The Kansas State Wildcats’ promising start has run straight into Big 12 reality.
After opening the year 3-0, Kansas State has now dropped two straight, and Saturday’s 35-16 loss to No. 22 Houston at Bill Snyder Family Stadium was never much in doubt. The Wildcats managed a late touchdown, but by then the game was already well out of reach.
For a team that entered the season with plenty of optimism under first-year coach Collin Klein, the last two weeks have been a hard reset. Kansas State followed its loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats with another flat showing, this time after a week off, and the result was an outing that looked nothing like the team that started the season with wins over the Nicholls Cowboys, Washington State Cougars and Tulane Green Wave.
Instead, the Wildcats were overwhelmed from the start by the Cougars. Houston controlled the game throughout, and Kansas State never looked like it had an answer.
The rough stretch has shifted the conversation around the Wildcats quickly. What once looked like a potential surprise run in the Big 12 now looks much more like the beginning of a rebuilding season under Klein. That doesn’t make the early skid any easier to swallow, but it does put the start in context: Kansas State’s first three wins came against what has been described as less than average competition.
Now the Wildcats have to try to climb back into the picture in a conference that doesn’t leave much room for slow starts. Texas Tech, Utah and BYU are all rolling, and Kansas State has given itself work to do if it wants to keep pace.
Still, there’s time left. The schedule is said to be favorable, and the Wildcats avoid the league’s best teams. Klein has room to settle in and make his mark, but the early returns have made one thing clear: Kansas State has a lot to clean up before it can think about turning this season into anything bigger.
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Kansas State Faces A Tough Home Test After The Cincinnati Loss
Kansas State is back at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on October 10 with a chance to steady itself after the Cincinnati loss, and the next challenge comes against a Houston team that has already shown it can make life difficult on the ground. The Cougars bring a rushing attack led by ReShaun Sanford II and Makhi Hughes, so this matchup figures to put pressure on the Wildcats early and often in Manhattan.
The series history is brief but even, with the teams splitting their two previous meetings. Kansas State still enters as the slight favorite at 2.5 points, which says plenty about how tight this one looks on paper, even with the Wildcats getting the comfort of home. For a team trying to put the last setback behind it, this feels like the kind of game that can either restore momentum or deepen the questions. [Read more 🡒]
Colorados Bye Week Could Expose Problems Deion Sanders Must Fix
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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 🡒]