Kansas State gets a tougher test this Saturday, and the early read on this one is pretty clear: the Wildcats are walking into Bill Snyder Family Stadium with momentum, while Washington State arrives trying to bounce back from a rough start.
The matchup is set for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, and it will air nationally on TNT with streaming available on Sling TV. Kansas State comes in at 1-0 after hammering Nicholls 71-3 in Collin Klein’s head coaching debut, while Washington State is 0-1 after a 24-10 loss to Washington in Kirby Moore’s first game leading the Cougars.
That opener told K-State fans plenty. The Wildcats piled up 71 points, and nine different players were involved in the team’s 10 touchdowns.
Rodney Fields made his K-State debut at running back and looked electric, while Avery Johnson stood out with Collin Klein back in the role of offensive coordinator. Klein and the players are scheduled to meet with the media Monday morning to preview the week ahead.
There are a few personnel notes to watch on the Kansas State side. The Wildcats left the Nicholls game without any major injuries.
Left guard Tanner Morley played 14 snaps off the bench after dealing with a preseason injury, and his workload could increase. Kansas State should still be without offensive lineman Oliver Miller, who Klein said last week would miss a few weeks.
The biggest layer to this game is the coaching matchup. Klein and Moore are both first-time head coaches in their first seasons with their current programs, and they bring matching SEC offensive coordinator backgrounds into the spotlight.
Klein spent the last two seasons as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator under Mike Elko. Moore served in the same role at Missouri for the last two seasons under Eliah Drinkwitz.
Washington State turned to Moore after Jimmy Rogers left for Iowa State after one season.
On the field, the trench battle stands out. Kansas State’s offensive line will get a different kind of exam after opening with 312 rushing yards and six touchdowns against Nicholls, numbers that are not easy to duplicate against a more physical opponent. Washington State’s defense, though, had some fight in its loss to Washington, limiting the Huskies to 134 yards and two touchdowns, with 61 yards and a touchdown coming from Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr.
Washington State’s offense, meanwhile, did not show much against Washington, and the Cougars may be missing their top weapon for this one. That puts extra attention on quarterback Caden Pinnick, who rushed for 61 of Washington State’s 100 rushing yards in the loss.
Kansas State is an 18 1/2-point favorite, with the total set at 52 1/2 points. The moneyline has K-State at -1400 and Washington State at +800.
Prediction: Kansas State 27, Washington State 14
The Wildcats’ offense looks like the more reliable unit, and Avery Johnson gets another chance to show off his dual-threat game against a defense that had its hands full last week. The key question is how Kansas State establishes the run against Washington State, because that will tell the story of the afternoon.
In Other News...
Collin Klein Had The Perfect Reaction To K-States 71-Point Outburst
Kansas States 71-point outburst against Nicholls was the kind of offensive showing that still stands out around Manhattan, especially because it was the first time the Wildcats had topped 70 since 2000. It also brought one of the programs more unusual traditions back into the spotlight, with Willie the Wildcat assigned a marathon push-up challenge tied to the scoring binge.
Collin Klein noticed the toll it took. The head coach offered a knowing reaction to Willies fatigue, saying he could relate to the physical grind of the task, which stretched over three hours. It was a lighthearted postgame footnote, but one that fit the mood around a rare offensive explosion and the kind of celebration that only Kansas State seems to make feel routine. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Backfield Battle Just Got More Interesting Before Washington State
Kansas States Week 2 depth chart came with a small but notable shakeup after the Wildcats 71-3 win over Nicholls, and it landed in the part of the roster that tends to draw the most attention. Collin Klein adjusted the running back order, moving Rodney Fields to the top of the group as Kansas State heads into its next matchup, a sign that the battle in the backfield is already worth watching this early in the season.
Elsewhere, the depth chart stayed mostly intact, which suggests the staff liked what it saw across most position groups in the opener. There were also some updates tied to snap counts and player availability, leaving the backfield change as the clearest indication that Kansas State is still sorting out exactly how it wants to distribute touches before Washington State comes to town. [Read more 🡒]
Avery Johnson Gave Kansas State Exactly What Fans Needed To See
Avery Johnson gave Kansas State a strong early-season reminder of why the Wildcats are counting on him to steer the offense, and Collin Klein had plenty to like in the wake of the lopsided win over Nicholls. In a 71-3 rout that never stopped being comfortable, Johnson looked poised throughout the afternoon, completing 15 of 21 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns while setting a school record for passing scores.
Klein pointed to more than the box score, too, praising Johnsons pocket presence, decision-making and communication. For a team that still wants to sharpen its identity as the schedule gets tougher, those were the kinds of details that mattered most, and the performance offered exactly the kind of reassurance Wildcats fans were hoping to see. [Read more 🡒]