3 takeaways as Kansas State football beats TCU for Big 12 title

Kansas State football defeated the TCU Horned Frogs 31-28 in the Big 12 Championship game and here are three takeaways.

Kansas State kicker Ty Zenter kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime as the Wildcats defeated the #3 TCU Horned Frogs 31-28 earlier this afternoon in Cowboys stadium. The loss leaves the Frogs waiting until the final four is announced Sunday afternoon whether or not they are in the Playoff semifinals.

The Frogs had the football first in overtime when head coach Sonny Dykes decided to go for the touchdown instead of kicking the field goal on fourth-and-one inside the Kansas State one-yard line. TCU running back Kendre Miller was stopped short, and all the Wildcats needed was a field goal to win the game.

Unfortunately for TCU, today did not go the same way their first meeting went. The Frogs were down at halftime in its first meeting against Kansas State football and found a way to win. They were down at the half again today but could not pull off the victory. Quarterback Max Duggan threw for 251 yards and ran for 117 in a losing effort.

Wildcats running back Deuce Vaughn was the star for Kansas State today, running for 130 yards and chipping in 30 yards receiving. The difference in this game was the defense. They allowed 30 fewer yards and forced two turnovers.

So, what exactly happened in Arlington?

TCU’s offense was not efficient today. 

The Horned Frogs outgained the Wildcats today (469-404). Max Duggan had 368 yards but was not efficient throwing the football, completing 50 percent of his passes. The senior quarterback was not as sharp today as he was in the first meeting. In TCU’s 38-28 win, Duggan completed 65 percent of his passes.

It did not help that TCU’s offensive line was overwhelmed by Kansas State football. Duggan faced pressure nearly every time he dropped back to pass. The Wildcats had only one sack, but Duggan had to scramble and throw sooner than he wanted, which resulted in several throws that were either high or overthrown.

The running game ran for 218 yards, but 77 of those were on three carries. The Frogs averaged just 3.8 yards per rush attempt without those three carries. Kansas State did an outstanding job of limiting what TCU could do on a down-to-down basis. When the Frogs missed explosive plays, they could not move the football.

The same could be said of the passing game. Fifty-three of TCU’s 251 passing yards came on one play. It seemed like the game plan was to throw for big spaces or pass interference calls. There were few passes in the intermediate range.