Utah football vs. Kansas State by the numbers

With conference championship and College Football Playoff implications at stake, Utah went into a must-win Big 12 tilt against Kansas State looking to keep its postseason aspirations alive while sending its seniors off on a high note in their final game at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The Utes (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) still needed some outside help if they were to leapfrog their way into the Big 12 title game in December, though any extra support from Cincinnati (vs. BYU, 6 p.m. MT on Fox) and Arizona State (at Colorado, 6 p.m. MT on ESPN2) would be pointless for Utah if it didn't take care of business against a Wildcats squad (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) seeking to become bowl eligible with an upset win.

Here's a breakdown of the Week 13 matchup by the numbers.

24: Turnovers forced by Kansas State

Coming away with five takeaways to knock off Oklahoma State in a defensive slugfest vaulted Kansas State to near the top of the nation's leaderboards, checking in at No. 4 behind only SMU, Southern Mississippi and Texas Tech with 24 turnovers on the season.

But it wasn't just the Cowboys who fell victim to defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman's stingy unit; the Wildcats forced multiple turnovers in their last seven games heading into Saturday's matchup in Salt Lake City, with Army being the only team on Kansas State's schedule that didn't commit at least one.

The Utes were plus-four in turnover margin in their three wins over Colorado, Cincinnati and Baylor, since their last loss to BYU when they coughed up two turnovers, including a muffed punt, in the 24-21 final from Povo, Utah, on Oct. 18.

Devon Dampier had only 5 interceptions across his first 245 pass attempts of the season. Kansas State's defense, meanwhile, recorded 12 picks in its first 10 games, tied for the third-most among Big 12 teams.

Dampier was expected to play Saturday despite being "banged up," per the comments he made on a recent appearance on the Sean O'Connell Show. He had to briefly visit the locker room during the Baylor game before eventually returning in the second quarter. Utah didn't list him in either of its first two availability reports on the Wednesday and Thursday leading up to kickoff.

7.1: Utah's average gain (in yards) on outside run plays

After a significant chunk of its 380 rushing yards against Baylor came on outside runs, Utah brought its average gain on off-tackle run plays to an astounding 7.1 yards per carry, trailing only Oregon and Arkansas among Football Bowl Subdivision teams in that category, according to Pro Football Focus.

Kansas State, meanwhile, checked in at No. 95 among FBS defenses while allowing 5.3 yards to its opponent on those same plays. Overall, the Wildcats were solid defending the run in their previous five games, giving up just 122.8 yards per game and 3.8 per carry, though only two of the teams they played during that stretch ranked in the top 10 of the Big 12 in rushing yards per game (Kansas and Texas Tech).

Not many defenses had been able to slow down Utah's No. 2 nationally ranked rushing attack through the first two months of the season, and little pointed to Kansas State being among the few to do so leading up to Saturday.

1: Sacks allowed per game by Kansas State

A battle of the trenches headlined Saturday's contest, as Kansas State (fourth-fewest sacks allowed in the Big 12) looked to keep Avery Johnson upright against a vaunted pass rush from Utah (tied for the second-most sacks in the league).

When kept clean, Johnson had the No. 22-best PFF grade in the country. Conversely, his grade under pressure ranked No. 139, per PFF, indicating the Utes could significantly increase their chances of getting off the field on third down while neutralizing the Wildcats' passing attack if they got home on Johnson with consistency.

Utah wasn't able to bring down Sawyer Robertson or Brendan Sorsby often in its last two games against Baylor and Cincinnati, respectively, but did enough to disrupt the Bearcats' timing and rhythm with relentless pressure and effective blitzes in that 45-14 final from Nov. 1. Robertson struggled early on before eventually finding his groove in the second half, totaling 430 yards through the air with 3 touchdown passes against the Utes.

Without one of its top defensive backs in Elijah "Scooby" Davis, who was suspended for the first half of the Kansas State game after picking up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty toward the end of the Baylor game, Utah's secondary would need the front seven to cause disruption in the pocket and force Johnson to make quick decisions if the Utes were to prevent him from throwing all over the yard.

Kansas State's passing attack did take a hit following news that its leading receiver, Jayce Brown, was out for the Utah game after sustaining an injury against Oklahoma State.

Here's a look at where Utah and Kansas State rank nationally in other key stats heading into Saturday:

Strength of record ranking

Utah: No. 19 (Big 12 rank: No. 3)
Kansas State: No. 62 (Big 12 rank: 11)

Offensive efficiency

Utah: 83.5 (No. 8; No. 1 in Big 12)
Kansas State: 50.1 (No. 67; No. 12 in Big 12)

Defensive efficiency

Utah: 83.0 (No. 8; No. 2 in Big 12)
Kansas State: 68.7 (No. 35; No. 6 in Big 12)

Special teams efficiency

Utah: 42.7 (No. 103; No. 12 in Big 12)
Kansas State: 40.5 (No. 113; No. 14 in Big 12)

Overall efficiency

Utah: 88.1 (No. 5; No. 2 in Big 12)
Kansas State: 61.2 (No. 52; No. 10 in Big 12)

Third down conversion rate

Utah: 53.4% (No. 4; No. 1 in Big 12)
Kansas State: 37.9% (No. 88; No. 11 in Big 12)

Third down conversion defense

Utah: 31.3% (No. 14; No. 3 in Big 12)
Kansas State: 37.8% (No. 57; No. 10 in Big 12)

Scoring rate in red zone

Utah: 90.9% (No. 25; No. 5 in Big 12)
Kansas State: 89.7% (No. 31; No. 6 in Big 12)

Red zone defense

Kansas State: 77.8% (No. 22; No. 3 in Big 12)
Utah: 85% (No. 78; No. 8 in Big 12)

Average time of possession

Utah: 31:59 (No. 24; No. 3 in Big 12)
Kansas State: 28:41 (No. 103; No. 13 in Big 12)