based on the notion that your best plays are the ones the defense allows you to have success with), the wide-outs are sometimes in play and feature Oregon transfer Chris Harper (who returned closer to his Wichita, Kan., home), diminutive but speedy Tramaine Thompson and freshman All-American Tyler Lockett, whose dad, Kevin, and uncle, Aaron, both played for Snyder as well. Then, you have tight ends Travis Tannahill and Zach Trujillo, both of whom have been on the receiving end of big plays this season. That's not to leave out John Hubert, who is currently second in the conference in rushing behind Joe Randle, or Angelo Pease, who had a pretty solid game against West Virginia."

Short answer long, the offense is loaded.

3) And on defense?

Kitchen: "The defense is a pretty underrated unit.

The secondary started this season off slowly, with me questioning its ability to defend the pass. However, as games have gone along, Allen Chapman has really blossomed as a perfect corner compliment to All-American Nigel Malone. Both make plays on the ball, and Chapman has proven to be a hitter at the position.

Behind them, junior safety Ty Zimmerman has started since his freshman season (when he picked up freshman All-American honors from Phil Steele). He has four interceptions in his past four games — a result of his honing his ball-hawking abilities and allowing himself to break free from the confines of a called defense to go make a play on the ball. (That's not to say he leaves space unattended; rather, he sees the ball in the air and goes.) Next to Zimmerman is new starter Jarard Milo, a second-year junior college smasher. A walk-on at the start of his KSU career, his pass defending skills have come on as of late, and he brings the added bonus of liking to smack guys around with his 6-2, 200lb build.

Ahead of them, the front seven have also developed into a force. Senior heavy, the defensive line is anchored by Vai Lutui, who showed his athleticism in Morgantown by chasing down screen passes to the sideline. Meshak Williams and Adam Davis aren't extremely flashy, but they'll cause your offensive line headaches from each end spot. Justin Tuggle also moves up from his linebacker spot on occasion. Of course, Arthur Brown is the heart of the group, and it's crazy to say, but I swear I've never seen a college linebacker attack ball carriers like I see Brown do. Forget Gus Johnson's "get away from the cops speed;" I'm talking True Blood vampire fast, and it's that frightening when you consider he measures 6-1, 230."

4) What kind of presence does the home crowd have in Manhattan and who was the last team to win there?

Kitchen: "Bill Snyder Family Stadium seats just over 50,000, but that lower number (by massive stadium size standards) shouldn't fool anyone. The structure shakes when KSU fans get rollin', which I think they will for this game. Folks love their good football and big games. Oklahoma beat KSU last year in Manhattan. It was a 23-17 game at half, but OU just destroyed the Wildcats in the second half and won 58-17. The Sooners had two extra gears at that point, where KSU wasn't ready to compete at that level. I don't think it was a wake-up call or anything like that, but I think the players realized they had work to do, and, to their credit, they've obviously done that work."

5) Who are some "weak links" on offense that the Red Raiders might be able to capitalize on?

Kitchen: "I think you have to split hairs here. I mean, you're talking a Top 5 program that's competing for a spot in the national championship, and teams in that conversation don't have many or any true weak spots. Klein is up for the Heisman for good reason. Hubert and Pease fight for yards. The offensive line is young, but I'd put it up against any in the country. And, you have Lockett, Harper and Thompson running routes.

The only semi-possible link is Klein's accuracy "problem," and all he did was go 19/21 for a career-high 323 yards and 3 TDs with no picks against the Mountaineers."

6) Who should the Red Raider offense "pick on" or target on Kansas State's defense to have a better chance to move the ball?

Kitchen: "If Seth Doege has time to scan the field and throw, he'll find open guys. That's not a knock on the KSU secondary. It's just a fact that you can't cover guys for five or six seconds. Past that, Chapman and Nigel Malone are solid, as is Randall Evans as a third defensive back. Again, we can nitpick things, but this group has proven to be more than capable. Way more."

7) Do the Wildcats have any key injuries that could effect the outcome of Saturday's game?

Kitchen: "There were some injuries to the offensive line early this year that had folks worried. Both starting guards (Boston Stiverson and Nick Puetz) were out and BJ Finney was dinged up a little. That said, the guards have been working their way back into full-time mode and Finney hasn't missed a step. Elsewhere, so far this year, it's been a repeat of last year's overall decent health."

8) Texas Tech can win this game if......

Kitchen:"....its defense is as legit as numbers suggest. Nobody outside of OU has really posed a threat to the KSU offense's ridiculous efficiency. I have my doubts on Tech's ability to stop K-State after seeing the rushing numbers put up on the Red Raiders by TCU, but maybe that was "that game" for Tech in terms of a match-up getting exploited somewhere.

On offense, it's quality vs. quantity. In a perfect world, Tech gets a turnover or two and extra possessions; something that would be out of the ordinary for KSU. Also, if/when Tech gets those chances, it has to score touchdowns instead of field goals because K-State is that efficient and will eventually score."