After a week to sit on a painful loss at Cincinnati, Kansas State gets a chance to reset at home - and the opponent waiting in Manhattan may be the toughest one still left on the schedule.
Houston comes in at 4-1 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 play, while the Wildcats are 3-1 and 0-1 in the league. It’s only the third all-time meeting between the schools, but the recent history is split in a way that tells the story: Kansas State rolled to a 41-0 win in the first matchup three years ago, then Houston answered with a 24-19 victory in 2024.
That 2024 game came against a Cougar team coached by Willie Fritz, whose name has popped up around K-State more than once over the years. Fritz was the coach at Tulane when the Green Wave won in Manhattan in 2022, and he also delivered Michael Bishop to Kansas State almost 30 years ago.
This Houston team leans on the run. The Cougars are just 79th in FBS in passing, but they’re 19th in rushing thanks to a two-back punch of Re’Shaun Sanford II and Makhi Hughes.
Sanford has 314 rushing yards, while Hughes is right behind him with 309. Through the air, Amare Thomas has been the top target with 27 catches for 330 yards and four touchdowns, and tight end Patrick Overmeyer has 25 receptions for 317 yards.
Houston’s longest completion this season is only 47 yards.
Kickoff is set for Saturday, October 10, at 2:30 p.m. CT at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, which seats 50,000.
There are still tickets available through the athletic ticket office, with prices ranging from $40 to $110. Third-party tickets are listed as low as $19, and the median price is $39.
The weather should cooperate, at least early. Tailgating will be sunny with temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s, then things will climb toward 90 degrees by kickoff and stay in the high 80s through the finish. It’s a good football day - just a warm one for October.
DraftKings has Kansas State as a 2.5-point favorite with a 54.5 over/under, which projects to a 29-26 Wildcats win. The money line is -135 for K-State and +114 for Houston.
FOX will televise the game with Tim Brando, Devin Gardner, and Josh Sims on the call.
On the radio side, Wyatt Thompson, Stan Weber, and Matt Walters will be on the K-State Sports Network, and the broadcast will also be available on SiriusXM 173 or 237.
In Other News...
Colorados Bye Week Could Expose Problems Deion Sanders Must Fix
Colorados Week 6 bye gives Deion Sanders a chance to do more than rest his team. With Utah, Oklahoma State and Kansas State all on the schedule soon enough, Sanders plans to spend the week watching each opponent closely to get a better feel for how they play, what they lean on and where they can be attacked. For Kansas State, that means another dose of advance scouting in a league where every edge matters and every matchup seems to carry a little extra weight.
From Colorados perspective, the timing is important because the Buffaloes still have issues to sort out on both sides of the ball. The teams upcoming Big 12 run will demand cleaner offense and more dependable defense, and Kansas State is part of the stretch that could show just how far Colorado still has to go. Sanders is using the bye to gather more information, but the bigger question is whether what he sees will point to fixes Colorado can actually make before those games arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Fans Now Face A Real Collin Klein Concern
Kansas States early-season cushion has evaporated quickly, and the change has been jarring for a team that looked comfortable during a 3-0 start against lighter competition. Under first-year coach Collin Klein, the Wildcats have now dropped two straight, and the latest setback arrived in a 35-16 loss to No. 22 Houston, a reminder that the margin for error gets much thinner once Big 12 play begins to sharpen.
Even with the skid, there is still time for Klein to steady things before the conference race starts to harden. The schedule ahead is more manageable, which gives Kansas State a chance to regroup and sort through the issues that have surfaced over the last two weeks. For now, the bigger question is whether those early issues were just a rough patch or the first real sign of a longer adjustment under a new head coach. [Read more 🡒]