Kansas State’s first season under Casey Alexander opens with a fast test, and the calendar only gets meaner from there.
The Wildcats begin the 2026-27 season at home against South Dakota State on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. CT at Bramlage Coliseum, and that opener carries more weight than the average first game.
K-State needs to make the right first impression under Alexander. Anything less than a sharp showing could leave an early stain, especially with South Dakota State coming off a step back last season under then-first-year coach Bryan Petersen.
A week later, the challenge rises. Creighton comes to Bramlage Coliseum on Nov. 10, giving Kansas State its first look at how it measures up against a higher-level opponent. Creighton enters the year under first-year coach Alan Huss, who was also up for the Kansas State job before Greg McDermott retired.
Then comes Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas, where the Players Era event from Nov. 24-28 should tell plenty about where this team stands. Kansas State will likely draw at least two NCAA Tournament-bound teams, beginning with Gonzaga on Nov.
- There’s also the possibility of running into former coach Jerome Tang on Nov. 26, when he’s the associate head coach at Baylor.
That one would carry plenty of emotion in Manhattan, and no one there wants to see him walk away happy.
December brings another notable nonconference date with Wichita State on Dec. 11 in Kansas City. The Shockers have a strong chance to win the American this season, which makes this neutral-site matchup at T-Mobile Center more than just a regional date. Kansas State had won five straight in the series before losing in 2024, the last time the teams met in Wichita.
Big 12 play begins Jan. 2 at Baylor, and the league does Alexander no favors right away. That trip starts a brutal stretch that also includes Houston, Arizona, West Virginia, TCU, Arizona State, and Kansas.
It’s a rough introduction to conference life for a first-year head coach, but it’s also the reality of the Big 12. This is the only guaranteed meeting with Tang’s Baylor team, so attention will be heavy when that one arrives.
Arizona visits Bramlage Coliseum on Jan. 9, and as the Big 12 favorite, the Wildcats from Tucson will offer another clear benchmark. Nobody is penciling Kansas State in for the upset, but the game should help reveal how much ground Alexander’s program still has to cover.
The Sunflower Showdown lands twice on the schedule, with Alexander making his debut against Kansas on Jan. 23 at Bramlage Coliseum before going to Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 27.
The rivalry has already been a defining stage in recent Kansas State history, with Tang’s Elite Eight team announcing itself by beating the Jayhawks in Bramlage in his debut season. This one will matter.
There’s also a February home game against Oklahoma State on Feb. 3, the start of a three-game stretch in which Kansas State should be favored, or at least close to it. If January gets bumpy, a strong run here could show real progress.
The regular season closes with Cincinnati, another interesting reference point for the program. Bearcats coach Jerrod Calhoun was linked to the Kansas State opening before taking the job at home. The teams meet on Feb. 20 and again on March 6, with the latter serving as the final game of the regular season and a likely factor in conference tournament seeding.
In Other News...
Kansas State Suddenly Has A Quarterback Concern At The Worst Time
The Big 12 race keeps opening and closing in odd ways, with BYU and Texas Tech both getting tripped up in recent conference upsets while Utah remains the leagues lone unbeaten team but still has plenty of hard football ahead. For Kansas State, though, the bigger issue is much more immediate: the Wildcats are suddenly sorting through quarterback injuries at a point in the season when every conference game feels like it matters twice.
Avery Johnson is listed as day to day, and backup Jacob Knuth is injured as well, leaving Kansas State with an uneasy spot in the one place it can least afford one. The Wildcats have stayed in the hunt long enough to know how thin the margin is in the Big 12, and now their ability to keep pace may hinge on how quickly the depth chart settles before the next round of games arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Deion Sanders Adds Intrigue To Kansas State's Biggest Road Test Yet
Colorados weekly press conference added a little extra texture to Kansas States biggest road test yet, with Deion Sanders taking a moment to acknowledge what the Wildcats are dealing with on the opposite sideline. Sanders spoke with respect about former Kansas State coach Chris Klieman and also had praise for Collin Klein, who is guiding the program in his first season as head coach. It was the kind of pregame chatter that matters because it underscores how much attention this matchup has drawn, even before kickoff.
Sanders own background and influence on college football are part of why his comments carry so much weight, but the focus in Manhattan is less on the sound bites than on the challenge ahead. Kansas State will face a Colorado team that knows how to command the spotlight, while Klein continues to put his stamp on the Wildcats in a transition year that already has some intrigue around it. With the game approaching, the conversation around this one is as much about coaching voices and program direction as it is about what happens on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Deion Sanders Just Put Colorados Biggest Problem In Focus Before K-State
Colorados special teams have taken a step forward, but the bigger issue around Deion Sanders program still sounds familiar: the Buffaloes keep hurting themselves with penalties and uneven play on offense, defense and special teams. Sanders said the group is improving in one area while still fighting the kind of consistency problems that can undo a team long before the opponent does, and he pointed to a broader need for better preparation as the schedule moves on.
For Kansas State, that kind of self-inflicted noise is the sort of thing worth watching closely. The Wildcats have their own reasons to stay locked in, but Sanders made it clear his team is still searching for cohesion and discipline, and he took responsibility for getting it there. With K-State up next, Colorados margin for error already looks thin, even if one part of the operation has started to settle in. [Read more 🡒]