Kansas State Wildcats Go From One Extreme To Another This Weekend Against TCU

Last weekend the Kansas State Wildcats were up against the top offense in the Big 12 conference. 

This week, they face the complete opposite. 

On Saturday, the Wildcats play on the road against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Stadium in Dallas. The Horned Frogs just so happen to have the No. 2 defense in the conference. 

Quite the extremes for one week, right? 

This is the latest challenge for Kansas State first-year coach Collin Klein, who is trying to save a once promising season. During his weekly press conference, Klein discussed the difficulties of having to prepare for two completely different forces in as many weeks. 

For starters, the Horned Frogs have a solid front seven the Wildcats have to deal with. They have one of the best pass rushes in the league.They also run multiple schemes, which makes it even tougher to scheme against.  

The Horned Frogs are giving up just 304.7 total yards a game, which is only bettered by BYU Cougars (302.2). TCU also leads the league in scoring defense, allowing 15.8 points a game. 

A strong defense is the worst thing the Kansas State offense needs to see at this point of the season. They have struggled the past three weeks during their three-game losing streak that includes losses to the Arizona State Sun Devils, Colorado Buffaloes and Oklahoma State Cowboys. 

They were unable to get much going against the Sun Devils while the offense didn't get going until the second half against the Buffaloes. Last week they picked up some yardage and points in garbage time during a 66-28 blowout loss to the Cowboys. 

Part of the reason for the struggles is the quarterback position. After starting 32 straight games over the past three seasons, quarterback Avery Johnson was injured following the victory against the Kansas Jayhawks in the Sunflower Showdown last month. 

Johnson will miss his fourth straight game with an undisclosed injury, leaving the quarterback spot in shambles. The Wildcats have started three different quarterbacks in the last three games. 

It started with Jacob Knuth, who played solid in the Arizona State loss before sustaining an ankle injury. Then sophomore Dillon Duff got his shot the following at Colorado. After a poor first quarter, he was replaced by Blake Barnett. 

Although Barnett was solid in relief, he whiffed in his first start against Oklahoma State. After a slow start, he was benched in favor of Duff. 

Now, Klein is unsure who gets the start against the Horned Frogs. Whoever it is will have a tough challenge in front of them Saturday against TCU.