Oi Vei! Defense? Where? By the numbers...

Here are some interesting numbers:

North Texas (0-6, 0-2) Offense Versus:
@KSU 205 yards, 6 points
Tulsa 450 yards, 26 points
@LSU 199 yards, 3 points
@Rice 412 yards, 20 points
FIU 428 yards, 10 points
Louisiana 528 yards, 30 points

Versus the other five opponents, North Texas averaged 403.4 yards (50.8% of season average) and 17.8 points (33.7% of season average). I think we can conclude that KSU's defense did a good job stopping North Texas.

Montana State (3-3, 1-1) Offense versus:
Adams State 422 yards, 59 points
@Kansas State 191 yards, 10 points
@Minnesota 356 yards, 23 points
South Dakota 387 yards, 37 points
@Idaho State 358 yards, 33 points
Weber State 306 yards, 12 points

Versus the other five opponents, Montana State averaged 365.8 yards (52.2%) and 32.8 points (30.5%). Those numbers are skewed by Montana State's win versus division II Adams State. That said, it appears the Wildcats did a good job defensively against this FCS team.

Louisville (3-2, 0-1) Offense versus:
Kentucky 205 yards, 2 points
Tennessee Tech 451 yards, 51 points
Kansas State 577 yards, 38 points
Connecticut 508 yards, 21 points
@Memphis 299 yards, 35 points

Versus the other four opponents, Louisville averaged 365.75 yards (157.8%) and 27.25 points (139.4%). I think we can conclude the KSU defense failed miserably.

Louisiana (3-3, 2-0) Offense versus:
@Southern Mississippi 394 yards, 21 points
@Illinois 287 yards, 17 points
Kent State 667 yards, 44 points
@Kansas State 509 yards, 37 points
@ Louisiana-Monroe 728 yards, 44 points
@North Texas 590 yards, 59 points

Versus the other five opponents, Louisiana averaged 533.2 yards (95.5%) and 37 points (100%). I think we can conclude that KSU was an average defense versus Louisiana. Of course, average means that it compared similarly to (primarily) Sun Belt or non-BCS type defenses. That does not bode well.

Texas Tech (6-0, 2-0) Offense versus:

Eastern Washington 639 yards, 49 points
@Nevada 421 yards, 35 points
Southern Methodist 693 yards, 43 points
Massachusetts 538 yards, 56 points
@Kansas State 626 yards, 58 points
Nebraska 421 yards, 37 points

Versus the other five teams, Texas Tech averaged 542.4 yards (115.4%) and 44 points (131.8%). KSU's defense was awful in comparison, allowing an extra 14 points over the average, and almost a hundred extra yards--and that's compared to two FBS teams out of the five other teams Tech has played. Simply awful.

Texas A&M (2-4, 0-2) Offense versus:
Arkansas State 303 yards and 14 points
@New Mexico 236 yards and 28 points
Miami (FL) 362 yards, 23 points
Army 290 yards, 21 points
@Oklahoma State 402 yards, 28 points
Kansas State 544 yards, 30 points

In their other five games, Texas A&M has averaged 318.6 (170.7%) yards and 22.8 points (131.6%). This is perhaps the overall worst performance of the KSU defense to date.

Now, extrapolating the data to Colorado:

Colorado averages 310.2 yards and 22.5 points per game for the season. Eliminating the anomolies of the first two games where the KSU defense played decently against inferior opponents, we can expect Colorado to average approximately 135% of their season total for offense this game, which comes out to around 418 yards. That should allow Colorado to score roughly 126% of their season point total average, which comes out to around 28 points.

Oddly enough, I think that KSU would gladly hold Colorado to 418 yards and 28 points. Sadly, the K-State defense lacks the ability to hold CU to even that relatively paltry margin it appears.

Scary Numbers Redux

In my "Scary Numbers" post of October 5, I said:

But... Uh oh. The next seven games:

Texas A&M (95th/84th)
Colorado (89th/77th)
Oklahoma (5th/4th)
Kansas (14th/25th)
Missouri (3rd/2nd)
Nebraska (40th/30th)
Iowa State (74th/34th).

Those are all offenses that haven't had the benefit of playing Kansas State. You see, the three good offenses KSU has faced--Louisville, Louisiana, and Texas Tech, all put up numbers over their season averages against the putrid KSU defense.

Look for KU, MU, and OU to feast on K-State. Oh and the rest of them? There is nothing like K-State defense to serve as an elixir for a failing and feeble offense.

Here's to you Texas A&M!
Cheers!

Well, just to let you know, Texas A&M went from the 95th total offense to 71st after playing Kansas State. Their scoring offense improved from 84th to 73rd. That tonic worked well. We'll call it the K-State bump.

Colorado?
Well they are 99th in total offense after last week, and 81st in scoring offense.
My guess? 475 yards and 31 points this weekend versus the K-State defense that now ranks 111th in the land. That's right--111th. At least the KSU scoring offense is 8th. It's gonna be a shootout in Boulder!

Odds

Colorado opens as a 3 point favorite this weekend, per docsports.com.

Recent Beers

• Hoegaarden White-Dense yellow color; oats add a hint of oily smoothness and Curacao orange peels add a brilliant spiciness to the beer; medium body and medium alcohol content.

• Spaten Optimator-The dark lager has hints of chocolate and lots of malts in the aroma. It is very full bodied and can be considered liquid bread. It is strong and full of malt flavors with some sweetness as expected. Nice dopplebock.

• Avery Reverend-This is a Belgian Style Quadrupel from Avery. It pours with a clear copper color with some cloudiness & lots of carbonation. The aroma is pleasant with candy sugars dominating.This beer has hints of honey with some bitterness. Slight alcoholic finish. 10.0% ABV. The Reverend will kick your ass.
  

• Schneider Aventinus-Aventinus is the oldest example of a wheat dopplebock, dating back to 1907. This top fermenting beer has a deep tawny color with malty notes in the nose and chocolate and fruit spices on the palate. The label bears a picture of Johannes Aventinues, the historian who first described Bavaria and its people.

• Rogue American Amber-This amber ale is slightly fruity with a nice hop character in the nose. It is a dark copper color with a nice rocky head. It finishes hoppy and slightly dry - go figure!

• Schneider Weisse-Hazy amber, slight lactic nose but mostly a pleasant malt, mellow and smooth flavor, good balance; sour finish shows the lactic acid and spice promised by the nose.

• Warsteiner Oktoberfest-This amber lager has a nice malty aroma with a mild head. It is slightly sweet with a balanced hop content. Nice Oktoberfest with a mild sweet finish.

• Leinenkugels' Sunset Wheat-ale golden color wheat beer made from Wheat and Pale Malt. The aroma is sweet, citrusy, oranges and coriander. Flavor is sweet, oranges, citrus, acidic, and somewhat thin and light bodied. Refreshing at 4.9% ABV. The only beer that I know of that tastes like Fruity Pebbles.
  

• Black Velvet-3/4 Glass of Guinness layered with Cider.

K-State-Texas A&M Post-game Notes

• Saturday’s Kansas State win over Texas A&M marked the first time in 11 years the Wildcats have been victorious against the Aggies...
The last victory over Texas A&M was a 36-17 win in College Station on Oct. 18, 1997... Texas A&M still leads the all-time series between
the two teams, 8-5, but the series is now tied at three apiece in games played in College Station... K-State is now 26-23 (.531) in Big 12
road games since the inception of the conference, while the Wildcats are 61-37 (.622) all-time in Big 12 games... K-State is now 27-26
(.509) all-time against teams from the state of Texas, including a 19-21 (.475) mark against Big 12 foes from the state... Since the start
of the Big 12, Kansas State is now 21-17 (.553) vs. Big 12 South competition... Kansas State is now 16-0 when leading at halftime under
head coach Ron Prince and 117-19 (.860) when scoring first since 1990.
• The Wildcats marched 93 yards in 13 plays, using 5:22 of the clock on a second-quarter touchdown drive... The scoring drive -
capped off by a Logan Dold rushing touchdown - was the longest in terms of yards this season... The previous high was a 90-yard
scoring drive against Louisiana... The Wildcats also scored on its first possession of the game for the fourth time this season.
• Kansas State blocked Texas A&M’s first punt of the day and returned it for a touchdown... Senior linebacker Reggie Walker recorded
his first-career blocked punt, while junior defensive back Courtney Herndon returned the ball 10 yards for the touchdown... It is the
fourth time this season K-State has blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown, while it was the sixth blocked kick this season (two
extra points)... It was the first time Aggie punter Justin Brantly had a punt blocked in 128 attempts... The Wildcats have now blocked 47
kicks in the Big 12 era and have 31 blocked kicks since 2002... The Wildcats also have now scored a nation-leading 22 non-offensive
touchdowns since 2006 and have tallied 66 non-offensive touchdowns since the 1999 season, the second-most during that time span
(Virginia Tech, 68).
• The 44 points scored by Kansas State were the most in a conference game since the Wildcats racked up 51 points in a win over
Baylor on Oct. 27, 2007... It was also the most points scored in a Big 12 road game since 45-0 shutout at Iowa State on Nov. 8, 2003.
• Kansas State committed just two penalty for 25 yards this afternoon... The Wildcats were not flagged until a holding call on a kickoff
with 2:35 remaining in the third quarter.
• Quarterback Josh Freeman started his 26th career contest on Saturday... The junior quarterback finished the afternoon 21-of-26 with
234 yards, but did not record a passing touchdown, breaking a 17-game streak with at least one passing touchdown... The last time
Freeman did not throw for a score was the 2007 season opener at Auburn on Sept. 1, 2007.... Freeman remains tied for second with
Michael Bishop (1997-98; 36) on the K-State career passing touchdown list with 36 career passing touchdowns... Freeman needs one
touchdown pass to tie Ell Roberson (2000-03; 37) for the K-State career record.
• Freeman also tallied 18 carries for 95 yards and four touchdowns... His 95 yards and four touchdowns were both career highs... The
four rushing scores by Freeman tied for second-most in school history in a single game (four other times) and were the most since Allen
Webb recorded four rushing scores against Nebraska on Oct. 23, 2004... Furthermore, Freeman has now rushed for at least two touchdowns
in five of the first six games this season... His four rushing touchdowns bring his season total to 12, while Freeman’s career rushing
TD total now stands at 18... Freeman now has 24 total touchdown this season, eclipsing his mark of 22 all of last season.
• Logan Dold earned the starting nod at running back... It was Dold’s first career start and he became the first true freshman to start at
running back since Leon Patton started against Oklahoma State on October 7, 2006... He finished the afternoon with 21 carries for 115
yards and one touchdown... He became the first true freshman running back with a 100-yard rushing game since Patton had 102 yards at
Kansas on Nov. 18, 2006... Dold recorded his second career touchdown on a four-yard rush with 7:39 remaining in the second quarter.
• Junior wide receiver Aubrey Quarles recorded his first-career 100-yard receiving game... Quarles finished the day with a career-best
nine catches for 102 yards... He is the second Wildcat this season to tally 100 yards in a game as Brandon Banks had 153 yards against
Louisville and 127 yards against Louisiana.
• Senior defensive end Ian Campbell recorded one sack this afternoon... The Cimarron, Kan., native now has 19.5 career sacks, good
for sole possession of sixth place on the school’s all-time list... Campbell is now a half-sack away from reaching the top five.
• Senior place kicker Brooks Rossman nailed a 49-yard field goal for Kansas State’s first three points of the second half... The 49-
yarder was his longest of the season and the second-longest during his tenure at Kansas State... After being true on all five field goal
attempts this season, Rossman’s improved his career percentage to 81.8 percent, tops in school history.

K-State Gigs Aggies 44-30

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)—Junior quarterback Josh Freeman completed 21 of 26 passes and ran for four touchdowns as Kansas State snapped its five-game losing streak to Texas A&M with a 44-30 win Saturday.

Courtney Herndon returned a blocked punt for a touchdown for the Wildcats (4-2, 1-1 Big 12), who moved the ball at will in the first half and led 27-10 at the break.

Sophomore quarterback Jerrod Johnson tried to rally the Aggies, but the comeback stalled when Kansas State’s defense stuffed Jorvorskie Lane twice at the goal line midway through the fourth quarter.

Freeman led a 98-yard drive the other way and sealed the win on a short touchdown run with 4:37 left.

Johnson, starting again for the injured Stephen McGee, completed 29 of 41 passes for a school-record 419 yards. He also ran for a score and finished with 487 total yards, also a school record.

The Aggies (2-4) gave up 451 yards and dropped to 0-2 in the Big 12 for the first time.

The Wildcats found the end zone on their opening drive for the fourth time this season. Freeman threw a 32-yard pass to Brandon Banks before scoring on a 12-yard run just over three minutes into the game.

A&M’s first drive stalled at the Kansas State 9 and Randy Bullock kicked a 26-yard field goal.

Kansas State again drove to the Aggies’ 12, but Freeman fumbled after a hit by linebacker Von Miller.

Kansas State forced a punt by Justin Brantly, who was blocked by linebacker Reggie Walker. Herndon’s touchdown made it 13-3. The Wildcats have returned four blocked punts for touchdowns this season.

The Wildcats glided down the field again on their next possession. Logan Dold finished the drive with a 4-yard TD run. Freeman went 6-for-7 and scampered for 12 yards on a fourth-and-1 from the Aggies 28.

A&M receiver Ryan Tannehill fumbled near midfield and Kansas State linebacker Ulla Pomele recovered and returned it to the Aggies’ 47.

Freeman finished a quick drive with another touchdown run with 4:20 left in the half. At that point, the Wildcats had 269 total yards and were averaging 7.7 yards per play.

Mike Goodson, who sat out the first quarter, broke a 23-yard run on the Aggies’ next play. Howard Morrow, who had only one catch this season, made a diving grab on a deep throw at the Kansas State 7.

On fourth down from the 1, Lane barreled into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season. Lane set two school records with his 46th career touchdown and his 45th rushing. He had been tied with Darren Lewis for first on both lists.

Brooks Rossman kicked a 49-yard field goal for Kansas State in the third quarter. Johnson took the Aggies on a 12-play drive over the next five minutes and finished it with a 5-yard touchdown run. Bullock missed the extra-point attempt.

The Aggies drove to the Kansas State 2 early in the fourth quarter, but Lane was gang-tackled on third and fourth down.

After Kansas State’s 98-yard drive, Johnson threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Goodson. The Wildcats recovered the ensuing onside kick near midfield and Freeman scored again with 1:14 left.

Johnson threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Tannehill in the final minute.

Courtesy KSUSports.com.

FSN to Televise Colorado-Kansas State Game

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Big 12 Conference and Fox Sports Net have announced that Kansas State’s football game at Colorado on October 18 will be broadcast on FSN Rocky Mountain, Kansas City, Midwest and Southwest beginning at 6 p.m. CT.

The broadcast will be the second on Fox Sports Net this season for Kansas State, as the Montana State game was aired on Fox College Sports, and the fourth telecast overall. All-time, the Wildcats are 56-50 when playing on television.

A complete listing of Big 12 televised games for October 18 is below.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

FSN – Texas Tech at Texas A&M, 11 a.m. CT

VERSUS – Nebraska at Iowa State, 11:30 a.m. CT

ABC – Kansas at Oklahoma or Missouri at Texas, 2:30 p.m. CT

FSN Rocky Mountain, Midwest, Southwest – Kansas State at Colorado, 6 p.m. CT

ABC – Kansas at Oklahoma or Missouri at Texas, 7 p.m. CT

Texas A&M Game to Replay on Fox Sports

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Fox Sports Net has announced that a condensed replay of the Kansas State/Texas A&M Big 12 Conference football game will be shown on a tape-delay basis as part of the network’s Big 12 No Huddle series.

The replay will air on Fox Sports Kansas City and Fox Sports Midwest in a one-hour window on the following days and times (all times central):

Big 12 No Huddle replay: Kansas State at Texas A&M

Sunday, Oct. 12 at 9 a.m.

Monday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 12 p.m.

It's Time for a New Feature!

That's right, Steady Blogging is ready to break out a new feature and here. it. is!

The Dirty Dozen

The Dirty Dozen is based on reader participation--but it's not just readers of Steady Blogging... It's also the readers of Tim Fitzgerald's GoPowercat.com! The Dirty Dozen are those posters that are irritating little ... well this is a family site, so let's just say that The Dirty Dozen are those posters on Fitz's site that get under my skin, and the skin of most other people and make me want to claw their eyes out and hang them from their testicles. Unlike ESPN and the AP, I waited until halfway through the 2008 football season to release the first installment of The Dirty Dozen. You want to know who votes for The Dirty Dozen? Too bad. I ain't tellin'. It's privileged, so piss off.


12. Mobcat-An expert breaking down film, he is able to tell us who grabbed whose ass on a moment's notice. He is able to tell from watching a three second video clip that our defense can't execute and has the attitude of Cinderella at the ball. I mean he DID play JV 2A football in Kansas, so he IS an expert.

11. Crusader_Cat-He acknowleges that he has hated Ron Prince since his days at Virginia, and he is more than willing to take the slings and arrows for rooting against Prince, and as KSU loses wallowing in it like a pig in slop. But hey, what do you expect from a racist KU fan who has a crappy profession?

10. WeirdRobertJr-has spent the last several day on Aggie boards rooting for Kansas State to lose. Somehow or another, I think the real Weird Robert would kick him square in the nuts.

09. MikeAhearn-He recognizes that Prince isn't arrogant--he's insecure. Of course MikeAhearn is arrogant--or maybe he just has a little willie and is insecure about that. Yep, it's Prince's insecurity, that's why he brought in a bunch of coaches that had little experience. Hmmm. I guess Bill Snyder was pretty insecure too.

08. ManhattanMomma-Momma crawled out of the woodwork and is so insane, she even pisses off the rest of The Dirty Dozen. Another insider into the hidden mechanisms of Vanier, Momma is willing to do anything to gain a little prestige. Of course, there will be a storming of the Bastille, er Vanier, to put Bill Snyder back in charge, sometime around 2:30 on Sunday.

07. steffy08-steffy is rooting for Kansas State to lose. Somehow, he/she/it thinks that if Kansas State loses enough, then things will be better tomorrow. That's a true fan! Let's not try and get better now! Steffy's crystal ball says Ron Prince is an utter failure and is destined to lose. Or maybe it was the Tarot cards. Whatever.

06. WILDCATNATION-breaks down film like no other! He has solutions for all the problems in Kansas State's athletic department, as he is evidently a mensa member regarding baseball, basketball, football, and naked chess. I don't know what that means exactly, but I know that NATION always has an opinion and hasn't been wrong yet. Oooooh, I think he left nut was taken out by a rogue bishop.

05. wildcat_strike-convinced that Texas A&M will run roughshod over us, Wildcat_Strike is salivating at the prospect of a Wildcat loss. In the past few weeks, Strike has taken to rooting for the opposition, hoping against hope that they will succeed. He's an exceptional fan and one that we can only hope to aspire to be. Now, he's all for an amped up student section storming the field after a loss to Oklahoma and taking Coach Prince and stringing him up in front of Anderson Hall.

04. HeavyD-Busting out the Stan Parrish whooping stick, HeavyD has Prince unable to carry the Parrish jockstrap. Of course, our dear friend Stan was unable to beat the lowliest of foes, much less the powerhouses of the Big 8. But hey, every person needs their benchmark, and HeavyD loves him Stan Parrish.

03. Wild Purple-known primarily for his cyber-stalking ability, Wild Purple has absolutely no clue how the world works. Instead, he/she/it is ruled by mob mentality, sychophantically repeating his mantra that he insists Prince be fired RIGHT NOW. No matter that there is a game in roughly 15 hours.

02. TerryWGDDS-uber-insider (he alleges inside connections--the only inside connections he has are to terry cloths after mental masturbation) Terry the Dentist is known more for his three boobed signature photograph and any real contribution to Wabash Station. However, he gets pretty pissed off when you give his threads one star. Go for it!

01. cjh-just the man who knows who to blame, and cjh evidently knows Ron Prince is responsible for the failings of every defensive player, every coaching mistake, Mike Beasley going pro after his frosh season, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and the economic recession. Throw in some locusts and drout, and that's how cjh projects Coach Prince. And oh by the way, the coaches--they are automatrons serving every need of Prince. You think Coach Snyder was a control freak--cjh let's us know that players dress right or dress left at the whim of Prince.

Also receiving votes: pcatgrowl, OkieCatFan, soontirfel, mywillieispurple, scoopeloo, ksu1, Oldefella, Fitz, TnCat, NebraskaCat, acb463, MCthe_Cat

The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award/Honorable Mention goes to wichita_cat, who was placed in 24 hour time out for no apparent reason, other than the fact he was not trying to engage in Lynch Mob tactics on Head Coach Ron Prince.

Scary Numbers

Kansas State's total defense ranks 102nd in the country (out of 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams), giving up a whopping 421.6 yards per game. KSU's scoring defense ranks 94th, giving up 29.8 points per game.

Those numbers are scary, no?
Get this: it might get even worse.

The first five games, K-State has faced:

North Texas (80th total offense/118th scoring offense)
Montana St. (FCS 72nd/28th)
Louisville (22nd/53rd)
Louisiana (8th/31st)
Texas Tech (2nd/5th)

Those are some good offenses, especially in the last three games.

But... Uh oh. The next seven games:

Texas A&M (95th/84th)
Colorado (89th/77th)
Oklahoma (5th/4th)
Kansas (14th/25th)
Missouri (3rd/2nd)
Nebraska (40th/30th)
Iowa State (74th/34th).

Those are all offenses that haven't had the benefit of playing Kansas State. You see, the three good offenses KSU has faced--Louisville, Louisiana, and Texas Tech, all put up numbers over their season averages against the putrid KSU defense.

Look for KU, MU, and OU to feast on K-State. Oh and the rest of them? There is nothing like K-State defense to serve as an elixir for a failing and feeble offense.

Here's to you Texas A&M!
Cheers!

KSU Opens as 3.5 point favorites

That's the spread that was set by Sportsbook.com and Bookmaker (click the title link above to take you to the current spreads at docsports.com).

Wow. Just wow.
Either Texas A&M is that bad, or... well, the only thing I can figure is that the guys that set the points spreads are drinking as much beer as me. That's all I can figure.

Recent Beers

• Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel-A nice example of a dunkel Lager. This beer is a brown-amber color with a nice clean malt flavor and finish. Good anytime of the year.
• Samuel Smith Pale Ale-Full-bodied pale with a malty, faintly buttery tasting palate; fruity notes fund in aroma and medium to strong alcohol content; reddish golden in color.
• Abita Amber-This malty amber is a regional favorite because of its robust hop character; medium body with a medium alcohol content. Deep copper color with a slight floral nose.
• Ettaler Kloster Dunkel-Pours a dark mahogany color with a clingy tan head. Aromas of roasted malt and fresh bread. Caramel, citrus, nuts and hints of chocolate are found in the flavor.
• Hofbrau Original Light-Pale lager with a light body. This beer has very mild hop bitterness. Smooth and clean finish with a light body.
• Peroni-Within the light, Italian style, sweet notes are detected with some balancing fruity dryness; Firm bodied and medium in alcohol content; golden in color.
• Paulaner Munich Lager-Brewed in the traditional style of imperial stout, this is a classic example. This black top fermented beer has an aroma of roasted barley & coffee. It is full-bodied with a palate of slightly bitter coffee, chocolate, sweet malt & some alcohol. Lingering finish.
• North Coast Old Rasputin-Brewed in the traditional style of imperial stout, this is a classic example. This black top fermented beer has an aroma of roasted barley & coffee. It is full-bodied with a palate of slightly bitter coffee, chocolate, sweet malt & some alcohol. Lingering finish.
• Newcastle Brown Ale-Heavy malt accents but with a firm nutty dryness and a gentle fruitiness; medium bodied with medium alcohol content.
• Maredsous 8-Traditional abbey brewed dubbel, this ale has a deep ruby color, fruity nose and withholds a great complexity of flavor. High in alcohol content at 8 percent.
• St. Bernardus Prior 8-From Brouwerij St. Bernard is a traditional abbey ale brewed in the classic dubbel style of Belgium's Trappist Monks. It has a ruby to purple color, smooth, creamy richness of texture that is almost oily, and a malt-fruit complexity reminiscent of coconut. 8% abv.
• Okocim Zogloba-Produced by means of the method of natural fermentation from specially selected ingredients, it is Okocim's traditional beer, loved for its shining golden color, richly bitter flavor and distinct scent of hops. It owes its dense and abundant foam to high saturation with carbon dioxide. All theses qualities combined have earned Zagloba beer high praise of all those connoisseurs, who look for something real special.
• Baltika 6-This dark lager has a caramel malt aroma. Nice head, but fades quick. Slight bread flavor mixed with the caramel and roasted malts. Medium to full bodied beer with 7% alcohol by volume. Finishes on the malty side. This beer is a spin off from the Imperial Stouts, but because it is a lager, it is a bit rounder, smoother, and cleaner.
• Achel 8 Brune-This Belgian Dubbel is brown in color, slightly hazy with a thick tan head. Aromas of sweet malts, spicy yeast and dark tropical fruits. Flavors are the same with a nice balenced creaminess. 8.0 ABV.
• Spaten Lager-Classic German Pale Lager; light and golden in color; clean, crisp with a delicate finish. This beer is easily recommended to the novice beer drinker. In fact it should be the starter for Lite beer fans.
• New Belgium Giddy Up-Pours a clear amber. Hints of lemon, coffee and deep roasted malts are found in the aroma. Toasty, initial coffee notes with some light bitterness. 6.00 ABV.
• Boulevard Bobs 47 Munich-This Munich style Oktoberfest is medium bodied with a dark amber color. The use of special malts creates a malty flavor that is well balanced and is typical for this style. 5.5 % ABV. The name is a salute to Bob Werkowitch, Master Brewer and 1947 graduate of US Brewing Academy.
• Lindemans Pomme-The flavor of this lambic is dry, complex, tart and like no other beer. As the perfect flavor balance, lambics frequently have fruit added after fermentation. This beer is light in body, golden in color and has an aroma and flavor of fresh green apples.
• Wexford Irish Cream Ale-Original recipe dates back to early 1800's using authentic Irish ingredients. Smooth and creamy with a light gold - copper color and 5.1% abv.
• Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen-Hazy gold in color with a spicy clove aroma. It has a medium body with an off-dry malt finish and a hint of spice that lingers.
• Baltika 9-
• Okocim Porter-This world class Baltic porter pours a dark walnut brown with a light off white head. A sharp tang of dark fruit and slightly grassy. Extraordinary and complex but balanced with chocolate, some caramel notes and a smooth piny bitter finish.
• Breckenridge 471 ESB-This ESB screams with traditional English flavors. Todd Usry (Breckenridge Brewmaster & Damn Good Guy) used old school English malts to balance the fresh hop flavors. A very special limited brew! We hope that you will enjoy this treat like we do! 7.5% ABV with a clean copper color.
• Rogue Brewer-Brewer is a strong ale, rich, complex, and hoppy. This tasty brew will continue to develop over the next couple of years. This beer is a tribute to brewer, John Maier's (Rogue's Master Brewer) black lab and long time best friend, Brewer. A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. -Lord Byron
• Paulaner Oktoberfest-Taste is nutty, toasty, and slightly sweet with a balanced aroma; medium in body and medium in alcohol content; light brown/amber in color.
• Odells 90 Shilling-This scottish ale pours a muddy brown with a thick tan head. Aromas of sweet and toasty malt and a hint of hops. The flavor is of bold sweet malts, some roastiness and a slight hop finish.

My Head Hurts

I think I drank too much.
However, it's not my fault.
I went to the Kansas State game yesterday, and I had to drink and drink and drink to try and erase the memory. Click the title above for the game notes. Or don't, if you're a KSU fan.

“It is definitely embarrassing. Anytime that you get beat by thirty points, it is going to be embarrassing. Especially with how often they threw, we put the loss on our shoulders. We have to go and watch film and put it all behind us.”

-Chris Carney, KSU Free Safety

It didn't work, by the way. The memory is still vividly etched in my brain.

I am for patience and being allowed to build the program, but we are seriously regressing.
Every single player simply cannot be that bad, can they?
Oh not the offense. I am talking about the defense. Inept is a word that comes to mind.

“I am embarrassed. As a quarterback and leader of the offense, it is unacceptable to play the way we played. We can learn from this and we have to put it behind us. Tomorrow is another day and they are going to make us play another game in seven days."

-Josh Freeman, KSU Quarterback

I need a beer.

Texas Tech Game Notes

It's time for the Big 12 season to open, and the game notes are out for the Texas Tech game. After yet another underwhelming performance by the defense, there are yet more shake-ups in the two deep. After the Louisville game, there were no changes on the depth chart for Louisiana's Rajin' Cajuns, but for those who went to the game, there were in fact many changes. Those changes are starting to show up on this week's depth chart.

OFFENSE

WR
83 Brandon Banks (5-7, 142, Jr.-JC)
84 Matt Wykes (6-2, 209, Jr.-RS)
Brandon Banks takes over the position manned by formerly held by Lamark Brown, but in actuality was Banks since the Louisville game. Matt Wykes, a former walk-on, gets in the depth chart at number two. Adrian Hilburn, who had been in this position, is injured.

WR
89 Aubrey Quarles (5-11, 195, Jr.-JC)
5 Ernie Pierce (6-4, 209, Sr.-1L)
We all knew that Quarles was the starter, but now that's showing up on the depth chart has he has replaced Pierce, who has moved to number two.

LT
78 Alesana Alesana (6-4, 304, Sr.-1L)
61 Edward Prince (6-5, 289, Jr.-JC)
Prince played most of the snaps against Louisiana. We'll see.

LG
59 Zach Kendall (6-3, 287, So.-1L)
76 Brock Unruh (6-6, 288, Jr.-2L)
Unruh has been unseated by Kendall, who was the number 2 center.

C
79 Jordan Bedore (6-3, 310, Sr.-3L)
54 Trevor Viers (6-5, 284, Jr.-1L)
I hope that Bedore can stay healthy. Ideally Viers, who started much of last year after Bedore went down, would redshirt.

RG
73 Gerard Spexarth (6-6, 284, Sr.-3L)
66 Eric Benoit (6-4, 286, Jr.-RS)
Finally a position with no change.

RT
64 Nick Stringer (6-6, 271, Jr.-2L)
63 Penisini Liu (6-6, 282, Sr.-1L)

TE
85 Jeron Mastrud (6-6, 253, Jr.-2L)
80 Brett Alstatt (6-4, 230, Sr.-3L)

WR
87 Deon Murphy (5-10, 170, Jr.-1L)
81 Attrail Snipes (6-1, 180, Jr.-JC)
Snipes has made his way into the depth chart as well. Ideally he would be redshirted, but with Hilburn's injury and Brown moving to running back, that opened the door for some potential playing time.

QB
1 Josh Freeman (6-6, 250, Jr.-2L)
14 Carson Coffman (6-3, 208, So.-1L)

RB
7 Lamark Brown (6-3, 225, So.-1L)
28 Logan Dold (6-0, 195, Fr.-HS)
Lamark Brown has made the change to running back and former walk-on Keithen Valentine has disappeared from the depth chart. He played no snaps at running back against Louisiana; Dold and Brown received all the carries. Also, Justin Woods is no longer on the depth chart.

DEFENSE

LE
99 Brandon Harold (6-6, 264, Fr.-HS)
55 Vlad Faustin (6-2, 253, Sr.-2L)
Harold has cemented his place as a starter as he has had several good outtings and the only consistent player on the defensive side of the ball. Faustin moves into the number two role replacing Rapael Guidry.

NT
77 Daniel Calvin (6-3, 310, Jr.-JC)
92 Brandon Balkcom (6-1, 292, Sr.-2L)
Calvin has replaced Balkcom on the depth chart, though Calvin did in fact start against Louisiana.

RE
98 Ian Campbell (6-5, 255, Sr.-3L)
90 Eric Childs (6-3, 238, Jr.-2L)
No change since the first shake-up.

OLB
56 Olu Hall (6-3, 230, Jr.-TR)
40 Antonio Felder (6-2, 253, Jr.-JC)

ILB
50 Hansen Sekona (6-0, 230, Jr.-JC)
47 Alex Hrebec (5-11, 238, Fr.-RS)
I still don't know anything about Alex Hrebec, but the Gantz family says that he is a tough nosed son of a gun.

ILB
51 Ulla Pomele (6-1, 228, Jr.-JC)
39 John Houlik (5-11, 219, Jr.-2L)
Houlik is back in the depth chart after serving a three game suspension for driving under the influence. He takes the spot formerly held by Kevin Rohleder.

OLB
53 Reggie Walker (6-1, 247, Sr.-3L)
43 Antwon Moore (5-11, 221, Sr.-2L)
Reggie is back in the starting line-up, taking over for Antwon Moore. Moore was injured in the Louisiana game leaving early in the first quarter.

CB
4 Joshua Moore (5-11, 184, So.-1L)
29 Otis Johnson (5-10, 175, Jr.-2L)
Otis Johnson takes the spot formerly held by Billy McClellan.

SS
20 Courtney Herndon (6-0, 211, Jr.-2L)
21 Gary Chandler (5-11, 190, Sr.-1L)

FS
30 Chris Carney (6-1, 190, Jr.-2L)
2 Tysyn Hartman (6-3, 204, Fr.-RS)
Hartman, formerly a back-up quarterback, has moved to safety to add athleticism to the defense. He replaces Andrew Erker on the depth chart.

CB
6 Blair Irvin (6-0, 180, Jr.-JC)
23 Ray Cheatham (5-11, 193, Sr.-2L)
Irvin and Cheatham have been flip-flopping the starting role all year. I have no idea if this is a change or not, and frankly matters little because often Irvin, Moore, and Cheatham are all on the field at once.

SPECIALISTS

KO
16 Brooks Rossman (6-0, 182, Sr.-1L)
19 Josh Cherry (6-1, 183, So.-1L)

PK
16 Brooks Rossman (6-0, 182, Sr.-1L)
19 Josh Cherry (6-1, 183, So.-1L)

HOLD
2 Tysyn Hartman (6-3, 204, Fr.-RS)
31 Tony Purvis (6-0, 170, Jr.-2L)

LS
42 Corey Adams (6-4, 242, So.-1L)
85 Jeron Mastrud (6-6, 253, Jr.-2L)

P
4 D.J. Fulhage (5-9, 180, So.-SQ)
17 George Pierson (6-0, 201, Jr.-JC)
Fulhage kicked against Louisiana after replacing Pierson during the Louisville game. His name now tops the depth chart.

KOR
87 Deon Murphy (5-10, 170, Jr.-1L)
89 Aubrey Quarles (5-11, 195, Jr.-JC)

PR
87 Deon Murphy (5-10, 170, Jr.-1L)
83 Brandon Banks (5-7, 142, Jr.-JC)

Opening Week Betting Lines

The Big 12 season starts next Saturday, and the opening betting lines are out.

Texas Tech (-7) at Kansas State
Kansas (-13) at Iowa State
Missouri (-10.5) at Nebraska
Texas (-14) at Colorad0
Oklahoma (-27) at Baylor
Texas A&M at Oklahoma State (-24)

Wow. Five road teams favored, and four of them are double digit favorites. Five out of six games total are double digit spreads. This looks like a terrible weekend for Big 12 football.

Recent Beer

• Breckenridge Avalanche-This classic amber ale hales from Denver, Colorado. Starting the brewery Richard Squire became well known for his oatmeal stout he brewed for his friends. From this the rest is history. The flagship of this brewery represents Colorado's commitment to quality micro-brewed beers.
• Murphy's Irish Red-This amber lager is mildly fragrant with a touch of malt and slight hops. It is smooth and rounded with a lingering malt finish.
• Smithwick's Ale-This beer is imported from Dublin, Ireland and has been well sought after in the US. It is dark amberish red in color with a nice thick head. Very well rounded beer with some hops and roasty malts toward the finish.
• Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA-This very unique Belgain IPA pours a hazy golden honey with a big pillowy white head. Bold fruity hops, some spicy yeast tones and an underlying alcohol warmth in the nose. Sweet fruits with the typical tripel yeast notes and a smooth bitterness match well. 9.0%
• New Belgium Le Fleur Misseur-Brewed in honor of New Belgiums 15th Anniversary. This Belgian Style Ale pours a orange-golden hue with a rocky white head. The aroma is filled with dusty earthy farmhouse notes and hints of citrus. A complex beer of sweetness, citrus, spicy yeast notes, and wild fruits. A tip of the hot to Orval. 6.5 ABV.
• Bosteel's Tripel Karmeliet-This Belgian tripel is a deep golden color with a very tight white head. Very malty sweet aroma with some lemon and spice overtones. The body is medium fullness with a classic sourness in the back of the mouth. 8% abv.
• Hummingbird Water-Woodchuck Pear Cider with a splash of Lindeman's Framboise.
• Cream of Wheat-Guinness/ Hoegaarden (layered).
• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale-Full of piney, flowery, fruity hops; Full-bodied ale. This beer is a champion in this category. A real treat for you "hop heads."
• St. Bernardus Wit-Hazy white gold in color with a nice rocky head. Nose is wheaty with slight citrusy fruit aromas. Light body with nice carbonation. Citrus and mild wheat flavors end with a mild tartness at the finish.
• Wychwood Hobgoblin-Brewed with pale malts and a pinch of chocolate malt and is a superb tawny red color. A delightful aroma and chocolate character. Full and rounded malt up front with a fruit and hops kick at the end. 5.5 % abv.
• O'Fallon Smoked Porter-A dark, rich and smoky; this classic porter is brewed with 63 percent german smoked malts.
• Bear Republic Racer Five-A big IPA with American grains and a head full of hops. Racer Five pours a burnt golden orange with good carbonation and head retention. The aroma explodes with piny hops, sweet malt and an underlying spice. Watch out for the complex flavor of juicy balanced hops, sweet malt and citrus nip. A great IPA. 7.0%

All beer descriptions courtesy The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, 13th and Walnut in the Power & Light District.

Weekly Press Conference

Head Coach Ron Prince
Opening statement...

"Well, we have had a couple of days to look at this Louisville game, analyze it pretty well and move on to Louisiana. I thought it was pretty clear, defensively, let us start from there, early in the game, particularly in the first quarter, I thought our kids did a really good job of pursuing hard and getting off blocks and making some stops, particularly the fourth down stop. What happened to us was a little bit of our own worst enemy. Louisville did a really good job of finding the cutback lanes on us and we did not do a very good job of squeezing and constricting some of those lanes and then when the ball got through on us, we did not make the kind of tackles we would have liked to make. We missed too many. As the game started to progress, Louisville was able to get the ball out into space, particularly to No. 20. We missed some critical plays and he was able to score and break the game, from a scoring standpoint, make it very challenging, and forcing us to play from behind. I think the loss of leverage on some of the routes we had in the red zone were very similar to the missed tackles that we had. We had somebody in the position and just did not make the play. That is where we will continue to work and improve on those areas.

"Offensively, the story of the game, after being there in person and then watching on tape, turnovers are the number one story. When you do not get any and you give up three, you are going to have a hard time beating people, especially really good teams on the road. The kind of turnovers we had not only gave them time of possession, but more cracks at really pushing on our defense and finding those lanes in there and I think that was really destructive to our defensive effort; the offensive turnovers that we had. We did have some poor execution on runs, both from a blocker and runner standpoint, and then we did have some very nice production at the wide receiver position; though we had a couple of penalties that hurt us in key situations. So, it sounds very simple what I just gave, but that is the truth, the unbiased truth, and we just have to make sure we work to correct that and we will. From a very positive standpoint, we had a kicking game play that gave us a chance to get back into the game. We couldn’t make the appropriate stops or get the appropriate drives to capitalize on it, along with a fake punt, and so we did some nice things with the kicking game, but very concerned about our kickoff return unit. We are not anywhere close to where we need to be on that.

"Coming into this game, I think it is pretty obvious that this offense we are going to play, being one of the top rushing offensives in the country; they have a very unique combination of a quarterback. And you hear a lot about the terms called dual-threat quarterback, and I think about all the ones I have seen, this one might be the best one. Legitimately, an unbelievable passer, very accurate, has tremendous sense of timing on his passes; he can pass from within the pocket and on the move. And then he is the leading rusher among quarterbacks in the country. And when you have the all-time leading rusher in the backfield with you, it gives you a pretty potent combination. We are pretty aware that the Ragin Cajuns’ have an excellent running game. So they can run the ball which sets up a nice play action pass which establishes a good tempo to maintain position of the ball and wear teams down.

"Offensively, it will be clear that we will need to hold onto the football. This team has had four interceptions defensively on the season and that is something that we were prone to last week so we will have to do a better job of holding onto the ball. I think we will have to get into a good rhythm early with this team because they have some disruptive defenders, 20, 43 and 58, all have two or more tackles for loss so that will be something that we will obviously want to stay away from. I think more than anything offensively that we need to eliminate penalties. We had some real killer penalties when we were trying to get some things going late in the game and that was very destructive. Louisiana is a very unusual program, they have great athletes. They have a terrific coach who I am familiar with his time at Virginia Tech. They are unusual because they are on of the programs that put as much emphasis on the kicking game as anyone else I’ve seen. They have the most blocked kicks in the country since 2002; they have never gone more than five games without blocking a kick. During that same period of time we are fourth in the country. You will see the very best of the best in that area of the game this week and it will take our very best effort to make sure we come out on top of that.”

Wide Receiver Brandon Banks
On his thoughts about the Louisville game...

“Obviously we are very disappointed because we felt we beat ourselves. We are going to use the loss as a learning moment and learn from our mistakes to get better. It is now in the past and we are going to look forward to the game this Saturday.”

Defensive End Ian Campbell
On how offenses are playing him...

“It could be half speculation and half truth; I still need to make the plays when they come to me no matter what. This is the type of defense where my objective is to do my job and if I take a double team then I take a double team. If that happens then that means someone is freed up so it all works out. A team will scheme for you if you’re a good player. It is not anything new, we just have to take advantage of it.”

On the defensive play against Louisville...

“It was definitely disappointing just because of the kind of effort that went into the game preparation. It was frustrating and a tough loss because of what was put into it. I think it probably showed on our faces after the game that we were frustrated, but we came home and have resolved to be better. The most important thing is to not let Louisville beat you twice.”

Quarterback Josh Freeman
On recovering from the Louisville game...

“It has been a team related theme to not let Louisville beat us twice during the few days that we have had off so we are trying no to let that game affect how we prepare for this week. It will still be in the back of our minds because we lost but nobody waits for you to get over it so we have got to be ready to play the next week.”

On his knowledge of Louisiana...

“I know they have a pretty good secondary. Their front seven, from what I saw on film, does a pretty good job. They held Juice Williams of Illinois to a pretty bad game and played him really well. As a defense they do a lot of different things. They play cover two and cover three, but I wouldn’t say it is anything two radical. It is something we have dealt with many times before. I know they are going to come in ready to play. Keithen Valentine has some friends from there, so we have got to defend our ground.”

On Louisiana’s performance against Illinois...

“It does gather some attention. We try to respect every opponent exactly the same. We understand they are a hungry bunch of guys and they play hard. We have areas where we are going to try to exploit them and I know they are going to come in here and give us everything they have got.”

Texas Tech at Kansas State to Air on ABC

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Big 12 Conference and ESPN/ABC announced Monday that Kansas State’s Big 12 opener against Texas Tech at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4, has been selected for over-the-air distribution by the network. Kickoff has been slated for 2:30 p.m. CT.

Kansas State’s appearance on ABC on Oct. 4 will mark the third time this season that the Wildcats have been on television and first as part of the Big 12’s weekly television package.

The Wildcats have won each of their last two contests on ABC, while the last meeting with Texas Tech (2005) was also broadcast on the network.

The game will also mark just the third time in the last six years that the Wildcats will play in the 2:30 p.m. ABC slot. Last season, the Wildcats defeated Texas, 41-21, in the 2:30 p.m. game, while also beating Nebraska, 38-9, in Lincoln back in 2003.

With its appearance on ABC vs. Texas Tech, Kansas State has now had at least one game broadcast by the network for 15 consecutive seasons.

October 4, 2008 – Big 12 Conference Televised Games

ESPN on ABC

Texas Tech at Kansas State, 2:30 p.m.

ESPN

Missouri at Nebraska, 8 p.m.

FSN

Oklahoma at Baylor, 11:30 a.m.

Texas at Colorado, 6 p.m.

Versus

Kansas at Iowa State, 11:30 a.m.

– k-statesports.com –

Leon Patton Dismissed

Gopowercat.com has reported that Leon Patton has been dismissed from the Kansas State football team. I posted the rumor previously; turns out it Leon Patton Jr. was admitted to a hospital with symptoms akin to shaken baby syndrome. However, little Leon is alive and well and residing in foster care. No word on who or where the mother is.

Lousiana-Lafayette Game Notes

Are now available from K-Statesports.com.
No changes on the depth chart from the Louisville game.

Ok I am sufficiently recovered: Looking at Tibesar

The Louisville game (the game report is linked to the title above) is slowly leaving my memory, and it's time to start playing again. This weekend, it's the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette. But before we get there, let's take a quick look back at last Wednesday night.

The Louisville game was terrible--so bad, Head Coach Ron Prince had the team running 50 sprints when the team got back to Manhattan last Wednesday night. They ran 38 50 yard sprints--one sprint for each point given up by the K-State defense.

The defense has struggled mightily since last year, when the defense moved to a 3-4 base from the 4-3 cover 2 base--maybe Coach Prince made a mistake hiring Tim Tibesar as defensive coordinator.

I hate to say that, but... let's take a look at some stats.

2007

Auburn: 23 points and 316 yards. Auburn had the 97th ranked total offense last year and the 84th ranked scoring offense.

San Jose State: 14 points and 293 yards. San Jose State had the 88th ranked total offense last year and the 103rd ranked scoring offense.

Missouri State: 10 points and 191 yards. Missouri State had the 24th ranked total offense last year and the 10th ranked scoring offense. That said, they are FCS and not FBS.

Texas: 21 points and 330 yards. Texas had the 13th ranked total offense last year and the 14th ranked scoring offense. This was the only exceptional defensive effort under Tibesar.

Kansas: 30 points and 437 yards. Kansas had the 8th ranked total offense last year and the 2nd ranked scoring offense.

Colorado: 20 points and 411 yards. Colorado had the 72nd ranked total offense last year and the 62nd ranked scoring offense.

Oklahoma State: 41 points and 510 yards. Oklahoma State had the 7th ranked total offense last year and the 22nd ranked scoring offense.

Baylor: 13 points and 318 yards. Baylor had the 85th ranked total offense last year and the 111th ranked scoring offense.

Iowa State: 31 points and 348 yards. Iowa State had the 102nd ranked total offense last year and the 111th ranked scoring offense. No, those numbers are not typos.

Nebraska: 73 points and 702 yards. Nebraska had the 9th ranked total offense last year and the 28th ranked scoring offense. That was the most dismal defensive performance in Kansas State history.

Missouri: 49 points and 427 yards. Missouri had the 5th ranked total offense last year and the 8th ranked scoring offense.

Fresno State: 45 points and 549 yards. Fresno State had the 38th ranked total offense last year and the 32nd ranked scoring offense.

That is not the resume of a successful first season. One good performance (Texas), a couple average performances, and several performances well below average. During Big 12 media days, several members of the football team suggested that now-departed members of the team contributed to the dismal defense. Now that they are gone, let's look at how Tibesar's resume has changed.

2008

North Texas: 6 points and 205 yards. North Texas has the 115th ranked total offense this year and the 108th ranked scoring offense. While a good effort, it's not as if North Texas is tearing things up.

Montana State: 10 points and 191 yards. Montana State has the 79th ranked total offense this year and the 32nd ranked scoring offense. The rankings are from the FCS and not the FBS. Again, nothing special.

Louisville: 38 points and 577 yards. Louisville has the 42nd ranked total offense this year and the 47th ranked scoring offense.

After two reasonable performances against poor offenses, against a wholly mediocre offense, Tibesar's defense was again dismal. Let's hope that he gets it figured out and figured out soon. Louisiana-Lafayette is 23rd ranked total offense and the 62nd ranked scoring offense. Then it only gets worse.

Here is a look at the Big 12 in national offense ranks.

Texas Tech: 3 total offense/8
@ Texas A&M: 101/82
@ Colorado: 68/56
Oklahoma: 4/1
@ Kansas: 15/32
@ Missouri: 1/2
Nebraska: 20/16
Iowa State: 76/40

It could be a very long season for the defense.

Well that was Ugly

14-7 Louisville at the half. 3 turnovers are a killer. I don't mind the running game, but seriously, we need to just hold on to the ball. No one is -3 in turnovers and able to win. That's the difference, as KSU was about to go in and score to start the game and Jordan Bedore inexplicably snaps the ball off of Josh's facemask. It was an omen of things to come.

We will see if KSU can make the proper adjustments at halftime.

Yesterday's Beer

• Rogue Dead Guy-Dead Guy is a German-style Maibock made with Rogue's proprietary "PacMan" ale yeast. It is deep honey in color with a malty aroma, rich hearty flavor and a well balanced finish. Dead Guy is created from Northwest Harrington, Klages, Maier Munich and Carastan malts, along with Perle and Saaz Hops.

• Spaten Optimator-The dark lager has hints of chocolate and lots of malts in the aroma. It is very full bodied and can be considered liquid bread. It is strong and full of malt flavors with some sweetness as expected. Nice dopple bock.

• Avery Ellie's Brown Ale-This deep brown ale has a nice malt and caramel nose. It pours with a nice tan head. It is medium to full body with a sweet flavor, countered by the hops. Good beer with balance.

• Wychwood Hobgoblin-Brewed with pale malts and a pinch of chocolate malt and is a superb tawny red color. A delightful aroma and chocolate character. Full and rounded malt up front with a fruit and hops kick at the end. 5.5 % abv.

Beer descriptions courtesy The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium (where I drank the delicious beers).

In the News

GoPowercat.com reports that Tyrik Rollison will visit the Little Apple October 4 to take in the game versus Texas Tech. Rollison is a Rivals four star quarterback from Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Keithen Valentine has been studying up on the actions of the offensive line, according to the Topeka Capital Journal. Valentine believes that a better understanding of the zone blocking schemes will turn him into a better runner.

You'll also be happy to know that a shift to the outside linebacker position doesn't bother senior Reggie Walker. TCJ's Austin Meek reports that Walker is happy with the move and sees an opportunity to rush the quarterback.

The Manhattan Mercury provides some game notes, including a quick note about KSU trying to improve upon a 2-8 road record under Head Coach Ron Prince.

Jeff Martin is back and previews the K-State/Louisville match-up in the Wichita Eagle.

BCS Poll out on October 19

The BCS will announce its first standings of the season on Oct. 19.

The BCS standings formula consists three components, each weighted equally: the USA Today Coaches' Poll, the Harris Interactive College Football Poll and an average of six computer rankings (Anderson & Hester, Richard Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Kenneth Massey, Jeff Sagarin and Peter Wolfe).

Source: Fox Sports on MSN

College Football RPI

Yes, you might be familiar with the RPI as it applies to basketball, but in fact there is a college RPI for football. Kansas State stands 43rd after two games, while this week's opponent Louisville checks in at 38. Check out by clicking the link on the title above.

Changing Odds

K-State has moved to a 4 point favorite versus Louisville this week, with the over/under settling at 55 points. Courtesy docsports.com.

KSU is on the move (again) in the Sagarin ratings, moving up to number 38 (not sure how that happened) and number 17 in his pure points system. Louisville checks in at number 54 (61 pure points); Kansas State is a 9.5 point favorite using the Sagarin rating system.

In the News

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Brock Bolen and Hunter Cantwell remember KSU's defense from 2006.

Austin Meek suggests that Michael Beasley's transition to the NBA has not been as smooth as it might have been.

Jeffrey Martin from the KC Star and Wichita Eagle has been MIA (congrats on the nuptials, Jeffrey!), but Paul Suellentrop reports that KSU's defense is looking to take advantage of opportunities it is presented and not miss out.

Speaking of Jeff Martin, he turned up recently to discuss the shifting KSU linebackers in this weeks depth chart and provide some other tidbits.

Mark Jannsen, from my former employer (the Manhattan Mercury), discusses why going on the road is so difficult, as the 'Cats make their first foray into hostile territory.

Player Personnel update

D. Scott Fritchen from GoPowercat.com reports that two members of K-State's football team will return to action this Wednesday. Gabriel Crews will return to action backing up Brandon Balkcom at nose tackle and Ed Prince, the starting left tackle versus North Texas, will return and back up Alesana Alesana at that position.

Xzavier Stewart remains on the scout team and will not participate in the game.
John Houlik will finish his suspension for a DUI this past summer by sitting out the Louisville game.
Leon Patton remains indefinitely suspended.
Michael Abana is expected to return in 2009.

Weekly Press Conference

Courtesy KSU Sports Information:

Head Coach Ron Prince
Opening Statement...
“They (Louisville) are still really good and we are not really sure if we are. Their offensive line, the more you watch them, the more impressive they get. I think they have two of the better offensive linemen in college football. Their center is a really good player. He and Jeff Byers, the center from USC, are some of the best out there. He has had 37 starts and you don’t see anything on the tape that makes you think anything different. We thought he was good in 2006 and he still is – he has been there for a long time. The left tackle is a good player.

“These guys play the game the way it is supposed to be played. They are big and strong, they know what they are doing and they are committed to running the football. They have a good complement with their fullbacks and tight ends. Their running back, No. 20 (Victory Anderson), isn’t always noted as the starter, but is their feature back. I think he is really dynamic and will be a very dangerous player. I have asked around and people tell me this quarterback is very highly regarded out side the college football world. He has an unbelievable release and he can put the ball down the field. If the release looks a little bit different to people, all you have to do is look at Philip Rivers. That’s who he reminds me of, a quarterback that I have played against in my past who can throw the ball like him. They are very much set on how they want to attack you on defense with their offense.

“Defensively, nothing has really changed. The more tape I look at, the more impressed I am with their defensive attack. No. 94 (Adrian Grady) is a really good player no matter what league he is playing in. He doesn’t have some of the household appeal that some of the other guys have because he had some injuries last season. They have a lot of veteran guys in the secondary. I think that one of the biggest x-factors in the game is their returner and wide receiver, No. 3 (Trent Guy). He had a touchdown as a returner a year ago against Kentucky. He has really been a game-changer and has been able to affect momentum at times.”

On K-State...
“I felt like we have accomplished some things in our practices, particularly on defense. In the kicking game, we have focused on some things that have been giving us some issues – none of them are because people are playing poorly, but we just felt that the guys were competing for playing time and we want to promote as much of that as we can.”

On Louisville’s rush defense...
“When you’re not allowing people to run the football in the interior at all because of those two (defensive linemen), the secondary – particularly the safeties, corners and outside linebackers – understand that the game is coming to them. They are very coordinated to do a good job on the edge with how they want to defend the run. Most people look at the running game and realize you have to be able to run the ball inside at some point. No matter what games you look at, you don’t really see that. I think the bulk of many teams’ yards so far have come from trying to attack the interior and then moving outside, and I don’t think that is the case because of their two big defensive tackles.”

On improvements on the running game...
“The reality is we won’t know until we get there if we have improved in that area or not. I think the game will be a great test for us in that aspect and I think we will find out a lot of things about our team after the game. But, we will find out about the running game when we get there. I think it will be a great test for us.”

On running the ball...
“I think in all games you have to be able to run to win. I think there comes a time and place in every single game that you have to be able to run the ball and when you do it you have to be able to run effectively. If you go out there and have a poor rushing performance that confirms to the other team how they might want to play. You have to have something positive occur and have it happen early if you can. They are very committed to their running game and that’s why they have had very good passing numbers, particularly last year, because so much of what they do comes off of play action. If you can’t establish any kind of running game at all, then that eliminates a good portion of your play action game.”

Point Spread and Trends

Kansas State opens a 3.5 point favorite over Louisville. Odds courtesy docsports.com.

Trends from Bodog.com.

Current streak:
Kansas State has won 2 straight games.

Team records:
Kansas State: 2-0 SU, 1-0 ATS
Louisville: 1-1 SU, 0-1 ATS

Kansas State most recently:
When playing in September are 7-3
When playing on turf are 6-4
After outgaining opponent are 6-4
When playing outside the conference are 6-4

Louisville most recently:
When playing in September are 7-3
When playing on turf are 6-4
After outgaining opponent are 6-4
When playing outside the conference are 7-3

A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Kansas State's last 21 games on the road
Kansas State is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
Kansas State is 6-15 ATS in its last 21 games on the road
Kansas State is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Louisville is 22-3 SU in its last 25 games at home
Louisville is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games

Next up:
Kansas State home to Louisiana-Lafayette, Saturday, September 27
Louisville home to Connecticut, Friday, September 26

Empire Lindy Breaks Down Louisville

1. Defense. Louisville's defense last year was not good, but showed something against Kentucky. Was that a mirage, or has the defense improved that much?

Empire Lindy: From a technique standpoint, you really have to be optimistic about this year’s D unit if you are a Louisville fan. With head coach Ron English coming on board from Michigan, there is an intensity and effort in protecting the end zone that we haven’t seen in Louisville for at least a couple of years. The grain of salt to be taken, however, is that the Cards have yet to play a really good offense and especially a good quarterback. Mike Hartline, who started for Kentucky in that opener, is already sharing snaps with freshman Randall Cobb and could lose his job before SEC play begins. Hartline missed a lot of open receivers in that game and could have made Louisville’s secondary pay for a blown coverage or two. Facing Josh is going to be the first real test of the secondary’s new pass coverage philosophy and ability.

2. Tell us a little bit about Louisville's new defensive coordinator. What kind of schemes does he like to run?

Empire Lindy: Ron English, as many football fans know, was the former defensive coordinator at Michigan before Lloyd Carr retired. After spending three years coaching the UM secondary, he took over as coordinator in 2006 and 2007 and helped the Wolverines rank in the Top 25 in total D both seasons. He is known for a very aggressive style of play and is using a 4-3 look with Louisville, but with the talent drain on his side of the ball it is very difficult to give an accurate assessment of his style. The Cards graduated all three linebackers and the defensive line suffered a critical career-ending injury to Peanut Whitehead (he was a 4-star recruit out of Alabama). One of our DB’s was charged with armed robbery over the summer. Close to 30 players have been dismissed or left since Krag took charge. In short, it’s been a crazy, difficult 18 months for the D unit and really the entire team.

3. Three kick offs out of bounds? Ouch! How will Louisville's kicker improve this week after a rough week versus Tennessee Tech?

Empire Lindy: That’s a really good question and one a lot of Louisville fans would like to know. After having a reliable guy like Art Carmody the past 4 seasons, the Cards are going through some growing pains on special teams while trying to break in a true freshman place kicker. His start has been shaky at best with a field goal and a point after already having been blocked in addition to the kickoff problems you noted. Philpott’s back-up, barefoot K Ryan Payne, actually took over PAT duty in the second half of the Tennessee Tech game, so it will be interesting to see if the coaching staff makes a change at the position. Really, though, the bigger issue for the special teams unit is the punting game. With an offense that has struggled to move the ball, P Cory Goettsche has done the team few favors with his inconsistency. Goettsche has the leg to bomb punts and pin an opposing offense, but also apparently has the narrow foot to shank more than his fair share of attempts. I know the K-State has a very good return unit, so this will be an area to watch when the teams meet.

4. Hunter Cantwell is a pro quarterback by all accounts. But it seems the receiving corps is sorely depleted. What happened? How many of those guys are going to be back?

Empire Lindy: What hasn’t happened to the receiving corps (are you noticing a theme yet?)? The Cards lost their top two receivers from last season in Harry Douglas and Mario Urrutia. Douglas was in a lot of ways like Jordy Nelson to the Cats. He was the guy Brohm relied on in tight spots and must-catch possessions. Urrutia was the deep threat and a guy you could rely on to just throw a jump ball in the corner of the end zone and have him go get it. Losing both of those guys would be more than enough of a challenge to prepare for the 2008 season.

But the really difficult part so far this season is what has happened to the returning starters. Scott Long, Trent Guy, and JuJuan Spillman were all projected as starters during spring ball. Since then, Long has broken his foot and is expected to be out until the UConn game. Trent Guy was shot in the back during a disagreement in a Louisville club in July… he has played both games, but isn’t the same speedster just yet. JuJuan Spillman was a disciplinary casualty of the Kragthorpe program after being arrested for the second time on DUI charges and marijuana possession.

In the absence of these guys, though, we have seen some promise in the emergence of Josh Chichester and Doug Beaumont. Chichester is a 6’8” match-up nightmare for opposing DB’s that could replace Urrutia in a lot of ways as he develops and gains confidence. Beaumont is a 5’9” battler who is unafraid to take on bigger players and fight for the ball… he has won most of those battles to-date and leads the team with 160 yards receiving.

I would add one comment on Hunter as well. A lot of his “pro” accolades were built on being the second fiddle and filling in for three games as a freshman and a sophomore. He barely threw any passes in 2007 and has looked lost so far this season. Folks are already questioning his slow release and ability to put anything out there to a receiver but a 95 mph fastball. The guy is going to have to learn to give his guys a more catchable ball and not lock in on a target as he has shown a tendency to do so far this year. He has the physical skills, but needs to develop more than just a big arm to make it to the next level.

5. What is the status of the offensive line? A couple guys got dinged up last week.

Empire Lindy: The offensive line should be fully intact and ready to go Wednesday. Wood and Bussey, who are our two best linemen, both took a bit of a hit in the Tech game and were held out of the second half. It was more of a precautionary measure, however, as the style of play was a bit discomfited along the line and you could even argue dirty on the Tech side (Wood, who is usually a very cool competitor, got into it twice with a Tech D-lineman after taking offense to his style of play). With the game already out of reach at halftime, there was no reason to keep our best two guys on the field and further elevate any hostilities or risk injury from the style of line play Tech was employing.

6. How tested is your secondary? Who are the standout players K-State should look out for?

Empire Lindy: If our first two games were test, they were on colors and shapes. Simply put, neither of the quarterbacks that Louisville has faced this season are anywhere close to the talent Josh Freeman is going to bring to PJCS. While you have to be pleased with the sure tackling that the corners and safeties showed against Kentucky and Tennessee Tech (they were BAD last season and often allowed much bigger games simply because they couldn’t wrap up a receiver after a short catch), it’s very hard to say how a good QB-WR duo will exploit holes in the coverage or missed assignments deep (Tech burnt us for a long completion when the safety failed to come over the top and help his DB).

As far as who to watch, I have been very impressed so far by the play of S Richard Raglin. He had a big game against Tech, and I would argue was assigned to spy on TTU’s dual-threat RB Henry Sailes. Sailes had accounted for 104 total yards and a TD in the team’s opener, then managed a -6 (yes, that’s MINUS) with Raglin usually harassing, stuffing, and pounding him every time he touched the ball. The kid has always been able to hit, but his sure tackling so far this season has been a nice surprise.

7. Louisville had a big junior college class. Who are some of the guys that are making names for themselves already?

Empire Lindy: The three guys to note are LB’s Jon Dempsey, Antwon Canady, and Chris Campa. All three have shown flashes of promise in the opening two games, with Dempsey starting both and Canady/Campa each getting a start at MLB. Canady was a highlight in an otherwise painful UK game, stuffing the run with several solo tackles right up the gut of the UK O-line. Dempsey was all over the field against the Cats, totaling 9 tackles in his debut and leading the team with 10 so far this season. Campa had a big game against Tech, forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass that set up a Cardinal touchdown in the second quarter.

8. How good is the Louisville run game?

Empire Lindy: It’s better, I think, than it has shown so far this season. The Cards piled up a bunch of yards on TTU last weekend, and were OK against Kentucky, but I believe can and should be much better. From my amateur perspective, it seems like we have not put our runners in the best position to succeed so far this season and haven’t gotten very good run protection from the O-line. We have a big bruiser like Brock Bolen (6’0”, 240lbs) who we are trying to make a feature back and run all over the place instead of giving him the ball on 3rd-and-short and running it right up the gut. Bilal Powell (6’0”, 210lbs) had a fumble early in the Kentucky game that was returned for a score and seemed to shake his confidence. He proceeded to jog out a pair of late kick returns against the Cats and saw little of the field against TTU as a result. Victor Anderson (5’9”, 182lbs) enjoyed a nice day against TTU, but I’m skeptical if he can really be a threat at his current size. It’s one thing to run for 100 yards against a mediocre I-AA team and to do it against a BCS conference foe.

9. Generally, what do you see as the overall strengths and weaknesses of Louisville?

Empire Lindy: The strengths of this team so far this season are definitely in the play of the front seven on defense and the POTENTIAL of the offense. Ron English has brought Louisville a much more technically sound unit that has shown the ability to bring down a runner with a first attempt instead of the arm tackles and big chunks of additional yardage we seemed to witness so much in 2007. Kentucky was supposed to have a very good running game, but we held them to just 63 yards on 33 carries. Offensively, there is promise with Hunter Cantwell under center and a talented trio of running backs in Bolen, Powell, and Anderson. Powell in my opinion HAS to become the go-to back and show the skills he put on display in last year’s season finale against Rutgers (91 yards and a score, all in the second half). Powell has that wiggle that you want to see from your RB and needs to find the confidence he lost with his early fumble against UK.

On the other side, there has to be concern about the special teams play, depth issues, and still-untested secondary. Louisville hasn’t seen a kicker who could really drive the ball into the end zone in years and we give too many good returners too many great opportunities. Deon Murphy and Aubrey Quarles scare the bejesus out of me and will get more than a couple of opportunities to burn our coverage team because of poor punts/kickoffs.

Depth-wise, you are going to feel the impact of losing nearly 30 guys since your new coach came on board 18 months ago. We have talent left over from the Petrino Era and a bit from Kragthorpe’s first two recruiting classes, but injuries at almost any position could absolutely doom an already-shaky season. We just can’t afford to lose a starter like we absorbed the loss of Michael Bush (a Heisman candidate no less) in 2006.

The secondary is a much-maligned unit in recent seasons, one that has been burned by the mediocre likes of Syracuse last year and a run-first Rutgers team in 2006. I’m sure most fans across the country recall the blown coverage against UK that led to their game-winner last year. That kind of gaff has become the norm for the unit in the past couple of seasons and there is little evidence to this point that it won’t be the same with someone like Josh Freeman airing it out. There just isn’t a lock-down corner on the roster that can blanket his man in single coverage. Unfortunately the communication necessary to play zone or bring safety help hasn’t been much better. This, for me, will be one of the most interesting things to watch in next week’s game. I’d like to believe that English – a former secondary and specifically safeties coach – can improve this group more than any other on the defensive side. But until we play a good passing team, this will remain largely unanswered.