After going undefeated in the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Kansas State Wildcats start Big 12 play Saturday against the Cincinnati Bearcats
The Kansas State Wildcats football team had an impressive finish to the non-conference portion of the schedule.
They had big wins against the Nicholls Cowboys, Washington State Cougars and Tulane Green Wave to start a perfect 3-0 under first-year coach Collin Klein. Now, they have a chance for their 4-0 start since 2012 if they can knock off the Cincinnati Bearcats on the road Saturday in the Big 12 conference opener.
The question is if the Wildcats are prepared for their toughest challenge after the first three games of the season. Klein said he thinks those games have prepped them for the looming challenge of facing the Big 12.
In his words, he said those games were "tremendous" for the progress of the team.
"I mentioned it after the [Tulane] game," Klein said earlier this week during his game week press conference. "Every football game and every good team you play, it doesn't matter what conference they're in, it doesn't matter how talented people think they are or they're not, or how they compare to you, it is truly about the competitive nature and that battle of will between those two teams."
Thus far, the only "gimme" game for the Wildcats was against Nicholls. Washington State played the rival Washington Huskies tough for the most part when the teams met in the opener. Still, the Wildcats took care of the Cougars with ease in the 34-7 victory. The only WSU touchdown came courtesy of a bad throw by Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson, which was returned for a touchdown.
The Tulane win was also impressive, considering the Green Wave were participants in the College Football Playoff a year ago. Even if they are no longer the same team, it's still a quality win to knock off a seasoned program.
Regardless, the Wildcats are going to need all the battle-testing because the Big 12 is among the strongest leagues in the country. The conference enters the weekend with six undefeated teams.
Aside from the Wildcats and Bearcats, there's also the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Utah Utes, BYU Cougars and West Virginia Mountaineers. This weekend will determine even more about the strength of the conference.
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of KStateRoundtable. He can be reached at [email protected]
