Kansas State Wildcats Preview 2024
Who’s the star of the new Big 12?
Texas and Oklahoma are gone, and I apologize for continuing with my tired bit - who’s the anchor tenant in the Big 12 mall?
Which program is the one to stand up and standout from the rest of the pack in a 16 team conference loaded with Sunglass Huts and Sbarros?
It’s probably Utah, with Oklahoma State not all that far behind, but Kansas State has to be in the discussion - especially this season.
Under head coach Chris Klieman the Wildcats have gone to four bowl games in five seasons - throw out the weird 2020 campaign - with a Big 12 Championship and four seasons with eight wins or more. But here’s the kicker …
Really, Texas and Oklahoma aren’t around anymore.
Kansas State lost seven in a row to the Longhorns. The last victory was 2016 in Round Two of the Bill Snyder era.
The Wildcats beat Oklahoma in 2022 and won three of the last four games, but lost four in a row before that and has a robust 24% all-time winning clip against the powerhouse.
More on this at the end, but with those two out - especially Texas - where’s Kansas State’s almost certain loss coming from?
Last year’s team lost four games. Missouri by three, Oklahoma State by eight, Texas by three, Iowa State by seven. Only the loss to the Cowboys got away from the Cats, but this year the game is at home.
The highest-level talent might not be there across the board, but that’s never been a thing for this program. It has the infrastructure, the coaching, the defense, potentially the best running backfield in the Big 12, the schedule, and …
Go ahead and believe that Kansas State can and should get into the expanded College Football Playoff.
Kansas State Preview 2024: Offense
- The offense came up with a bunch of yards, didn’t turn the ball over all that much, and scored a lot of points - that’s sort of what an offense is supposed to do.
There’s a bunch of turnover, but that’s nothing new, especially on the line. The Wildcats are a factory for cranking out strong front fives that do a little of everything right, including prepping parts to be ready to step up.
Star guard Cooper Beebe is done along with left tackle KT Leveston, but landing OT North Dakota’s Easton Kilty through the portal and getting back C Hadley Panzer helps. Speaking of new parts …
- The receiving corps needs new stars to step up. TE Ben Sinnott is a Washington Commander, but Garrett Oakley was a decent No. 2 option last year. Jayce Brown and Keagan Johnson are good enough veteran wideouts to be okay, and former Kent State star Dante Cephas - by way of Penn State - is explosive.
- Veteran QB Will Howard left for Ohio State, but the Wildcats have a potential star under center in Avery Johnson. The slippery-smooth sophomore needs to be a tad more accurate - there’s a small body of work to go on - but he can move, running for 71 yards and a score and throwing two touchdown passes in the Pop-Tarts Bowl win over NC State.
With Johnson combined with 1,226-yard, ten-touchdown back DJ Giddens and Colorado transfer Dylan Edwards, the ground attack will be its normal dangerous self.
Kansas State Preview 2024: Defense
- The defense was solid, and it should be again if it can find more of a pass rush. There were plenty of plays made behind the line, but the sacks dried up after a hot start.
Hybrid linebacker Austin Moore is the best playmaker in the backfield and Brendan Mott should break out an do more, but the line lost end Nate Matlack to Pitt and top pass rusher Khalid Duke is done. 6-3, 337-pound Uso Seumalo might not be a pass rusher, but he’s a true anchor on the nose.
- Moore is the team’s best linebacker, but Desmond Purnell is a good veteran on the outside, and Austin Romaine should be stronger as a sophomore in the middle of the corps. This group will grow into an even bigger positive, but …
- With a bit more of a pass rush, the secondary should be dominant. The safeties have the potential to be the star of the defensive show. Marques Sigle and VJ Payne combined for 120 tackles. Jacob Parrish has All-Big 12 potential at one corner - he led the team with four picks with nine broken up passes.
Kansas State Key To The Season
Be better on … special teams?
Kansas State?! The model of consistent third phase greatness? Yeah, the team was just okay-to-bad last season.
The big kickoff returns weren’t there, 4.56 yards per punt return weren’t enough, and while the kicking game was okay, Chris Tennant was 11-of-14 on field goals - two of the three misses were closer than 30 yards in three-point losses to both Texas and Missouri - and the team was last in the Big 12 in net punting.
Kansas State Key Player
QB Avery Johnson, Soph.
Used in spots as a runner, and thrown into the Pop-Tarts Bowl as the starter against NC State, the star dual-threat quarterback recruit in last year’s class now has all the pressure of the program on his shoulders. The talent and upside are there to be special.
Kansas State Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss
Top Transfer In: RB Dylan Edwards
Ultra-quick with great receiving skills, he was a great get for Deion Sanders and Colorado, but he wasn’t used much as a runner with just 321 yards and one score. He caught 36 passes, and lit up TCU to start the season, but that was about it. He should be an explosive part of the K-State equation.
Top Transfer Out: QB Will Howard
There’s an argument to be made that for what Kansas State likes and wants to do, it upgraded at the position with Avery Johnson, but … the offense lost the Ohio State starting quarterback. He was just getting rolling last season and would’ve been great this year after throwing 48 career touchdown passes with 19 rushing scores.
Kansas State Key Game
Oklahoma State, Sept. 28
The Wildcats have about as manageable a Big 12 schedule as can be asked for considering the Arizona game doesn’t count in conference play. The home date against Oklahoma State it the biggest problem.
Kansas State won 48-0 the last time the Cowboys came to Manhattan, but it lost four of the last five. 2023’s 29-21 OSU win was a big moment in the Big 12 season.
Kansas State 10 Best Players
1. DJ Giddens, RB Jr.
2. Avery Johnson, QB Soph.
3. Austin Moore, LB Sr.
4. Jacob Parrish, CB Jr.
5. Desmond Purnell, LB Jr.
6. Easton Kilty, OT Sr.
7. Brendan Mott, DE Sr.
8. Dante Cephas, WR Sr.
9. Uso Seumalo, DT Sr.
10. Dylan Edwards, RB Soph.
Kansas State 2023 Fun Stats
- 4th Quarter Scoring: Kansas State 107, Opponents 49
- TDs Scored: Kansas State 64, Opponents 32
- Red Zone TDs: Kansas State 51-of-65 (78%), Opponents 13-of-33 (39%)
Kansas State 2024 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen
The Kansas battle was fun last year, but that was the only Kansas State win by fewer than nine points.
The Wildcats came up with strong performances in the ten wins, were right there in three of the four losses, and it was all against a schedule with road trips to Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma State teams that finished with double-digit wins.
There was also a game against an 11-win Troy squad, and two games away from Manhattan against nine-win Kansas and NC State teams - the Cats won all three.
This year’s non-conference slate? At Tulane, UT Martin, and - for this season - Arizona. It’s possible to win all three to start hot.
There will be a few losses along the way, but where’s Kansas State the underdog?
Oklahoma State, Arizona, and Kansas are at home, the Big 12 road dates are all winnable - Iowa State and West Virginia are the problems - and it’ll all add up to a finishing three-game kick against Arizona State, Cincinnati, and at Iowa State with a trip to the Big 12 Championship there for the taking.
Set The Kansas State Win Total At … 8.5
Likely Wins: Cincinnati, UT Martin
50/50 Games: Arizona, Arizona State, at BYU, at Colorado, at Houston, at Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma State, at Tulane, at West Virginia
Likely Losses: No apparent sure-thing losses
- 2024 Kansas State Schedule: 3 Things To Know
Most Popular
Comments / 0