SLATE: How about them golfers???

We haven’t been great about getting you caught up during the week, but we figured this would be a good week to start since we don’t have Kansas State football to look forward to this weekend.

Golf

The K-State golf team, the nationally ranked K-State golf team, won it’s third straight championship this week, capturing the team crown at the Oregon State Invitational with a 3-under par 849. The victory made school history, as it is the first time ever a K-State men’s golf team has won three-consecutive titles. The three wins are also the most ever in a fall slate and already ranks as third-most wins in a single season. It was a dominating win, as second place Washington State finished at 11-over.

While the Wildcats didn’t have an individual champion, with leader Nicklaus Mason finishing in a tie for 3rd at 2-under 211, four of the six Wildcats at the event finished in the Top 9 & ties. This is a great year for the Wildcats to be good, as the 2023 Big 12 Championship is at Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson, KS.

Next up is the Big 12 Match Play Championship, which ends the fall slate, set for October 17-19.

Volleyball

The VolleyCats face a huge test tonight as they are in Austin to face the #1 Longhorns. The Cats are looking to maintain momentum after reeling off two straight wins to get back to .500 in conference play and 11-6 overall. But the Longhorns are very good, sitting at 12-0 on the season and dropping just 5 sets all year (two of those in Lawrence to KU), and holding sweeps over perennial powers Ohio State and Stanford. But at least you can’t watch the game, as the 7pm CT contest is being aired on the Longhorn Network.

Football

What a great time for a bye week. Six games played, six games left, and with several key guys banged up at he midway point of the season.

Coach Klieman addressed some of the injuries at his weekly press conference, some of which were sustained or aggravated during the Wildcats ugly 10-9 win in Ames last weekend. Notably, Deuce Vaughn left the game late with an apparent leg injury but should be ready to go next week in practice after a week off. Same with Khalid Duke, who was knocked out of the game early, and Felix Anudike-Uzomah who finished the game, but was in noticeable pain by the end of the game. Both Deuce and Khalid likely would have been questionable if there was a game this week, but with the week off to get healthy they, and the other injured players, should be fully ready to go for the trip to TCU in two weeks.

This highlights one of the many differences between Klieman and Snyder: how they use the bye week. Snyder kept his ones in practice, no rest for the starters who were expected to continue to do all the “normal week” things, with the idea that it kept his team sharp. Klieman likes to use the bye week to rest the key starters, and get the younger players reps in the K-State system, instead of having to run scout team for the week, with the idea that it keeps his team fresh and gives the young guys an opportunity to stand out.

What are your bye week plans?? Are you going to take a break like the team, or are you such a football nut that you’ll find another game(s) to latch on to?