The summer is nearly over and football is just around the corner. The tension is almost palpable in Manhattan, KS. The players have reported to camp, media day has come and gone, and the chair backs are lined up at Bill Snyder Family Stadium for the season ticket-holders.
Last season Kansas State shocked all experts by coming just one win away from a bowl game as well as from the Big 12 Championship Game, after being projected as one of the worst teams in the nation. This season the Wildcats have much higher expectations. Although Kansas State still is not getting a ton of respect from the media (projected as the 83rd best team by Rivals, and 85th by SportingNews.com) the fans know what this team is capable of.
In 2008 Kansas State had one of the worst defenses in the nation. They could not run the ball and they were absolutely smashed by everybody they played (30 point loss to Tech, 23 point loss to OU, 31 point loss to rival KU, 17 point loss to Missouri, 28 point loss to Nebraska). The team was not even remotely competitive and there was no confidence in the team whatsoever. There was very little positive news and people began to lose hope. Kansas State made a decision to fire young head coach Ron Prince in favor of bringing back legendary coach Bill Snyder to once again try to revive the football program.
Things were so bleak at this point that even bringing Snyder back was not enough to restore hope for some people. Almost everyone would agree that Snyder is a great coach, but how could even he take a team that allowed 430 points the year before and with virtually the same players make the defense competitive? He did it with hard work and conditioning. The Wildcat defense only allowed 280 points in 2009. K-State played with pride and competed in every single game with exception of the Texas Tech disaster.
The Wildcats will try to use this new-found pride to push beyond their past struggles this season. Kansas State returns star running back Daniel Thomas and brings in highly-touted wide receiver transfers Brodrick Smith and Chris Harper. They also return a very experienced offensive line. The most important thing coming into this season, however, is that the Wildcats have the full support of the fans. The support seemed to waver slightly in 2008 and at the start of 2009. K-State fans believe that they can win, as do the players. Kansas State will open their season against the UCLA Bruins.
A Recap of UCLA in 2009
UCLA entered the season considered to be one of the worst teams in the Pac-10. In his second year in the helm, UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel turned UCLA into a very difficult opponent to face. They improved from an embarrassing 4-8 finish in 2008 to a respectable 7-6 finish and an Eagle Bowl victory. This team showed tremendous heart last season after they dropped five straight games following their 3-0 start. They appeared to be circling the drain for a second year in a row but instead rose to the challenge by winning three out of the next four regular-season games against Washington, Washington State, and Arizona State. Their lone loss was in that time was on the road against USC.
UCLA was a very young team last year in their backfield. The Bruin starting QB (Kevin Prince) was just a freshman, as was starting running back Jonathon Franklin. These two playmakers look to take this offense from being above-average in 2009 to top-tier status in 2010. The Bruins defense also shone last year, only allowing 276 points. They ranked third in the Pac-10 in both points allowed and yards allowed. Their defense only allowed more than 28 points once last year, dropping a tough game to California, 45-26. The Bruins return a lot of talent from last season’s team.
Previous Matchup with the Cats
A Look at the 2010 Bruins
UCLA returns seven offensive starters and five defensive starters (as well as their starting punter and kicker). The UCLA offense was shaky last year, but that can be expected with freshmen starting in two of the key positions.
Offense
UCLA returns sophomore QB Kevin Prince, sophomore HB Jonathon Franklin, junior WR’s Nathan Rosario and Taylor Embree, and three junior linemen in Jeff Baca, Kai Maiava, and Mike Harris. Senior Eddie Williams also started six games as an offensive lineman for the Bruins last season. The scary thing about this team is that none of the returning starters are seniors. UCLA is a young group with a lot of experience.
Prince was impressive as a freshman, throwing for 2,050 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. He did not play against Kansas State or Stanford due to injury. The 6’2″ sophomore was not an overwhelming threat on the ground as he only ran for 179 yards on 68 carries, but did show he has some speed against Washington State when he ran for a 68-yard touchdown (his lone rushing touchdown on the season). Prince was injured in practice with an
Franklin did very well in this west coast offense last year. As a freshman he led UCLA with 566 yards rushing on 126 attempts (4.5 yards per carry). He was not needed much as a receiver, catching just six passes for 57 yards. The Bruins had a lot of receiving threats which likely contributed to that statistic.
Those threats were Rosario and Embree. Rosario, a 6’5″, 218-pound junior, led the Bruins in receiving yards with 723 and yards per catch with 17.3 last season on 42 catches. Against K-State he had three catches for 45 yards. Rosario had his biggest game of the season in a 19-26 loss at Oregon State where he caught six catches for 142 yards and a touchdown. As the season went along Rosario seemed to get stronger. In the first seven games Rosario caught 12 passes for 197 yards. In the final 5 games he had 30 catches for 526 yards including two one-hundred yard games and four 5+ catch games.
Embree, a 6’3″, 201-pound junior out of Overland Park, Kansas, led the team in receptions with 45 and was second last season in yards with 608 and yards per catch with 13.5. The two-year starter is the most experienced receiver on the team. He only had one catch for 17 yards against Kansas State last season. He never had a one-hundred yard game last year but was a main target in every single game and is a speedy threat for the Bruins.
The offensive line is one of the biggest question marks for the Bruins and is their only real question mark on the offensive side of the ball. They lost their starting TE and two linemen. They do, however, return three big linemen (6’4″, 305-pound junior Jeff Baca, 6’1″, 298-pound junior Kai Maiaivia, and 6’5″, 319-pound Junior Mike Harris). The replacements for the other two starters are 6’5″, 321-pound senior Michah Kia, who started in 2008 before an injury kept him out last season and 6’1″, 329-pound senior Eddie Williams, who started six games last season. The line is big in terms of weight, but there are bigger lines in terms of height.
Suspension and Injuries
Mike Harris, arguably the best offensive lineman for the Bruins, was suspended for the game against K-State for violating team rules. Maiava and Baca will also be missing the contest against Kansas State due to injuries. Starting QB Kevin Prince was injured a few weeks ago and it is unknown if he will play against Kansas State. True sophomore quarterback Richard Brehaut looks to take the spot if Prince is unable to compete.
Defense
The Bruins only return five defensive starters. They have a lot of holes to fill as they lost four defensive players to the NFL last season. They do return star junior linebacker Akeem Ayers and junior free safety Rahim Moore. UCLA also returns sophomore All-American 6’4″, 269-pound junior defensive lineman Datone Jones who had four sacks last season but will be forced to miss the game against the Wildcats due to a broken foot. The most highly-touted recruit for the Bruins is Owamagbe Odighizuwa and he has the potential to play immediately.
Ayers is considered to be the anchor of this defense. He leads the returning players for the Bruins with 75 tackles and six sacks, along with four interceptions last season. He will need to accept a deeper role with the graduation of the team’s two-leading tacklers, Reggie Carter and Kyle Bosworth. The anchor for the defensive line is Jones, who, as mentioned earlier, will miss the game due to a broken foot.
The UCLA secondary lost star cornerback Alterraun Verner who had 72 tackles and five interceptions last season. It is a big loss, but they do bring back All-American free-safety Rahim Moore. Moore is considered by Scout to be the best NFL prospect on the Bruins defense. A third-team All-American last season, Moore led the Bruins with 10 interceptions last season. He also posted 49 tackles. He is also a candidate for the Lott, Nagurski, and the Jim Thorpe award this season.
Special Teams
The Bruins special teams was superb last season and they return both their punter as well as their kicker. Kai Forbath, a redshirt senior, converted on 28 of 31 field goals last season. Entering his fourth year as the starter, he has only missed 11 career field goals. Last season he did not miss within 49 yards and was three of six from beyond 50 yards. He is 75 out of 77 kicking extra points, also. He won the Lou Groza award last year and was named a consensus All-American. He was a third-team All-American as a sophomore, and a second-team freshman All-American as a freshman. He is the best kicker in college football.
Jeff Locke, a redshirt sophomore, was a second-team All Pac-10 selection last year as well as a freshman All-American. He averaged a booming 46.7 yards per punt against Kansas State and bombed an 81-yard punt against Arizona. Locke averaged 43.6 yards per punt on 70 punts last season and is a pre-season candidate for the Ray Guy award.
Conclusion
UCLA is a very young team, but returns a lot of talent. Their defense has holes that Kansas State can exploit if they play smarter football than last season. Kansas State has strong wide receivers with limited experience; these wide receivers are going to need to step up to face the challenge of Rahim Moore. There should be holes open for Daniel Thomas and he is going to need to hit them if Kansas State wants to avenge last season’s loss.
UCLA will not be intimidated by the Kansas State crowd as they are used to playing in the large stadiums of their Pac-10 foes. K-State will need to win the special teams battle which will be difficult because Wildcat kicker Josh Cherry missed more field goals last season alone than Forbath has missed in three seasons. It is going to be a battle and a fun game to watch on national television.
3 Keys to a Wildcat Victory
- Prevent Big Passes.
UCLA has a lot of young offensive talent, especially at the wide-receiver position. Kansas State lost their star cornerback, Josh Moore, to the NFL, but returns star safety Tyson Hartman as well as Stephen Harrison. The newcomers and veterans have to keep the Bruin receivers from getting many open-field yards. UCLA cannot be allowed to have big catches. There is no stopping their entire passing attack, but if the Wildcats can prevent the “big play”, UCLA can be beaten. - Stop the Run.
Last season UCLA ran all over Kansas State. After the UCLA game K-State’s rush defense improved a lot. If K-State wants to win this game, Franklin cannot be allowed to run all over the defense again. Kansas State has to replace star defensive tackle Jeff Fitzgerald, but Prizell Brown has garnered strong praise from coaches and fans and looks to be up to the task. - Let Daniel Thomas do his Thing.
Daniel Thomas is arguably the best running back in the conference. He was shut down last season against the Bruins. To stand any chance in this game he will need to lead the offense. The Cats bring back an experienced line but have a huge question mark at quarterback, with senior Carson Coffman having been given the starting nod yesterday. If Thomas can get his yards, the Cats have a great shot at winning their home opener.
Extra: Crowd.
UCLA will not be intimidated by the crowd, but as fans we need to make sure the environment is electric. Our team feeds off of the energy and there is proof of that in the Kansas and Texas A&M wins last season. In both of those games, Bill Snyder Family Stadium was rocking and both teams felt the effects. Be loud and send UCLA back to California!
The Prediction
Every K-State fan has been waiting for this game all summer and few people are giving K-State much chance to win this game. UCLA has a tremendous amount of talent, but it is young talent. UCLA is going to break out and be a very talented top 20 team in the near-future, but this year they should still have some growing pains. K-State is going to be ready for this game, I think the stadium is going to rock, and I think Kansas State is going to win. K-State 27, UCLA 23.
