Only a few teams are still in contention for the Big 12 football championship in 2022. With three weeks left in the regular season, any combination of Baylor, Kansas, K-State, TCU, Texas, and Oklahoma State may win a place in the conference title game. The two lucky teams will then face off on December 3 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Out of all those teams, TCU currently carries the best record. However, we feel that it's the Kansas State Wildcats who will eventually win the Big 12 championship. Here we will discuss the four reasons why Kansas State Wildcats football will win the Big 12 title over Texas and TCU.
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4. Kansas State is in a great spot after beating Baylor
Before this weekend, it sure looked like the Wildcats no longer had any control of their fate in terms of the league title race. That changed in a big way after they beat Baylor and after Texas lost today.
K-State basically needed to beat Baylor and go on to sweep its last two games. If the Wildcats can pull that off, then they should be off to Arlington to face the Horned Frogs for all the Big 12 marbles.
The Kansas State victory over the Bears really put the Wildcats in a good position to compete in the Big 12 title game. By defeating Baylor, the Wildcats clinched at least a tie for second place in the standings. The Wildcats are now a full game ahead of the Bears, and they own the head-to-head tiebreaker. Texas' loss to TCU also put the Wildcats ahead of the Longhorns. However, the Wildcats need to beat both West Virginia (2-5) and Kansas (3-4) to avoid any tiebreaker complications with Texas. Remember that Kansas State football lost to the Longhorns last week, 34-27.
Still, all things considered, K-State is in the spot they want heading into their last two games. They are favored in both, and they should prevail.
3. Rock-solid defense
Kansas State football's defense came to play against Baylor this weekend.
Recall that after their opening drive got halted by the Bears, Kansas State managed to stop Baylor in the red zone. That was thanks mainly to one Kobe Savage.
Take note that Baylor was able to move down the field and into the red zone. That was when a Blake Shapen ball deflected off the hands of tight end Ben Sims and right to a waiting Savage, who got his third interception of the season.
That turnover not only resulted in a 97-yard K-State drive that broke a scoreless tie, but it also sucked the wind out of Baylor's sails. The Bears punted on their next two possessions, eventually giving the Wildcats a 17-0 lead.
Despite an 11-play drive at the conclusion of the half, the Bears also had to settle for a 37-yard field goal by John Mayers as time expired.
Baylor was subsequently stopped on its first four drives of the second half. They were stopped on downs three times and once forced to punt. By the game's end, Kansas State limited the Baylor offense to a total of just 306 yards.
Remember that aside from Savage, K-State also has Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who leads the Big 12 in sacks (7.5). It's that kind of defense that will help the Wildcats clinch the Big 12 title.
2. RB Deuce Vaughn is elite
In recent weeks, Kansas State football has found Deuce Vaughn as a receiver. That has allowed him to stay effective even when teams load the box and try to stop the run.
Vaughn is a 5'6 junior from Round Rock, Texas who is top four in the Big 12 in rushing yards with 1,081 total. That means he averages 108.1 rushing yards per game.
In today's game against Baylor, it sure seemed like the Bears were unaware of just how good Vaughn is. Consequently, he absolutely destroyed Baylor. Vaughn rushed for 106 yards on 25 attempts for a 4.2 average. He also had eight receptions for 50 yards and one touchdown. He did whatever he wanted, and Baylor clearly did not know how to stop him.
What makes Vaughn great is how he can hurt opponents on the ground and through the air. He arguably does that better than other elite Big 12 RBs like Kendre Miller and Eric Gray.
1. QBs pushing each other to excel
Incumbent starter Adrian Martinez returned to play today, but he seemed to injure his knee on a 1-yard quarterback sneak for a first down early in Kansas State football's initial drive.
Super sub Will Howard then came in and eventually led a 12-play, 97-yard scoring drive in the second quarter. At 5:57 left in the first half, Howard also led the Wildcats on another drive that resulted in a field goal for a 10-0 lead.
Even if we are talking about a relatively small sample size, Kansas State has looked like an utterly strong football team whenever Howard is in the pocket.
The junior quarterback led the Wildcats to their huge 31-3 victory over Baylor and enabled the team to reclaim control of its Big 12 fate. Remember that he was also the starting quarterback when Kansas State defeated Oklahoma State, 48-0, a few weeks earlier.
Are those coincidences? We don't think so.
Does this mean the Wildcats should completely bench Martinez in favor of Howard? Not necessarily… yet.
Head coach Chris Klieman has gone on to say that both Howard and Martinez are in terrific shape. He feels comfortable and content to start either quarterback. As things stand, though, unless Martinez is injured, Howard will be the backup.
This is a “happy problem” to have for Kansa State since those two QBs obviously push each other to excel. It also makes them all the more difficult to scout and prepare for. That can only lead to positive outcomes for this offense as they look ahead to their last two regular season assignments.
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