Turnovers Top Priority List as Texas Tech Prepares for Kansas State Showdown

Kansas State was left for dead by a lot of people after starting the year 1-3, including a loss to Army in Manhattan. However, a bye week changed everything for KSU from the mindset to how the team practiced, and it’s been noticed by the Red Raiders.

“I think they’re just in a groove,” Texas Tech defensive coordinator Shiel Wood. “I think some of those early games – I guess there’s a lot of reasons I could look on the surface and just say I can see why maybe they had some challenges early. They’ve got a great scheme (now), and they’re hitting their stride. I think they’re playing the type of football that they expect to play, and it’s certainly going to be a great challenge for us on Saturday on the road.

A groove might be an understatement for a KSU squad that is back at .500 on the year. In their last four games, they’ve knocked off UCF, TCU and in-state rival Kansas. It’s also important to note how many points the Wildcats are putting up.

The lowest output over the stretch has been 34 points twice, with one of them resulting in a 35-34 loss to Baylor in Waco. However, that’s the only misstep for a Kansas State squad that is certainly starting to find its stride.

“It doesn’t surprise me because I think they have a really strong culture,” McGuire said. “I mean, (Chris) Klieman – that’s been his calling card throughout his career. They’re a hard-nosed football team. They’ve got one of the best receivers that will be drafted this year. They’ve got a legitimate dual-threat quarterback. They’re playing better on defense.”

That receiving threat is Jayce Brown, who has been a special target for KSU quarterback Avery Johnson this season. They’ve connected 36 times for 577 yards in 2025, which is good for an average…I repeat an average…of 16 yards per reception. When you add on Johnson’s ability to run and evade tacklers, it makes the Wildcats a tough team to slow down.

“When you have a quarterback who has the legs Avery does, you’ve got to do a great job with your technique and fundamentals and understand that getting to the level and depth of the quarterback is important and not getting pushed past him.”

The game plan has now been set for the Red Raiders minus a few tweaks here and there over the next few days, but the overarching challenge is how to limit the impact of Avery Johnson on the game. He poses one of, if not the most challenging threats to Texas Tech this season, and it’s been a full week already trying to find ways to slow him down.

“He’s a really good player,” Wood said. “(We’ve) just got to try to do a great job with your wrestling integrity. There’ll be some designed quarterback runs in the game as well, so just got to fit the defense, play with great leverage in the run game and play with great leverage as far as pass rush goes.”

That leverage also means not just getting to Johnson, but containing him once you get there.

“You’ve got to do it together,” McGuire said. “You’ve got to stay in your pass rush lanes. You can’t get pushed past the quarterback. You’re trying to limit it. You’re really not going to be able to stop him because he is really explosive. He’s a great quarterback.”

How much damage Johnson can do on Saturday in Manhattan remains to be seen, but Texas Tech is focusing on much more than just the quarterback this weekend. They also have a steady eye on none other than themselves.

The reason behind that is two-fold. Texas Tech has been bitten by the injury bug a bit this season. To this point, the Red Raiders have put the ball on the ground 10 times, but has only lost four of them on the year. They’ve also been picked off six times this year through the variety of quarterbacks who have been under center for them.

The reason we’re looking at turnover figures is because of how dominant Kansas State has been at creating them in 2025. TTU may have been good at recovering their own fumbles, but if the dabble with that Saturday against the Wildcats, they might be surprised at the results.

Of the 11 times the opponent has but the ball on the ground against KSU this season, the Wildcats have recovered nine of them. They’ve also intercepted eight passes for a total of 19 turnovers over the eight games they’ve played this season, which leads all Power-4 schools.

“I think they’re #3 in the country – plus-9 in the turnover margin, and that’s been huge,” McGuire said. “That was a huge part of the win last week against Kansas. I think there were 21 points that were scored off of turnovers, so we’ve got to do a good job.”

“That’s going to be incredibly important especially going on the road,” TTU offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich said. “You’ve got to be disciplined enough to take care of the football. Statistically, turnover margin is one of the highest correlations to winning. Turnover margin is going to be up there as one of the most critical stats there are, so that’s going to be a definite point of emphasis this week.”

Part of the reason KSU has been so dominant in the category is because they’ve been so dominant at the point of attack. They’re hitting the ball carrier hard and they’re rushing opposing quarterbacks to make decisions sooner than they’d prefer to. It’s led to the fast pace of turnovers, and it’s of course caught the eye of the Red Raider coaching staff.

“They’re a physical football team, so we’re going to have our work cut out for us,” McGuire said. “It’s going to be a great game. I think if you look at the games and you’re a football fan that really loves physical football and two really good teams, I think you should tune in and watch that game because it’s going to be a great game.”

Ultimately, the question will be which Kansas State shows up in “The Bill” Saturday against 13th-ranked Texas Tech. Will it be the team that couldn’t get out of its own way amidst a 1-3 start to the year, or will it be the team that’s gone 3-1 over its past four game against vastly more challenging opponents?

Either way, TTU’s coaching staff is more than impressed with Kansas State’s staff and their ability to turn things around and still by vying for a bowl game this late in the year.

“They play really hard,” Leftwich said. “They’re very physical, and they’re sound in what they do. I think this defensive coordinator does a great job after going through some of those early season struggles. (They’re) kind of getting things fixed, and they’re playing really high-quality defense these last couple weeks. We’ve definitely got a challenge. We’re going to have to match their effort level and their physicality to have a chance to win.”

“Man, I have a lot of respect for coach Klieman,” McGuire echoed. “I think he is one of the best coaches in the country. Absolutely incredible culture, they’re hard-nosed, and they’re playing their best football right now.”

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