Kansas State heads to Boulder this week still chasing something it has not found on the road this season: a win.
The Wildcats have opened away from home at 0-2, dropping games at Cincinnati and Arizona State after holding third-quarter leads in both. In each case, K-State had a chance to close it out and couldn’t finish the job in the fourth quarter. That leaves head coach Collin Klein’s group looking for answers as it prepares for Saturday’s Big 12 matchup with Colorado at Folsom Field.
The Wildcats have not finished with a winning road record since the 2022 season, and this year’s start has done little to suggest that trend is about to change. They are 4-3 overall and 1-3 in Big 12 play, and they enter the week favored by 1.5 points against the Buffaloes.
Even that small edge may not mean much given what has happened away from home. K-State has failed to cover the spread in a road game since its win over West Virginia in 2024. The bigger issue, though, is simpler: the Wildcats have not been able to turn solid moments into full games on the road.
Junior wide receiver Derrick Salley said the team believes it can flip that script, but the fix comes down to the little things.
“We have just got to keep getting better every day,” Salley said, “and fix the small things. If we do that, everything will work itself out.”
Defensive lineman Travis Bates pointed to the challenge of generating the right energy without a home crowd behind them.
“We have to create our own energy,” Bates said. “I think for the most part we have done that OK.
But we could do a lot better at creating our own energy, because we don’t have fans to get us going. On the road, we have got to be more intentional about creating our own energy, because we’re not going to have anyone to help us.”
Klein has already addressed that issue with his team earlier this season, and his message hasn’t changed as K-State heads into another road test.
“It’s about composure,” Klein said. “It’s about mental toughness. It’s about the consistency and competitive nature that we have through the ups and the downs that these football games will take.
“It’s about not caring how it looks, not caring how it feels, and having that mindset of whatever it takes.”
The road numbers tell the story. K-State went 2-3 away from home in 2025, also losing a neutral-site game to Iowa State in Dublin, Ireland.
Before that, the Wildcats went 3-3 and 2-3 on the road in the previous two years. That is a long way from the 4-1 mark they posted in 2022.
Now they get another chance to change the conversation in Boulder.
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 🡒]