How to Watch: Kansas State at Oklahoma State

About 11 months ago, 9th-ranked Oklahoma State, 6-1 on the season with their only loss a two-overtime affair at TCU, came to Manhattan to face a 5-2 Wildcat team ranked 22nd and stinging from a loss to those same Horned Frogs.

Murder ensued, as the Cats completely dominated the Cowboys — a historical 48-0 beatdown, the most lopsided shutout defeat ever suffered by a top-10 team in the history of the AP Poll.

The Cowboys will want revenge, but the Wildcats flat out broke the Pokes last year. Oklahoma State was 1-4 the rest of the year after losing to the Cats, and they’re 2-2 this year after losing to Iowa State and... ummm... a 33-7 whoopin’ at the hands of... ummm... South Alabama.

Still, Stillwater has been a den of nightmares for the Cats under Mike Gundy; K-State has only beaten him once on his home turf. So let’s not be too cocky about things.

The Game

The Kansas State Wildcats (3-1, 1-0 Big 12, RV) visit the Oklahoma State Cowboys (2-2, 0-1 Big 12).

Oklahoma State leads the all-time series 42-27, although the Wildcats hold a 15-10 edge in the post-Parrish era. The Cowboy series lead is largely the result of a 31-6 record between 1947-1989; before and after that the Cats are 21-11. Oklahoma State was the first Big 8 team to start losing to Bill Snyder every year, dropping nine in a row starting in 1990.

The Cowboys lost a massive number of players to the transfer portal last year, and have been disheveled since. They’ve run three quarterbacks out there, including a Gundy, and haven’t even hit 900 yards passing combined yet. For perspective, K-State’s over 1100. They have only managed 487 yards on the ground as a team; for more perspective, DJ Giddens is already at 423. Their leading receiver has fewer yards than Ben Sinnott, who is not a wideout.

You get the idea.

Mike Gundy, noted unpleasant individual, is the dean of Big 12 coaches as he slogs through his 18th season at the helm. He’s 158-77 over that period, and 10-6 against the Cats. Chris Klieman was snakebitten by the Pokes until last year, starting his career 0-3 against them before beating them so badly last year that Klieman’s teams have outscored Gundy’s 99-77 anyway.

Kickoff

Friday, October 6, 6:30pm CT at Boone Pickens Stadium (53,855) in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Tickets

The game is sold out, but there are plenty of seats out there if you want to travel. Upper level seats are available for under $30, and only a handful of lower bowl tickets are on the market for over $120; the median price overall is around $62.

Weather

Great football weather expected in Stillwater, as the high Friday will only be 72°F, and by game time temperatures will have dipped to around 60°, falling to around 50° by the final whistle. It’ll be partly cloudy, but zero precipitation is expected. So be sure to take a warm jacket, but otherwise it’s going to be smooth sailing.

Odds

K-State opened as a 7 point favorite, and the money’s just kept heading their way since. The line got as high as -12 in some quarters early on Thursday; DraftKings now has the line at K-State -11 with the over at 53.5. That works out to a 32-21 win for the Wildcats. The money line is +310 for the Pokes, -395 for K-State. Oddsshark’s computer is a little more gentle with the Cowboys, projecting a 35-27 win for the Cats.

Television

ESPN proper, with our pal Anish Shroff on play-by-play alongside Andre Ware and Paul Carcaterra.

Radio

As always, Wyatt Thompson, Stan Weber, and Matt Walters will be on hand on the K-State Sports Network as well as via satellite on SiriusXM 84.

Internet Streaming

The game will stream on ESPN apps, but a cable or eligible streaming package subscription will be required since it’s being aired on the main network. Audio available via kstatesports.com. Live stats provided by... well, at this writing, nobody. You may be stuck with a generic sports news site of some sort.

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