The Big 12 may have a clear favorite on paper, but the rest of the league looks like a pileup waiting to happen, and Kansas State is sitting right in the middle of it.
Texas Tech was picked first in the preseason poll, but the Wildcats landed at No. 8, right behind Utah and ahead of Oklahoma State, Baylor and the rest of the pack. That kind of ranking doesn’t lock a team out of the race. It just means Kansas State has work to do in a conference that feels wide open from top to bottom.
There’s also a new voice running the show in Manhattan. Collin Klein is now in full control for the first time in his coaching career, taking over after Chris Klieman stepped down following last season’s 6-6 finish. Kansas State entered 2024 with expectations and never really found its footing, struggling in every phase along the way.
Avery Johnson is back in the spotlight too, and he’s got plenty to prove. After a solid sophomore season in 2024, his first as a starter, he didn’t quite take the leap many were waiting for.
He finished with 2,385 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions, but the bar had been set higher. Now heading into his third season, and maybe his last, Johnson has another shot to deliver on the promise that followed him out of Maize High School, where he arrived as a four-star recruit and the school’s next quarterback phenom.
The schedule could help Kansas State if it can capitalize. The Wildcats went 0-3 against Texas Tech, Utah and Arizona last year, and all three are sitting in the preseason top five.
But they won’t have to chase the full group again this season. Kansas State doesn’t play No.
2 BYU last year’s slate, but it does get Houston, tied for No. 3, on Oct. 10 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Arizona also comes to Manhattan, giving the Wildcats a chance to make their own luck in a league where very little feels settled.
Preseason Big 12 poll: 1.
Texas Tech (14) 254 2.
BYU (2) 239 3.
Arizona 207 3.
Houston 207 5.
Utah 198 6.
Texas Christian 166 7.
Arizona State 161 8.
Kansas State 158 9.
Oklahoma State 124 10.
Baylor 88 11.
Cincinnati 85 12.
Kansas 79 13.
West Virginia 76 14.
Central Florida 68 15.
Colorado 40 16.
Iowa State 26
In Other News...
Kansas States Roster Turnover Just Took Another Notable Step
A familiar roster churn point hit Kansas State again as former guard CJ Jones was granted a fifth year of eligibility and decided to keep his career going at Pacific. Jones spent two seasons with the Wildcats after starting out at the University of Illinois-Chicago, giving him another chance to reset his path while moving on from a program that has seen plenty of movement in recent months.
Jones now heads to a Pacific program that went 9-24 last season in the West Coast Conference, where he will try to carve out a bigger role in a new setting. For Kansas State, it is another reminder of how much the roster has changed and how much of the recent depth chart has already moved on to fresh opportunities elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Just Added A Promising Piece For Its Struggling Defense
Kansas State kept working to patch up a defense that needs help, landing four-star cornerback Josiah Vilmael after he had been committed to Oklahoma State. The Richmond, Texas, product gives Collin Klein another talented piece to develop as the Wildcats try to reset a unit that had plenty of trouble last season.
Vilmael is expected to start out on special teams before carving out a bigger role in the secondary, which fits the kind of gradual build Klein has to manage in his first year. For a defense looking for more speed and stability, the addition matters now and could matter even more later as Kansas State tries to turn promise into production. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Found A Walk On Fans Can Trust On Special Teams
Long snappers usually only get noticed when something goes wrong, but Andrew Johnson gave Kansas State a season of steady work that was easy to overlook in the best possible way. The walk-on handled every extra-point and field-goal attempt last year, played in all 12 games and settled into a role that special teams coordinator Stanton Weber clearly values for more than just the mechanics of the job.
Johnson brought a different path to the Wildcats, too, after playing baseball at Concordia University and spending his high school years as a multi-sport athlete. He also earned Academic All-Big 12 honors, a fitting add-on for a player whose value has been built on reliability, versatility and the kind of behind-the-scenes consistency teams rarely appreciate until it disappears. [Read more 🡒]