Kansas State heads into Saturday’s matchup with Oklahoma State in a much different spot than it was the last time the Wildcats played at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Back then, K-State was 4-2 and Avery Johnson was running the offense. Now the Wildcats are 4-4, and they may be turning to their fourth different quarterback of the season, with Johnson potentially done for the year because of an injury.
That puts a lot on Blake Barnett, who is set to guide the offense after coming off the bench against Colorado and throwing for 224 yards and three touchdowns. His dual-threat ability gave K-State a lift in that game, and the Wildcats will need another strong showing from him if they want to stay in the fight.
Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. noon on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan. The game will air on TNT, with radio coverage on KFNZ (96.5 FM and 610 AM) in Kansas City and KFH (1240 AM and 97.5 FM) in Wichita. Oklahoma State is a 6.5-point favorite, and the over/under is 62.5.
The betting number tells the story of what oddsmakers expect: points, and plenty of them. K-State has not played in a game this season with an expected total higher than 55.5, but this one is projected as a Big 12 shootout.
That makes sense when you look at both defenses. Big 12 teams are averaging 32.4 points per game against Oklahoma State and 29 points per game against Kansas State. Neither side has been able to slow opponents down with much consistency.
Oklahoma State brings the more explosive offense into the game. The Cowboys lead the Big 12 in points per game at 41.1 and yards per game at 529.6, and quarterback Drew Mestemaker is playing like a potential first-round pick in the NFL Draft.
So the challenge for Kansas State is simple enough to say and hard to solve: the Wildcats probably need to score with the Cowboys. Oklahoma State is expected to put points on the board, and Barnett may be able to help K-State get to 30. That would be enough against plenty of teams, but probably not enough here.
Season record: 6-2.
Season record ATS: 6-2.
Season record O/U: 3-5.
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