Commentary: Football's version of Groundhog Day

The reasons are many and varied over the years why Texas Tech is where it is in the Big 12 football pecking order and why Kansas State is at the elevated plane it is.

To fully delve into every reason the Wildcats have won eight in a row and 12 out of 13 over the Red Raiders would consume more pages than a James Michener novel.

Let’s boil it down to two plays from Saturday’s 38-21 defeat of Tech that was textbook in how the games go in this lopsided series. Two plays, on the north end of Jones AT&T Stadium, say so much.

Play 1: Tech led 21-17 with 2:30 left in the third quarter. K-State had third down and 10 from the Raiders 30. The Raiders called timeout because they didn’t like their defensive alignment.

Normally, this is a passing down, but freshman Avery Johnson was quarterback. He’s a talented true freshman who’s much more known for his hummingbird quickness and elusive speed than arm. Wildcat coach Chris Klieman and offensive coordinator Collin Klein certainly knew that.

On the play, it was brutally simple and totally effective. Johnson took the shotgun snap, three linemen pulled left and Johnson sailed right behind them untouched into the end zone. K-State led, 24-21, and would not trail again.

Play 2: Tech trailed 31-21 with just more than 11 minutes remaining, but was battling with true freshman quarterback Jake Strong, who started the second half for the injured Behren Morton.

It had been an uneven performance as anyone would expect for a true freshman thrown into the fire. He’d thrown two interceptions, but also made some nice plays. Now Tech had a first down on the Wildcats 18 with plenty of time left and the crowd of 56,200 was into it.

Here was a perfect time to reset. Don’t put it all on the back of a true freshman. It’s first down. Give the ball a time or two to Tahj Brooks, the No. 5 rusher in the country. He’d averaged nearly 6 yards a carry. That likely gives Tech a more manageable down and distance.

But no. Embattled offensive coordinator Zach Kittley was going with Strong on first down. He threw five yards into the end zone into double coverage. The pass sailed and safety Kobe Savage had an easy interception, Strong’s third in the span of 16 plays.

Game, set, match. Drive home safely.

One side knows where its bread is buttered, knows how to scheme to get an advantage. The other side takes a needless risk, mostly ignoring its best player in the second half in an inconsistent attack that was frustrating at best.

Brooks had 98 yards rushing, but had just eight carries in the second half. Tech head coach Joey McGuire said K-State run-blitzed to help halt the running game. That was expected. Still, offenses shouldn’t abandon what they do best, especially in favorable downs. The third interception was a killer.

But this is what K-State has done seemingly forever in its domination of Tech since 2010. Under first Bill Snyder and now Klieman, a Snyder clone, the Wildcats play to their strengths, out-scheme opponents, shorten the game.

Meanwhile, Tech, under four coaches and five offensive coordinators, plays them close only to make mistakes, especially in the second half either in play-calling or protecting the football.

Saturday’s loss that broke a modest two-game winning streak to drop Tech to 3-4 and 2-2 was eerie in how it was so like all the others with Kansas State.

The Wildcats won the turnover battle, 3-0. In the 12 losses to K-State in the last 13 years, Tech has 31 turnovers. K-State? Nine. The Raiders have had more than three times as many. Unreal.

K-State scored 38 points on Saturday. Its average in those 12 wins is 38.6 points. The Wildcats held a 3-point lead at halftime and won by 17. In these 12 wins over Tech, K-State has outscored the Raiders by a combined 108 points in the second half.

This series is in every way the football version of Groundhog Day.

For years, Kansas State has been the anti-Tech, or if you choose, Tech is the anti-Kansas State. There is an established template of success at K-State – a balanced offense that minimizes mistakes, a gritty defense and strong special teams. That’s not sexy enough at most places, but that won a Big 12 championship last year.

In the last dozen years, the Wildcats have won eight games three times, nine games twice, 10 games twice and 11 another. They’ve gone to 11 bowls in that period. As for the Raiders, it’s three eight-wins seasons to go along with seven losing seasons.

Tech fans get fired up on a bump in the recruiting rankings into the top 25. That’s good, how much does that really mean? K-State’s average recruiting ranking according to Rivals.com is a mediocre No. 56 in the country the last 12 years.

So far this year the Wildcats are last in the Big 12 – like they care. K-State looks for specific players to fit its system, and they get coached up to a high degree.

It was there in Lubbock for all to see Saturday. Different coaches, different players, different decades. The more things change…

Jon Mark Beilue writes about regional sports for The Eastern New Mexico News.