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We’re less than two weeks from Kansas State football! The excitement around the season is palpable, as BracketCat counts us down to kickoff, with #14 quarterback Hunter Hall, #14 defensive back Kevion McGee, and most recently, #13 defensive end Chase Johnston.
The college football news cycle is currently dominated by the soap opera that is the Big Ten, so Kansas State is flying even more under the radar than usual. Plus, the general consensus seems to be that the Wildcats won’t be very good this year.
For example, at least one West Virginia writer thinks Kansas State lacks “the firepower” to really compete with Will Grier and the ‘Eers this year. The folks at Roll Bama Roll, previewing Mississippi State, write CLANGA’s tilt in Manhattan as a W, because Kansas State lost four home games last year and laid an egg at Vanderbilt, and Matt Hinton has Kansas State finishing 4-8, which seems a bit far-fetched even to the most cynical fan among us:
The Big 12 is such a logjam from 2-9 I can see those middle eight teams finishing in almost any order. K-State always suffers in the Talent/Recruiting column and has bad luck this year w/ three of its most winnable toss-up games (WVU, Baylor, Iowa State) on the road. pic.twitter.com/VRxi9X4j4h
— Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) August 17, 2018
In his weekly Q&A, Kellis Robinett riffs on Kansas State’s weakness at wide receiver, talks up his own golf and bowling skills, and moves himself to the top of my GASP!YOUDIDNOTJUST list with his suggestions for alternate uniforms including doing away with the silver pants. Really, Kellis? Have you learned nothing about alternate unis from the fiasco that is Notre Dame’s Yankees-themed uniform?
By the way, it’s not just football that’s right around the corner. Kansas State volleyball wrapped up their preseason run with a four-set exhibition match against Creighton in Omaha. In a predetermined format, the VolleyCats took the final set and the victory, ending with a scoreline of 17-25, 18-25, 21-25, 26-24. Senior outside hitter Kylee Zumach led the team with 18 kills and 11 digs, along with a team-best hitting percentage of .444. Freshman Gloria Mutiri had 15 kills and eight digs in her first real outing with the team.
Kansas State’s official 2018 campaign begins with the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu on August 24th. The VolleyCats will take on Gonzaga, UCLA, and host Hawaii in the tournament.
But the biggest fall sports news is surely the early success of Kansas State soccer. The Wildcats took out Atlantic 10 preseason favorite Saint Louis with a 1-0 victory on Thursday night on a second half goal from Morgan Mauck and some superior goalkeeping from Emma Malsy, who transferred from Arizona State.
The SoccerCats will be in action today against Oakland. The match begins at noon and can be seen on KStateHD.tv.