Miami Hurricanes Football: Miami Vs. Kansas State, Part II

Sep 1, 2012; Manhattan, KS, USA; Kansas State Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder waits for a call from the officials during the first quarter against the Missouri State Bears at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-US PRESSWIRE

Miami suffered an agonizing loss last year when the Kansas State Wildcats came into Sun Life stadium and defeated the ‘Canes, 28-24.  Senior QB Jacory Harris was stuffed at the goal line on a fourth-down run with 49 seconds left in the game.

The Miami defense gave up 93 rushing yards to stud dual-threat QB Colin Klein and 133 yards passing.  The ‘Canes rallied late but came up short.

This year poses a different question: Does this young Hurricanes team have what it takes to defeat Kansas State on their home turf?  After seeing one game, it’s hard to say.

The Wildcats are ranked no. 22 in the nation and are coming off a monstrous win vs. Missouri State, 51-9.  K-State struggled early on and held just a 16-9 lead going into the fourth quarter.  Colin Klein was somewhat impressive, going 19-of-28 for 169 yards and two touchdowns.  He rushed for 63 yards.

Aside from returning QB Klein, K-State also returns their top receiver, Chase Harper.  The WR had a sluggish game in the 2011 win vs. Miami, catching just 3 passes for 23 yards.  In the 2011 season, Harper totaled 40 passes for 547 yards and five touchdowns.

On defense, the Wildcats are led by former Miami Hurricane LB Arthur Brown.  Brown led the K-State defense in 2011 with 101 tackles, 9.5 for a loss, two sacks and one interception.

This will me a major road test for the ‘Canes.  It will be their first attempt at a dual-threat quarterback and the game atmosphere will be much more intense going into Bill Snyder Stadium.

Yet, Miami seems to be a much better conditioned team than we saw last year vs. Kansas State.  If you remember, they looked deflated in the fourth quarter.  If Miami continues to run their up-tempo offense, they may catch the Wildcats off-guard, as it did Boston College.  As we saw, going no-huddle can certainly have it’s advantages.  Miami held it’s own versus the run at Boston College, but continued to struggle with their pass rush.  Securing the middle is an area where the ‘Canes must improve going into week 2.