To punt or not to punt

It's a bye week, but we keep the content rolling around here. For your perusal, here's some Tuesday FEPO action and some bonus Wednesday FEPO too, courtesy of Jon Morse and Luke Thompson.

In case yesterday's Slate didn't hit this topic hard enough, the bye week is coming at the perfect time for Kansas State. In particular, some players may need the time to heal up from an unexpectedly tough non-conference schedule before taking on Oklahoma State (Leigh Oleszczak, KC Kingdom).

Jack Cantele's story so far would make a great plot in a sports movie. For his part, the kicker admits he's better for the struggles he faced last year (Kelly McHugh-Stewart, K-StateSports Extra).

Snyder 2.0 has featured a number of walk-ons who later earned scholarships and became bona fide stars. Joe Hubener and Kody Cook are the latest small town success stories in Manhattan (Ron Wilson, Hays Post).

Finally, is punting even necessary? Kevin Kelley became famous for winning four high school championships in Arkansas with a no-punting philosophy, and now it looks like other high school coaches are on board with this radical (although not entirely new) idea. Results are mixed so far, and it's unlikely this will became a trend in college football anytime soon (Rustin Dodd, Kansas City Star).

The volleyball team is on a streak again. Unfortunately, it's a losing streak. The Wildcats played well and slowed down No. 15 Kansas, but ultimately lost the latest edition of the Sunflower Showdown in four tightly-contested sets (25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 25-21). Coach Susie Fritz was pleased with the defensive effort but felt the team failed in the transition game, usually a strength at Kansas State.

As usual, Brooke Sassin led the team in offense, with 15 kills while freshman Alyssa Schultejans had 12 in her first-ever Big 12 match.