The Assignment

Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-1, 4-1)
Bad Guys: Kansas State Wildcats (4-4, 3-2)
Where: Bill Snyder Family Stadium | Manhattan, Kansas
When: Saturday, November 1st @ 2:30 pm
TV & Streaming: FOX
Radio: The Varsity Network
The Line: Texas Tech -7.5
Game Notes: Texas Tech | Kansas State
Weather Report: Partly Cloudy, High 54, Low 33

I think it would be safe to say that lots of fans have been less than impressed with Chris Klieman as the Kansas State head coach. He’s 51-32 since he’s been there, has won 8 games twice, 9 games twice, and had a 10-win game season in his time there. That’s pretty good and the results haven’t been great thus far this season (I am sure absolutely dominating Kansas on Saturday helped). I would just say that sometimes it is difficult to appreciate what you have in a season like this, but he’s proven to be a very good football coach. I am sure that K-State fans can tell me all about the warts.

Former Texas Tech head football coach Matt Wells is the offensive coordinator for the Wildcats. Wells is starting his 2nd season in Manhattan and I watched the game last week and the offense is fine, I didn’t notice anything that was special necessarily from a scheme perspective (the players is an entirely different matter as I do think there are players that are quite talented). I think that part of the issues that K-State folks have with Klieman is the offense and I never thought that Wells was necessarily dynamic and maybe Avery Johnson has regressed a bit.

The defensive coordinator is Joe Klanderman, I don’t know anything about him, but just reading his K-State bio, he’s a 3-down lineman guy, which probably lends to more versatility. Probably not a surprise in that Klanderman was at North Dakota State the same time that Klieman was there and joined Kansas State in 2019 as the safeties coach for a year before transitioning to the defensive coordinator starting in 2020.

The News:

Non-transcript of head coach Joey McGuire.

• Scout Players of the Week: TE Sean Robinson on offense and CB Macho Stevenson on defense.
• A lot of respect for Coach Klieman, incredible culture and hard-nosed and playing their best football right now. started 1-3 and look up and the last 4 games are 3-1, playing really well on offense. Quarterback is really good and a physical football team. Going to be a great game, if you are a fan that loves physical football, it will be a great game. Exciting to go to Manhattan. Think they have a great fanbase, very traditional and excited to go up there.
• We’ve got to do a really good job, sent videos of our defensive line and linebackers, have to stay in your gap and maintain, and rush the passer together. Trying to limit it and not really be able to stop him.
• I thought he did a great job of getting guys to play at a high level. Helps to have J’Koby back there. The last two weeks he’s been the best returner in college football. Will be a total team effort to be K-State.
• First things I said to Behren Morton, we’re not going to concern ourselves with the history, there or here. The majority of this team has never played K-State, didn’t play them last year.
• Jacob Rodriguez is a captain, vocal at times, but not rah-rah, is a lunch pail and come to work guy. I was watching highlights and this Heisman race is unique, I feel like we have two defensive guys, look at the level he has on games, he’s taking the ball away, I don’t know who is the no-brainer. I look at the Heisman as what does that person mean to that team. We are a lot different when that guy is on the field.
• We’re going to have that discussion. It is just ACL, nothing else in the knee. Have to consider the portal, have Lloyd Jones, Jr. is just released. Chappie is just a bit ahead and wanted to get this year back. Justin Horne is the same thing. Those guys weren’t isolated ACL’s. Back in the day, ACL’s were 6-months at the most and now it is a 9-month period before they come back. There’s no one that attacks it like Hammond.
• I do think they have a strong culture, Klieman’s calling-card through his career, have a terrific receiver and a legitimate dual-threat quarterback. Playing better on defense. Have to take care of the football, are +9 in turnover margin. Huge part of the win last week, 21 points scored off of turnovers.
• I don’t know the exact number, Commissioner Yormark made a point that there’s no conference that has more lead changes in the 4th quarter. My nephew who played for Kliff, he came from the game, I told him that these games are taking years off of my life, this is the greatest thing in the world, there are going to be highs and lows in a game and one of my favorite rounds is Ward/Gotti, that’s what the game is going to be like, dirty and fight for 4 quarters and that’s what we expect.
• I go back because I see different ages in this audience, we have to bring a box of chicken for Jobo like in major League. Sad for Will, a non-contact and he got his ankle stuck. I don’t know the answer to it other than keep preparing guys to step-up. I think there are a lot of teams that wish they had a Mitch Griffis and he’ll move into that #2 role with Behren back.
• They are freaky injuries, just my time, broke collarbone, that’s just the way you fall, then a guy has an AC joint, then breaks his ankle. Just keeps happening to the same position.
• Behren Morton will start on Saturday, he’s ready to roll, his arm feels really good, he looked great in practice yesterday. He was doing treatment. He’ll be in first huddle and he’ll be out there ripping it.
• Two weeks ago we were dominant coming off the ball against Kanas and we’ve taken a step back the last 2 weeks. We did not dominate up front .They had more rushing yards than we did. We need to find good runs and it will be a big part of the game plan this week.
• Shiel was up in his office and was grabbing my stuff and he was fired up, our last play to win is to win the 4th quarter and it was good to put a shutout.
• I don’t think it changes, you don’t see designed runs for Behren, maybe have 1 or 2. That doesn’t change. Mitch still has some of that. This is a huge game this week to keep us where we need to be, we have to cut it loose and not save anything. This building does not care who we play next week, we are all-in this week. This is as big of a game we’ve coached in.
• Happened first of the year and we have this year and able to get him another year. Mitch has been a huge pick-up for us. Based on him sitting out last year. Will will be in the room, the question is if he’ll be able to go out in the summer. We have the best doctors in the country that are doing this. We don’t have issues scheduling surgeries and get this done as fast as possible. It’s good to have Mitch. Iowa was in a dog-fight with Indiana and their starting quarterback went out and if they had a Mitch Griffis, you never know. Will looked good this morning and asked about the swelling and he’s said it’s gone down. You have to count out 9 months, guys can be ahead of schedule, but not a whole lot.
• We’ve never been in a time of football with the jobs opening up. There were some things that were going to move, but no one really understood, I think people are figuring out how they are going to do it and coaches who are losing their jobs who are good coaches. There are some really good coaches, if I’m a school I’m hiring James Franklin right now. Some schools are in a panic. It’s a crazy time to be back in football.
• Skyler Gill-Howard will be on the plane to Manhattan, he has such a big voice. Proud of Lee Hunter as he’s stepped in that role, Skyler is all-in, I love that he’s getting his degree from Texas Tech, I think it is cool that they can get their diploma from here. I told Debbie to get him a basket and a horn and tassels, but he doesn’t want that. He’s all-in, guys that buy-in and he loves this program.
• Behren and I and I went through the analytics, in this game the percentage when you go out there, versus Will and Mitch going out there, it was not much different, we asked if it makes sense. Behren wants to play. He has a high pain tolerance and some of it was protecting him from him. If Arizona State was the last game of the year, then maybe that would have been a different situation.

The Ride: Latest episode of The Ride from the Oklahoma State game.

Education: This week’s education is blitz concepts explained in 18 minutes.

Stock Up:

• The expectation is that Behren Morton is ready for Kansas State, which I think will cure a lot of issues offensively, including a mediocre running game the last two games, just 109 against Arizona State and 88 against Oklahoma State. Kansas State is giving up 149 yards on the ground without a huge difference on the road, 143, and at home, 154. Although in losses, Kansas State allows 175 yards a game and just 122 in losses.
• The run defense remains elite, allowing just 2.19 yards per carry all year, over 100 yards twice, 101 to Utah and 103 to Houston.
• Texas Tech has been able to pass the ball on the road as much as they have at home, consistency is good. The Red Raiders averaged 316 passing yards at home and 274 on the road, which is more than enough. Again, I think Morton should open up a lot of things.
• Kansas State has been elite at turning the ball over and when they do, they win. The Wildcats are a +8 when they win. Texas Tech has been really good about this and Morton has especially.

Stock Down:

• BYU is off this weekend, which means they have two weeks to prepare for Texas Tech.
• I continue to try to figure out why the offensive line isn’t firing on all cylinders. It seemed as if Oklahoma State was just quicker to spots and beating Texas Tech to spots and Texas Tech simply couldn’t get a clear
• Kansas State is 3-0 as an underdog this year and 2-2 at home. The Wildcats lost to Baylor on the road by 1, but have since won by double-digits at home to TCU and on the road to Kansas, both times as an underdog.
• Teams are converting an astounding 87.5% of field goals against Texas Tech. Sure would be nice if that streak didn’t continue this week as that seems like some bad luck, although K-State is making 90% of their field goals.

Hammond for 2026 or Someone Else? Count out 9 months and at the end July of 2026 is when Will Hammond will be cleared to play. McGuire revealed above that Mitch Griffis has another year of eligibility remaining and so it would seem like Griffis would return (or maybe he’d like playing time and play somewhere else). McGuire also said above that they would have to have a conversation given the late timeline that Hammond will be back as to adding another quarterback.

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Don Williams thinks that Texas Tech will need to add a high-end quarterback to the team:

Soon, though, the Red Raiders will have to add a quarterback. And assuming they want to be in the national conversation next year, the way they have been this year, they’re going to have to aim high.

I don’t think that Williams is wrong and can’t conceive about who will be available or what the right player would be. We know that Hammond was signed to a 2-year deal, so that gives him some security rather than coming off of major surgery and I think that Hammond is going to be great as well. As long as Leftwich is back, I feel pretty confident about him being able to pick the right quarterback and coach them up as I think that’s what he’s always done.