Drew highlights the improvement of the secondary from the Tulane to the Arizona game.
Last week I broke down the breakdown of the Kansas State secondary against Tulane. You can find that article HERE. It’s a good companion piece to this article because you can see how much the Wildcat secondary improved from their first competitive game of the season to the second.
The secondary blew multiple coverages against Tulane. The safeties got caught looking in the backfield, the corners were often a step behind, and on more than one occasion, they simply blew the defensive call and left someone uncovered. Things needed to get fixed, and they needed to get fixed in a hurry.
The first drive of the Arizona game must have given everyone heartburn. The desert ‘Cats moved the ball down the field at a steady pace and it didn’t seem like the defense had any answers. Then, suddenly, they had all the answer, and that started with Keenan Garbers’s immaculate interception in the endzone that concluded Arizona’s second drive and set the tone for the remainder of the game.
That’s Bait!
This play will be a good learning experience for young Mr. Fifita. Yes, his outside receiver(circle) Malachi Riley looks like he’s in single coverage with Garber (green square), but he doesn’t account for VJ Payne (blue square). Turns out, he wasn’t in single coverage, it’s just that the extra man was coming from the other side of the field.
Max Protection
Arizona uses max protection a good bit. They leave their running back in to block because the receivers (usually McMillan) need time to get down the field. It’s not highlighted, but they’re blocking the Wildcats with 6 on this play, that leaves 4 eligible receivers.
Since this is third and 3, Kansas State has a line of defenders behind the first down line to try and prevent a short pass. Between then defensive line, linebackers, and corners shown in this clip, I’ve got 8 defenders. The 3 missing defenders are the key to this play.
Arizona is running a levels concept with one receiver at the first down level, their star receiver, Tetairoa McMillan is running the intermediate route, and Riley is going deep middle.
What Fifita didn’t see is VJ Payne bailing out a dead sprint and heading to the deep middle. The correct throw is to McMillan underneath, where he has single coverage. Instead, he throws into double coverage without realizing he’s throwing into double coverage.
Not only is Payne coming from a weird spot pre-snap, but I’m also going to assume McMillan is supposed to get the attention of any deep safety, because he’s the best wide receiver in the nation and already has 40 yards receiving on this drive.
Garber’s (green box) in the trail position. On the first touchdown pass from Tulane last week, Sigle got buried in the trail position without safety help and gave up touchdown on a similar route.
With VJ Payne (blue box) recovering over the top, bracketing Riley, Garber is in perfect position to undercut the route and look for the pick. Without Payne over the top, this is most likely a touchdown, at worst and incompletion.
With Payne over the top…
Look at Garber’s head, this is what you want from your corner. He’s tracking the ball, taking pass inference off the table. Fifita hangs it up, but that’s expected. He thinks he’s throwing a jump ball to his 6’2” receiver in single coverage.
Instead, he’s throwing a jump ball into double coverage.
You can tell Garber is a former receiver, because he runs the route like a wide receiver. No reason not to go for the pick. Payne is going to clean out Riley if he misses. Remember, I’m showing y’all stills. In real time, decisions are being made in fractions of a second.
You get a good idea about what was about to happen to Riley if he went up and tried to make the catch. Payne is in perfect position to dislodge the ball with extreme prejudice if the need arises. Instead, he gets to pick up a block for Keenan, and the Flint Hills ‘Cats keep the Desert ‘Cats out of the endzone and turn the momentum.
Overall
This play is indicative of a great coaching staff. Tulane killed them over the deep middle last week, and this week, Kansas State killed Arizona for trying it. Mistakes are inevitable in college football, fixing mistakes is the key to long term success.
The secondary I watched against Arizona looked nothing like the secondary that looked lost against Tulane. I was down on the Wildcats winning the Big 12 after Tulane because it’s hard to win a shootout every week, and that secondary looked like it needed at least 30 points. The offense came through with 30+ points anyway, but the defense only required 8 to win.
You can win more than the Big 12 with this sort of coaching.