Kansas State is headed into Big 12 play with a spotless 3-0 record, but the first real question of the season is staring right at the Wildcats: have they been challenged enough?
That issue has been hanging over K-State’s start, and it sharpened after last week’s 31-20 win over Tulane. The Wildcats got pushed a little, trailed early, and had to work through four scoring drives from the Green Wave in a game that was tighter than plenty of people expected. That was a different kind of afternoon from the first two, when K-State rolled past Nicholls 71-3 and handled Washington State 34-7.
It was also the first time this season the Wildcats failed to cover the spread as a heavy home favorite. But Collin Klein didn’t sound bothered by that at all. In fact, he welcomed it.
“I think it’s a great thing,” Klein said. “Those are the games that you want to play in, games that are competitive and that have stress on the line.”
That kind of stress is about to arrive for good. Kansas State opens Big 12 action at 6 p.m.
Saturday at Cincinnati, and conference play rarely offers a soft landing. The matchup gives the Wildcats their first crack at a team that, on paper, looks like the toughest opponent they’ve seen yet.
The early schedule backs up the concern. Jeff Sagarin ranks Kansas State’s non-conference slate 150th in the country for difficulty, a strange number considering there are only 138 FBS teams.
Tulane is ranked 75th, Washington State 86th and Nicholls 226th, which tells the story of how gentle the opening stretch has been. ESPN is not much kinder, slotting K-State’s early schedule strength at 126th nationally.
Cincinnati, though, has not exactly been battle-tested either. The Bearcats are 3-0 as well, and this will be a meeting of undefeated teams. Sagarin ranks Cincinnati’s schedule difficulty at 155th nationally, five spots behind K-State.
The Bearcats have beaten Boston College 93, Western Carolina 175 and Miami of Ohio 103.
Their coach, Scott Satterfield, also liked what he saw when his team had to fight back last week in a win over the RedHawks.
So both teams arrive with perfect records and some unanswered questions. Neither has really been through the kind of game that tells you what happens when the pressure gets real. Saturday should start answering that.
In Other News...
Kansas State Still Has One Missing Piece As Big 12 Play Starts
Kansas States offense has found plenty of ways to move the ball early, but the tight end room remains a piece still waiting to fully enter the picture as Big 12 play begins. Garrett Oakley and Linkon Cure have been part of the rotation, yet their combined production has stayed modest so far, and the Wildcats have leaned more heavily on quarterback Avery Johnsons connections with the wide receivers and running backs to keep drives alive.
Still, there is a sense inside the program that the tight ends are too talented to stay quiet for long. Collin Klein said opposing defenses have taken notice and are making a point to limit that part of the field, and Cure in particular carries the profile of a future breakout player. If Kansas State is going to become more difficult to defend in league play, getting more from that group feels like one of the clearest ways to do it. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Faces An Early Test That Could Change The Narrative
Kansas States first real measuring stick arrives quickly, and it comes away from the comfort of Manhattan. After opening the season with three home wins, the Wildcats head to Cincinnati for their Big 12 opener, where both teams will carry perfect 3-0 records into a game that should say plenty about where each program stands in the league race.
Collin Klein, in his first year guiding the Wildcats, has already started talking about the adjustment that comes with a new stadium and a different environment, especially in a conference game that has a little more weight attached to it. For Kansas State, this trip is about more than just getting through the first road test, since the way it handles the setting could shape how the rest of the early schedule is viewed. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Still Has One Big Line Question Entering Big 12 Play
Kansas State is still sorting out the front five as conference play approaches, and the rotation up front has not slowed down. In the win over Tulane, seven different offensive linemen logged snaps, a sign that the Wildcats are still searching for the best combination while mixing and matching at spots that remain up for grabs. Some players saw a heavier workload than they had earlier in the season, but the overall picture remains fluid as the staff keeps evaluating the group week by week.
Collin Klein has made clear this is still a competition, not a settled depth chart, and that approach figures to continue as the Wildcats turn toward Big 12 play. For an offense trying to build consistency, the line is the obvious place where continuity matters most, and Kansas State is still working toward that. The good news is the staff has options. The question now is which five can turn those options into a dependable unit once the games start carrying more weight. [Read more 🡒]