The Cats and Pokes square off, with the winner getting back on track in the early Big 12 race.
Things went very quickly from decent enough to “this is the nearly the worst possible thing that could happen” in the span of just a few minutes last Saturday. Your Kansas State Wildcats went from a solid enough lead nearing halftime to…well you know, and we’re just going to put that nonsense behind us and move on. Hopefully the team can as well.
But no rest for the weary in the Big 12 Conference. Today the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who suffered a loss at home against the other Big 12 school from Utah last week, are in town and looking, like the Wildcats, to get back on track in the early Big 12 race to Arlington.
The Cowboys return All-American, and Doak Walker Award-winning running back Ollie Gordon, but he’s been held in check through four games this season. In two games against P4 competition, the Pokes have 107 rushing yards combined, and even struggled through the air against the Utes last week including having starter Alan Bowman benched for a period in the middle of the game. Mike Gundy’s Cowboys are still a good, dangerous team, but even with senior leadership in key spots they don’t exactly look like a juggernaut here in the early going.
Of course K-State isn’t a ton better. A big win over Arizona lead into last weekend’s debacle on the edge of the Wasatch Mountains. The K-State offense sputtered along all night, and failed to generate a touchdown even when it wasn’t turning the ball over uncharacteristically. Hopefully whatever plagued the Wildcats in Provo got left in Provo, because that was ugly. And while ugly might work in the B1G, it doesn’t work in the Big 12 where most teams actually have at least competent offenses.
K-State has the weapons. K-State has the defense. The Wildcats just need to get back into their groove and get back on the winning track. The home crowd should be raucous, which is always good to help get the home team going in the right direction. And there’s only one way to go from here.
We’ve got an 11:00am CT kickoff for today’s game from Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and you can catch the action on ESPN (or online via WatchESPN.com) with Bob Wischusen (Play-by-Play), Louis Riddick (Analyst), and Kris Budden (Sidelines) on the call.
If you don’t have ESPN or can’t access the stream, the game can be heard across the 28-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst), and Matt Walters (sidelines) calling the action. The game will also be on SiriusXM Satellite Radio Ch. 82, and available online at K-Statesports.com. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateFB) will also be a part of the coverage.
Go Cats!