Slate: Big 12 finally joins other conferences with 10 game schedule

The big news out of yesterday is that the Big 12 Conference has finally announced their plans for the (potentially) upcoming 2020 football season. The Big 12, like the ACC, will play nine conference games plus allow one non-conference game per team, for a total of 10 games in the upcoming season.

For the Kansas State Wildcats, this means dropping either the remaing non-conference game with North Dakota ([REDACTED], not the Bison of NDSU) or with Buffalo (NY). Buffalo, a G5 team in the MAC, has a $900k guarantee and is a hot program right now under Lance Leipold that would improve K-State’s SOS, but the Bulls could face issues with travel and potential quarantines as Kansas is currently on New York’s restricted list, meaning the Bulls would have to spend two weeks in quarantine after returning from their trip. UND, an FCS school, has “only” a $450k guarantee, and while a much easier opponent that wouldn’t help K-State’s SOS, might be more like a “preseason” game to get warmed up for conference play. I know which game Bill Snyder would keep...

Before we get back into lighter things, D. Scott Fritchen at 247Sports reports on what Coach Klieman discussed during a virtual meeting last week, including is any players are looking at potentially opting-out of the 2020 season due to health concerns.

So, K-State football released a updated roster, and Kellis Robinett has five observations via the Wichita Eagle. Number changes are a big highlight, with 14 returners changing numbers, including that for the first time in K-State history a Wildcat will wear the No. 0 on their game jersey. In fact, two players will be rocking the zero, Elijah Sullivan and Briley Moore.

The Lockett family has given lots to K-State over the years through their incredible performances on the football field, and now the Wildcats are looking to keep that legacy alive after offering Class of 2022 recruit Sterling Lockett (Tyler’s next-younger brother). If Twitter is any indication, the Lockett family is very pleased with the offer (as they should be).

Staying on the recruiting side, K-State’s star 2021 commit Jake Rubley, as well as a couple of his teammates, are considering transferring to a school in Iowa for their final season. This is in response to the potential for Colorado to postpone the 2020 season to the spring, after Rubley will have already graduated and be in Manhattan. Rubley’s father is originally from Iowa, and the presumptive school of choice is Valley High School in West Des Moines, which also just happens to be the home of fellow K-State commit Jayden Williams. Valley is one of the biggest schools in the state of Iowa, and boasts a regularly highly-successful football team that regularly sees transfers, so the pairing is coincidental, yet still serendipitous.

Finally, on the University side of things, K-State Vet Med researchers continue to make big strides in defeating COVID-19, and a new published study has identified a potential therapeutic treatment for the disease. Go Cats!