SLATE: The last Monday without football

Only two football items to share this fine Monday, but you can be sure that’ll change starting next week. First, K-State named its four captains for the 2021 season back on Wednesday. Three come as no surprise, as they are sixth-year seniors who were captains last season: quarterback Skylar Thompson, center Noah Johnson, and safety Jahron McPherson. The fourth, however, was a bit of an eyebrow-raiser. Defensive lineman Timmy Horne, who just transferred in from UNC-Charlotte, was voted in as the fourth captain by his teammates.

Aside from what that says about Horne’s leadership, it may also indicate what we’re going to see from him on the field this fall. Nothing gets respect from one’s teammates more than, you know, being good at the footballs.

The other piece of news: check back around 1:00 this afternoon for your Benevolent Despot’s annual preview of the receiving corps.

Soccer

Don’t look now, but Kansas State is 3-1 on the pitch. Friday night in Clarksville, Tenn., the Wildcats absolutely ambushed an admittedly bad Austin Peay squad as Marisa Weichel punched in her team-leading second goal of the season while her sister Maddie got credit for assisting Jesse Loren, Brookelynn Entz, and Aliyah El-Naggar, setting a Wildcat record for assists in a game. Entz’s goal was her 18th in purple, extending her career record. Roo Yarnell-Williams added K-State’s final goal of the night in a 5-0 whitewash. The Cats were utterly dominant, taking 23 shots to only four for the Governors; a ridiculous ten Wildcat shots were on net to two for the hosts.

The Wildcats stayed in Clarksville for the weekend, facing Northern Alabama on Sunday. That game was not nearly as explosive; it took a goal off her own rebound in the 90th minute by freshman Adah Anderson to settle the affair in a 1-0 victory. The Wildcats were still firing shots at will, taking aim 24 times with six on target; the Lions only took four shots, forcing Peyton Pearson into only one save.

The weekend marks a three-game winning streak, a three-game shutout streak, and the Wildcats have now gone literally just seconds under five hours without giving up a goal. Offensively, the Cats have broken the 20-shot mark in every game this season, signaling a wide-open offense that’s not afraid to attack. Could be a fun season.

Next weekend, the Cats will be in Colorado for a pair of games. First, they’ll visit the capital on Thursday for a tilt against the 3-0 and ranked Denver Pioneers, last season’s Summit League champions who’ve already dispatched Air Force, Colorado State, and Utah. Sunday, they’ll head up to Fort Collins to visit the winless Rams, whose other game this season besides the Denver loss was a scoreless tie with South Dakota. Should the Cats escape the weekend without a loss, it’ll be worth attention from outside parties.

Volleyball

The Cats went 1-1 in Lincoln at the Husker Invitational this weekend, rebounding from a first-set loss to Colgate on Saturday for a 3-1 win in their season opener before pushing fifth-ranked Nebraska to four sets — one of which the Huskers had to win 27-25 — in a 3-1 loss. Aliyah Carter had double-doubles in both matches, and Holly Bonde and Haley Warner both had double-digit kills in each match.

Volleyball will also be on the road this weekend, meaning there’s nothing going on in Manhattan. K-State will head to the Gaucho Invitational, where they’ll take on Pepperdine and hosts Cal-Santa Barbara in a doubleheader on Friday before finishing on Saturday against San Diego State.

Other

You can now get your hands on officially licensed K-State bourbon. K-State has partnered with Boot Hill Distillery in Dodge City to produce Wabash Reserve, a two-year bourbon checking in at 90 proof. The new brand will go on sale in stores throughout Kansas on Wednesday. (The question of whether your Benevolent Despot will drive three hours round-trip Wednesday morning remains open.)