K-State Slate: 10.2.14 - Getting ready for Texas Tech

Yesterday was a busy day around here.

The day's action began with BracketCat's crowdsourced Week 5 Top 25 poll which mostly reflected the lack of any consensus among the staff. Then, Curtis Kitchen cooked up his weekly musings, including his trenchant thoughts on Michigan and Roger Goodell's recent meeting with Charlie Strong to discuss "core values." Finally, Luke Thompson and Jon Morse laughed themselves silly over the Wednesday FEPO action.

Oh, and I'm going to abuse my editorial privilege and shamelessly promote my thoughts on Kliff Kingsbury. Because I can.

David Ubben's Big 12 predictions on FOXSports have K-State beating Texas Tech handily, even if Davis Webb takes the field. Webb is still considered day-to-day, though the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported that he was seen at practice in full pads on Tuesday. If Webb does not play, Texas Tech may be forced to start a true freshman, Patrick Mahomes. In his favor, Mahomes was the Texas AP Sports Editor high school player of the year in 2013.

Chip Rouse, writing for Fansided's Talking 12 blog, also thinks K-State should win handily, especially considering each team's performance against UTEP. K-State put the hurt on the Miners last week, but Texas Tech struggled, only winning by four.

Where are the Wildcats in the conference pecking order? Jimmy Burch of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram thinks K-State is firmly in third place behind Oklahoma and Baylor, but warns that a road struggle this weekend could push them further down.

Here's John Currie's letter to K-State Nation. Particularly interesting are his remarks on the college football playoff landscape, and if this is a reflection of how most athletic directors feel, it's safe to say nothing has really changed in college football.

In the ESPN(blog)'s Big 12 stat check, K-State is touted for its run defense. Allowing only 2.69 yards per carry, good for 10th best in the FBS. Meanwhile, Texas Tech has been flagged for 150 times and given up 1400 yards in penalties since the start of the 2013 season, second only to Baylor.

Tommy Magelssen of the Dallas Morning News breaks down the K-State-Texas Tech game and points out five things Tech fans should know.

The volleyball team has notched the first win of this year's Sunflower Showdown! The cats came from behind to beat KU in a five-set thriller. With the win, the team not only snapped its four-match losing streak against the Jayhawks but also ended an 11-match losing streak in conference road matches. Kylee Zumach and Brooke Sassin had seven kills each in the fifth set to lead the team to victory.

Basketball practice officially begins on Friday. With nine returning lettermen from last year, expectations are high for K-State. Fan enthusiasm and excitement are also high and season ticket sales have been brisk.

K-State freshman forward Lauren Mertz missed most of her last two high school seasons with knee injuries, but she's back now and stronger than ever. A star player at Blue Valley Northwest, she led her team in rebounds and blocks despite her injuries and played AAU ball with Kindred Weseman.

New cross country coach Ryun Godfrey will make his K-State debut at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The men's team begins the action with the 10K followed by the women's team in the 5K.