The Wildcats have five games left to play in the regular season and are still positioned to play in the conference championship game and a bowl game, but getting there will feature two road games and three challenging home games. Here are how I view the difficulties that lie ahead this season for Kansas State.
5. at West Virginia – 11/19
I don’t think the Wildcats have an easy game left on the schedule, but someone has to be number five and the Mountaineers have been the worst team in the Big 12 this season, so they are my pick for fifth.
West Virginia has been a different team at home, as showcased by their win over Baylor at Milan-Puskar Stadium, and then turning around and getting walloped by Texas Tech. It will be a tough trip for the Cats, being their second straight week on the road and making the furthest journey of the season, but they should still be able to overcome it and get their first win in Morgantown since 2014.
4. Kansas – 11/26
Things have quickly turned around for the Jayhawks, who started the season 5-0 and were the darlings of college football. But now they are 5-3, and continue to have uncertainty about when quarterback
might return. The defense is still a mess for the Jayhawks, as they sit 118th out of 131 teams in defensive points per drive.
I have thought all season that Kansas had no shot in Manhattan this year, and next year in Lawrence who knows? Nothing has changed my mind on that after eight games.
3. at Baylor – 11/12
Baylor is a tricky team to figure out this season, I can’t tell you what they actually do well and how much of my opinion of them is based on what they did last season. With that said, their only two Big 12 losses are to Oklahoma State and a Thursday night road game at West Virginia where Blake Shapen got knocked out of the game.
Holes can be poked in their two wins though, against Kansas who they let back into the game and the road win at Iowa State who has the worst offense in the Big 12, yet managed 24 points on the Bears. I just assume Baylor will be ready to play and a road game late in the season can be tough, especially since K-State hasn’t beaten the Bears since 2017.
2. Oklahoma State – 10/29
The Cowboys are coming off their win versus Texas, but Quinn Ewers threw three interceptions in the game. They are also banged up quite a bit themselves, with Spencer Sanders dealing with lingering leg injuries, the possibility that Dominic Richardson at running back will be out, and one of their best defensive backs, Jason Taylor II, could be out. The list goes on and on for Oklahoma State, which is helpful for K-State to get them at this time because the Wildcats are equally banged up.
Oklahoma State’s secondary also struggles this season, giving up over 300 yards per game through the air. Prior to Will Howard’s injury at TCU, the Wildcats took advantage of a bad TCU secondary with 192 passing yards. I expect them to remain aggressive and have an avenue to expose a weak spot.
1. Texas – 11/5
It will be the same story as the last decade or more with Texas, the talent is there but is the mental talent going with it?
Texas showed up for games with Alabama and Oklahoma this season, but faltered against Texas Tech and blew a double-digit lead at Oklahoma State last weekend on the back of multiple mistakes. In addition to the talent of Texas, they are in the middle of their bye week before coming to Manhattan, meanwhile, the Wildcats are nursing injuries still lingering from Iowa State that a bye week couldn’t fully fix, and battles with TCU and Oklahoma State heading into the game.
When right, Texas’ offense has similar combinations to that of TCU. A talented quarterback in Quinn Ewers, a great running game with Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, plus the receivers to be able to go and get the ball. If K-State’s defense isn’t healthy and ready, the Longhorns can have a highly productive day in Manhattan.
