:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/5998945/20121201_jla_as4_1076.0.jpg)
The No. 4 Oregon Ducks are known for piling up points, and one of the biggest keys for the No. 5 Kansas State Wildcats in the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night will be to score points not just often, but early, writes Kevin Haskin of the Topeka Capital Journal on Thursday.
Haskin notes that, in breaking down the Wildcats' scoring output by quarter, the first frame's margin of 78-51 is Kansas State's closest. In their lone loss of the season, a 52-24 blowout at the hands of the Baylor Bears, the Wildcats fell behind 14-7 after the first quarter. Baylor's lead would swell to 28-7 in the second before Kansas State attempted a comeback.
Oregon averages 50.8 points per game this season, the second-highest offensive output in the nation, with their fast-breaking, potent attack.
Kansas State co-offensive coordinator Dana Dimel, in Haskin's article, said that the Wildcats will need to be ready to start scoring from the opening kickoff:
"We haven't been a really explosive first quarter team. It takes us about a quarter, quarter and a half. Against an explosive team like Oregon, you're not going to have that luxury, so we need to come out and have a lot of success early.''