Games won, records set

Football

Kansas State beat Baylor 59-25 at home on Saturday. With the win, the Wildcats remain at least mathematically in contention for a Big 12 Championship berth, while Baylor has been knocked out of the postseason.

There’s not much to say about a game that Kansas State had already pretty much won by half time. But there were plenty of highlights!

— Quarterback Will Howard set a new school record for career touchdowns (45). He passed Josh Freeman in the process and cemented his legacy as a Wildcat. That Howard had to endure much adversity and criticism to hit the milestone should only burnish his credentials for the purple faithful.

— Kansas State topped the 50-point mark for the first time since 2019 and the first time under Chris Klieman in a Big 12 game. This was also the most points the Wildcats have scored against Baylor in series history.

— Cooper Beebe lined up on defense and recorded his first tackle, prompting Klieman to joke that Beebe was the best two-way player in the nation.

— There are plausible scenarios that have Kansas State making it back to the Big 12 title game. They all require other teams to lose, but if you really want to work it out for yourself (why?!), feel free.

Up next is the Sunflower Showdown, and this year, after a break of almost 30 years, the 121st episode of this long-running soap opera might actually mean something.

— This year’s game will be played in Lawrence. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Kansas State has not lost a game there since 2008. But you also know that the Wildcats have been a terrible road team this year.

— Both teams losing in the last couple of weeks has taken a bit of the shine off this game, but both still have plenty left to play for, including the potential to win 10 games this season.

— Complicating matters for KU is that Jason Bean had to leave the game against Texas Tech with an injury. Head coach Lance Leipold has since confirmed that Bean has a head injury and was kept out of practice Sunday. But he appears to be on the mend and Leipold is hopeful Bean will be available against Kansas State. But all three quarterbacks are still listed on the depth chart, so who really knows?

— If you’re interested in the history of this rivalry, we have covered it extensively right here at BotC. Derek Smith wrote an extensive piece three years ago, and yours truly wrote a retrospective of specific games in the series: 1906 | 1922 | 1934 |1953 | 1969

Men’s Basketball

The Kansas State men’s basketball team, fresh off a great season featuring an Elite Eight appearance, started the regular season in winning fashion, getting past Bellarmine 83-75 in the home opener. Senior Tylor Perry had 18 points for the game, followed closely by Cam Cameron’s career-high 17 points. David N’Guessan hauled in nine rebounds and also scored six points.

The Wildcats followed that win up with a resounding 91-68 victory over South Dakota State. Carter improved on his first game performance, setting a new career high with 25 points (including 14 buckets from beyond the arc). He was followed closely by Perry with 22 points, and senior transfer Will McNair Jr., who added 10 points of his own.

The team will reconvene on Friday at the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship where they take on Providence. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 PM and the game will be available on the CBS Sports Network.

Women’s Basketball

The women’s basketball squad is off to a great start. In the first away game of the season, the Wildcats finally ended a long losing streak on the road by beating Little Rock, 77-39. This game was no contest, and indeed Kansas State led by 30 at the half and never looked threatened at any point in the game.

For Kansas State, 32 of the total points came from senior Ayoka Lee, who added 10 rebounds for her 50th career double-double. That equals a mark originally set by Wildcat legend Kendra Wecker.

The Wildcats’ road stand continues with a trip to #2 Iowa, who received over a third of the first-place votes in the AP poll, on Thursday. The game will be available on FS1.

Tennis

At the Big 12 Fall Invite, five Kansas State players won singles matches, with two of them winning their entire bracket to take those titles. Freshman Charlotte Keitel made the finals of the White bracket and won the section by default when her BYU opponent did not appear in the Sunday finals match. Meanwhile, teammate Maria Santos won the Yellow bracket, defeating Houston’s Nina Skoric in straight sets.

This is the team’s last competition for the fall. The Wildcats will be back in action in the spring for the official Big 12 and NCAA seasons.