Defense still in the news

If no news is good news, this may be the best Sunday ever.

Le Chat du Brackets continues his earnest run through the player roster, counting us down to kickoff with #55 linebacker Chase Johnston.

Speaking of linebackers, Kansas State's unit is getting some attention from media outlets. In Bruce Feldman's ranking of the best linebacking corps in college football, the Wildcats break the Top and tie UCLA for the 10th spot. It's mostly due to the stellar play of Elijah Lee, the underclassmen with the most tackles since Mark Simoneau (even if Simoneau wasn't on the team in 2008 as the article suggests). Charmeachealle Moore and Will Davis are also mentioned as part of a unit that combined for 189 tackles last season (via FoxSports).

ESPN's KC Joyner picks five super-sleeper teams that might sneak into the college football playoff. Kansas State is not on this list, but considering that our erstwhile red-clad rivals to the north top the list, it stands to reason that Kansas State could potentially also be a sleeper. (Hey, it's July, and we're still undefeated. Why not, right?!)

So Jim HarbaughMichigan really wanted to resume its rivalry with Notre Dame, so the two teams will begin playing regularly again in 2018. This required the cancellation of Michigan's home-and-home series with Arkansas, however, and that has all of Razorback nation steamed. Especially furious is Bret Bielema, who noted that Arkansas might use the $2 million buyout to "maybe host a satellite camp in Cabo?" Stay salty, Bert.

When coaches aren't busy coaching and/or sniping at each other, they sometimes turn their power to good. Alabama's Nick Saban and Florida State's Jimbo Fisher, both West Virginia natives, are seeking football equipment donations for high schools in West Virginia. Several schools suffered devastating damage in the recent flooding in that state, and Saban and Fisher are asking the football community to reach out and help because "[w]e have all seen how athletics can help heal and rebuild communities that have suffered through a tragedy."

In volleyball news, the team has added Arizona transfer Sarah Dixon to the roster for the 2016 season. Dixon brings the tally of Wildcat newcomers to six, and she's also the third 2014 Under Armor All-American on the squad. Ironically enough, Dixon will begin her Kansas State career playing against her former team when the purple Wildcats open the season against Arizona at the Wahine Invitational in Honolulu on August 26.

Have a great weekend, all!