The Kansas State Wildcats (2-1) come into Austin to face Texas (1-2) in both teams’ Big 12 opener. K-State is coming off a 37-7 victory over U Mass at home. This is the first road game of the season for the Wildcats.
What you need to know about K-State:
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Last season, Kansas State clinched the Big 12 title with their 42-24 win against Texas in Manhattan led by then Heisman hopeful QB Colin Klein. The Wildcats lead the overall series against the Horns 8-5 and are currently riding a 5 game winning streak in the series.
Since the inception of the Big 12, K-State is 7-2 vs Texas and 3-1 in Austin. Head Coach Bill Synder holds a 5-2 record against the Horns. Synder also has the 4th most wins among active coaches with 172. Texas Head Coach Mack Brown’s 231 victories lead all active coaches.
On the field, the Wildcats rely on a balanced offense scheme. Running Back John Hubert is coming off a 118 yds performance vs UMass-the first 100+ yard game of the season for a K-State player. As a team, they averaged 7.2 rushing yds against the Minute Men.
Quarterback Jake Waters is 48-70 passing with five interceptions and four passing TDs on the season. The community college transfer from Iowa Western had 673 total passing yards coming into the contest against Texas. Sophomore QB Daniel Sams running abilities compliment Waters’ arm. Sams is second on the team with 154 rushing yards and paces K-State with three rushing TDs. Last game, Sams ran for a career best 77 yards on 11 carries with a TD.
Defensively, linebackers Blake Slaughter and Jonathan Truman lead the team in tackles with 27 and 25 respectively. Former walk-on, defensive end Ryan Mueller is the most consistent up front. He has 4.5 tackles for a loss and 2.0 sacks.
Kansas State has 13 former players on active rosters in the NFL. New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski is not a K-State alum, but his younger brother Glenn, is a redshirt freshmen for the Wildcats. The younger Gronk caught his first career touchdown last week against UMass.
In their season opener, Kansas State lost to FCS two-time champion North Dakota State 24-21 at home. It was the 4th straight time the Bison have beaten a FBS team. North Dakota state used a punishing running game to control the clock and wear down the Wildcats.
The Longhorns and Wildcats look to start their conference schedules on a winning note. The unpredictability of these teams will make for an intriguing match-up Saturday evening.
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