Bye week but no blues

Football

From the point of view of the average fans, bye weeks are the worst. There’s no game on Saturday, no real football news, etc.

But this is not one of those bye weeks. Indeed, the team is training like there’s a game this weekend, and thanks to a 3-0 start, there’s plenty for fans to read, analyze, and endlessly debate.

We begin this bye weekend with Kellis Robinett’s weekly K-State Q&A, and big news! The Wildcats’ hot start has prompted a change of heart from Robinett. He now has the season pegged at 8-4 instead of the previously “optimistic” 6-6. Also, I think he deserves some kudos for trying to find the silver lining behind the black cloud of next week’s marquee Big 12 matchup being on ESPN+.

Kansas State is among the Big 12’s biggest surprises so far this season, and they’ve done it with solid defense (currently 16th nationally), a tremendous run game, and a quarterback in Skylar Thompson who has completed almost 75% of his passes without a single interception. Indeed, Thompson is currently among the best in the nation in several categories, and he’s currently leading PFF’s quarterback rankings:

Not everyone on the team is as prominent as Thompson, of course. But at Kansas State, even the unsung walk-on will ultimately get a chance in the spotlight, as Noah Johnson’s long road to success demonstrates. For other players, like senior Blaise Gammon, this season may be the last hurrah in a life that has been all about football.

And finally, here’s the Banner Society, giving a shoutout to Kansas State’s inexplicable dominance of Texas. To quote Jason Kirk, “[a]s noted, Texas is the richest program in college sports.”

Tennis

The Wildcats open their 2019 campaign with a trip to Auburn this weekend for the Marliss Gruver Fall Invitational. Play begins today in what is the first of five fall events for the team.

Kansas State is part of a strong field competing at the event, including Kansas, Notre Dame, Auburn, Ole Miss, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Yale.

Volleyball

The VolleyCats fought hard over five sets and finally put away North Texas 3-2 (18-25, 25-13, 16-25, 27-25, 15-11). This was Kansas State’s sixth five-set match this season, and the fourth straight win over the Mean Green.

Brynn Carlson and Gloria Mutiri led the team with 17 kills, while all-everything player Peyton Williams had 11 and had the team’s top hit percentage of .417. Dru Kuck and Jacque Smith had 19 digs each.

The North Texas Challenge continues today when Kansas State plays Ohio. First serve is scheduled for 3:30, and the game will be carried live on KMAN.