Breaking Down North Dakota State's Win Over Kansas State

How North Dakota State Beat Kansas State

I was fortunate enough to watch this game in its entirety and what a game it was. North Dakota State engineered a game clinching 18 play, 80 yard drive that took 8:30 off the clock and left Kansas State with 28 seconds to come up with a miracle. As impressive as that final drive was, there are other factors that need to be mentioned to decipher how North Dakota State went into Manhattan, Kansas and upset Kansas State.

First and foremost, North Dakota State won the game by sticking to their game plan. They are a possession team that uses short passes and running to control the clock and keep the opposing defense on the field. Despite falling down 21-7 with 10 minutes left to play in the 3rd quarter, North Dakota State did not panic. The next drive they went down the field on an 11 play, 75 yard drive to cut the lead to 21-14. That drive consisted of 6 runs and 5 pass that took 6:15 off the clock.

Another reason for North Dakota State's upset is their 3rd down defense. They only allowed two 3rd down conversions on 10 attempts. Kansas State had an average of 9.6 yards to go on their 10 third down attempts. When it is 3rd down and long to go, it is a lot easier to know what is coming. That works into the next reason.

A third reason for the upset is the poor running offensive display by Kansas State. Kansas State had 41 yards on 23 carries for the entire game. The lack of running game did not create any 3rd down and manageable situations. This is where the loss of Collin Klein comes in. Klein was a threat to pass or run even if it was 3rd and long. He forced defenses to use more defenders to spy on him and make sure he did not get an easy run. That threat was not evident last night except for 2 runs by backup QB Daniel Sams. I wonder if he had been used more would we just be talking about a missed upset?

Finally, North Dakota State had a lot of practice with this offense in the past. They had to deal with the spread offense the previous two years in the FCS Championship against Sam Houston State. They happened to win both of those contests and thus came into the game as back-to-back FCS Champions. Having a years worth of Collin Klein led tape of Kansas State's offense certainly helped as well. And they knew they did not have to deal with a QB of Collin Klein's ability.

While many will be surprised by these FCS over FBS upsets, I am not. As noted in my previous post, the FCS teams are getting better and better. It also doesn't hurt when these games take place the first week of the season when heat and humidity (and conditioning) are a factor. I have a feeling we are not done with the FCS upsets this season. Be sure to enjoy the games this weekend and this season!!