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In its 20-14 loss to Auburn two weeks ago, Kansas State missed three field goals, squandered a red zone opportunity with an interception and fumbled deep in its own territory. But even in that mistake-filled game, the Wildcats didn’t commit a single penalty, a trademark of Bill Snyder-coached teams. This weekend, Texas Tech will travel to Manhattan as the most-penalized team in the country so far this season. The Red Raiders have averaged 105.5 penalty yards a game, which is a major reason why they’re off to a sluggish 2-2 start in Kliff Kingsbury's second season.  K-State, meanwhile, once again is the least penalized team in the Big 12. So for Tech to have any chance of knocking off the Wildcats and putting its season back on track, it has to shed the penalty bug before arriving in Manhattan.
“We'll just keep addressing them and keep trying to get better,” Kingsbury said Monday. “A lot of it is technique, fundamentals. I think they're playing hard but not always smart. So we've got to keep coaching and that's on us as a staff to get that straightened out.” Kingsbury has been saying the same for weeks, to no avail. In a 45-35 loss at Oklahoma State last Thursday, the Red Raiders were flagged 16 times for 158 yards. Twice, that directly took points off the board. Jakeem Grant had a kickoff return for a touchdown nullified by a holding call. The Red Raiders also lost an opportunity for a field goal try after a delay of game penalty bumped them from field goal range. Those 10 points wound up being the margin in the loss. “We've got to be tougher coaching-wise, then when they're out there, they've got to execute it or we've got to find guys that can,” Kingsbury said. “But to do that against anybody, you're not going to win the game, to have 16 penalties. “That's something we'll have to improve on dramatically this week against a team that's known for not making mistakes.” K-State traditionally has feasted on opponents that beat themselves. That included the Red Raiders in Lubbock last season. Tech had 11 more first downs than the Wildcats. The Red Raiders produced 92 more yards of offense. And they converted more than 50 percent of their third-down attempts. But Tech was never really in the game and got demolished 49-26, thanks to 10 penalties and three turnovers. “Penalties are going to happen in the game of football, but the way we've been having them around here in bunches and 15‑yarders is unacceptable,” said receiver Bradley Marquez. “We've put emphasis on this from the offseason. We've tried everything. We've done a lot of different things for it.” The Red Raiders would get a major boost if quarterback Davis Webb is able to play this weekend after suffering an injury to his non-throwing shoulder against Oklahoma State. Webb, who is coming off his best game of the season, threw for 374 yards and four touchdowns. Yet even with Webb's sparkling performance, penalties doomed the Red Raiders in Stillwater. And even if Webb is able to play, penalties will doom Tech in Manhattan, too, if not corrected. “Kansas State is a team that's not going to hurt themselves and they've done that over the years,” Marquez said. “They've had great discipline. They execute, and they have great technique, and they don't have those penalties. “So we'll definitely have to go out there and play as mistake-free as possible to give ourselves a chance. I don't know what can be done about it. It just comes down to the individual and being able to go out there and not commit these mistakes. We're still trying to figure it out, but it definitely needs to change.”
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