Kansas State vs Baylor: Open Game Thread

Before the season started, if you’d have asked just about any Kansas State Wildcats fan if they would be okay if their Cats were 3-1 headed into this game, you would have likely heard a resounding “Yes”. But here we are, sitting at 3-1 with a win at Mississippi State under the belt, and yet it feels like things could be better.

Last weekend, the Wildcats traveled to Stillwater and came home with a disappointing loss. The K-State defense played solid — and defensive end Wyatt Hubert was basically unblockable for two quarters — but the Wildcat offense tried to do too much and just could never get unstuck from the mud, not scoring a touchdown until halfway through the fourth quarter.

But the Wildcats aren’t looking back. The Baylor Bears are in town this weekend, sporting a 4-0 record that looks better on paper than it has on the field. The Bears are a talented team — enough that many call them a “poor-man’s Oklahoma State” — but after starting with three tasty cupcakes in the non-conference slate (and struggling with one of them), the Bears needed a late field goal to put away the struggling Iowa State Cyclones last week in Waco.

The Wildcats will look to put the first blemish on the Bears record a week after suffering their own. Expect the Cats to get back to what they do best — power runs and play-action — instead of trying to get cute with Baylor. The K-State receivers should have an easier time than they did last week as well, and hopefully that means Skylar Thompson won’t be missing Malik Knowles on the outside as much as he did last week when the star receiver sat out with a lower leg injury. Having the home crowd should help a lot as well.

This is a game the Wildcats should win. Bu they’ll still have to work hard for it.

Be sure and check out out pre-game content for you this week. First up, click over to AMS’s How to Watch post for all the important details for today’s game. TB’s also got his Kicking the Tires preview of the Bears, and he’s not very optimistic for some reason.

We’re on ESPN2 today, with a 2:30pm kickoff time, with Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Anthony Becht (booth analyst) ,and Rocky Boiman (field analyst) on the call. You can likely also catch it on WatchESPN (but not ESPN+) if you can’t get to your TV.

If you don’t get ESPN2, or can’t access the stream, the game can be heard across the 39-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 Sirius channel 111, XM Channel 200, and available on the TuneIn app. Live stats are available at k-statesports.com, and Twitter updates (@KStateFB) will also be a part of the coverage.

Go Cats!