The Kansas Jayhawks will face the Kansas State Wildcats this Saturday at 11:30 AM CST at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas . The Wildcats are led by head coach, Bill Snyder, who is midway through his 1st season as the head coach for Kansas State after coming out of retirement last November. Snyder is one of the most highly respected coaches in the country, having turned around a Kansas State program in the 90’s that was regarded by many as the worst in the history of college football. He has turned around a Kansas State team this season that went 5-7 last season under former Head Coach Ron Prince, and Snyder now has Kansas State atop the Big XII North standings at 3-2. The Wildcats struggled out of the gate to a 2-2 record in non conference play, highlighted by a loss at Lousiana Lafayette. 
The Wildcats are coming off of an encouraging loss to the Oklahoma Sooners last week in Norman, Oklahoma. The Wildcats entered the 2nd quarter down 21-0 to the Sooners, before the Wildcats made a furious comeback to pull within 5 in the fourth quarter. The Sooners hung on to win the game, 42-30. The Sooners outgained the Wildcats 458-364, yet lost the time of possession battle 32-28. The Wildcats had 215 yards passing, with quarterback Grant Gregory completing 19-30 for 174 yards, but he did throw 1 interception and was sacked twice. The ground game was the bright spot for the Wildcats, who ran the ball 29 times for 163 yards. Kansas State was dominated in the first quarter of the game against Oklahoma, which begs the question, was Oklahoma just going through the motions in the last 3 quarters. Also, Kansas State’s kick returner Brandon Banks returned a 98 yard kickoff, which made the score and game look tighter than it actually was.
Key Wins
Colorado 20-6 Texas A&M 62-14 Iowa State 24-23Key Losses
Texas Tech 66-14 Oklahoma 42-30 UCLA 23-9Mark Maningo’s thoughts on Kansas State
“Kansas State is a team that has shown a lot of improvement since last season. They are improving in every area of their game. They are certainly a much more sound, fundamental football team. They play good fundamentals, just like you would like to have your team play all the time. What we preach here is the same thing they preach. They are aggressive on defense and they have enough playmakers on offense to hurt you. They have one of the best, if not the best, return man in the country in Brandon Banks, who can really change the momentum of a game. It is a good challenge for us. It is a Big 12 game on the road, so it is important and we are looking forward to it.”
Bill Snyder’s thoughts on Kansas
“Well, I’m quite certain that the vast majority of our players would like to bring the Governor’s Cup back to Manhattan. This game is very important to all of our team, especially our players from Kansas. I think that this is a very significant game for every one involved on both sides.”
On Todd Reesing
“Todd is probably the most intelligent quarterback in the game today. He has a 4.0 GPA, he makes good decisions and he always seems to know where to go with the football. He stands in and finds the throwing lanes that they create for him. He has the ability get outside of the pocket and can run the ball pretty well. He is also a tough young guy. He throws the ball very well and he can put the ball just about wherever he wants. He has got some excellent receivers to throw to.”
Key Stats:
Kansas State have outgained their opponents 357 yards to 342 yars per game. Kansas State has outgained their opponents 1641 to 969 on the ground this season. Junior Running Back Daniel Thomas is averaging 100.2 yards rushing per game and leads the Wildcats with 10 rushing touchdowns.Outlook
The Jayhawks are looking to return to form offensively against a pretty solid defensive team, even with the change in coaches and the high preponderance of Junior College players. The Wildcats are averaging 1.7 sacks a game and are holding thier opponents to 107 rushing yards per game, but keep in mind that these numbers were put up against an average at best non conference and conference schedule. The Wildcats will need to to improve dramatically with passing the ball if they hope to compete against Kansas. The Kansas offense may have trouble getting back into form against a Wildcat defense that that is fundamentally sound and will stick to their assignments. If Todd Reesing and the offense are able to keep the chainse moving and not turn the ball over, the Jayhawks should be able to control the clock and the flow of the game, because K-State will not beat you athletically. If not, then look for this game to be a tight contest that could be decided by turnovers and special teams.
