Kansas State football rides 'four over four' momentum to 42-13 victory against Troy

MANHATTAN — How important are the moments before and after halftime to Kansas State football's team psyche?

Just ask coach Chris Klieman, quarterback Will Howard and linebacker Austin Moore, each of whom brought it up following the No. 15-ranked Wildcats' 42-13 victory over Troy on Saturday at sold-out Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

The even have a name for it: four over four.

"If you look at a lot of our losses last year, a lot of those were big swings right before half and after half," Howard explained.

Sure enough, the Wildcats were facing just such a predicament against Troy with the first-half clock winding down. Two bad possessions by the offense, including a Howard interception in the end zone, allowed the Trojans to nearly erase a 14-0 deficit in the final four minutes of the half, pulling within four points on a Gunnar Watson-to-Chris Lewis touchdown pass with 52 seconds on the clock.

Instead of licking their wounds, and heading to the locker room with a four-point lead, the Wildcats got aggressive and made use of their timeouts, even after Howard took a sack. A 10-yard Howard completion to running back Treshaun Ward gave them a first down at the Troy 39-yard line.

Related: Kansas State football recap: Wildcats knock off Troy, 42-13.

On the next play, Howard found Phillip Brooks streaking across the middle. He broke to the left sideline and sprinted into the end zone with 10 seconds left. Five plays, 66 yards in 39 seconds.

"They had the momentum, and then it was a great job by (offensive coordinator Collin) Klein and our offense and getting that touchdown before half," said Klieman, whose Wildcats improved to 2-0 heading into next Saturday's nonconference finale at Missouri. "That that was so critical, knowing that we were going to come out and have to kick the ball off to them (to start the second half.

"We talked about a four over four mentality, which is the last four of the first half and the first four of the second half, and that was critical for us to get that score."

Howard concurred.

"That was big time," he said of the touchdown, which gave the Wildcats a 21-10 halftime cushion. "Big time because we've been stressing that four over four.

Related: Kansas State football determined to avoid repeat of last year's upset loss to Tulane

"We were trying to figure out what we were going to do and got a couple of good plays early and went from there. Having Phil make that move and having Jadon (Jackson, wide receiver) make a heck of a bloc on the outside, that was huge for us going into half."

The touchdown also was just what the K-State defense needed. Troy had put together drives of 73 yards for a field goal and 66 for a touchdown at the end of the half. But the Wildcats answered the bell in the third quarter with three straight three-and-outs.

That allowed the offense to stretch the lead to 28-10 late in the period and never look back.

"That's something we emphasized a lot of this offseason — called it four over four," said Moore, who had a team-high six tackles in the game, including two for loss. "So those four minutes before halftime and four minutes after, that's a really critical part of the game and something we talked about at halftime.

"It was huge for us."

Related: Kansas State football vs. Troy: Scouting report, prediction

Indeed, the defense limited Troy to 98 yards total offense in the second half and 286 for the game. The Wildcats registered four sacks — two by Khalid Duke and one each for Nate Matlack and Tobi Osunsanmi — and nine tackles for loss, pushing their season totals for stops behind the line of scrimmage to 20.

For the offense, which racked up 397 total yards, Howard completed 21 of 32 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns, plus rushed for two. Brooks had seven catches for 94 yards and one score, and ran for another, while Jadon Jackson caught four passes for 77 yards and a touchdown.

The victory snapped Troy's 12-game winning streak, the nation's second-longest, and much of the credit went to the four over four.

"(I'm) pleased with the win," Klieman said. "We've got to continue to get better and clean some things up, but that's a quality opponent that we beat."

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football uses carries four over four mantra to victory