2015-16 Football Previews – (Big 12) – Wildcats
Despite routinely coming up short in quantifiable talent and highly touted freshman signees, Kansas State finds a way to regularly be competitive in the Big 12. Why? Look no further than legendary head coach Bill Snyder. The wise old dog always gets the most out of his players and squeezes great performances out of walk-ons and JUCO transfers.
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Kansas State
Big 12 Conference 2015-16 College Football Preview – Kansas State Wildcats
Head Coach: Bill Snyder
2014 Record: 9-4
K-State BCS Odds: +15000
Kansas State Odds to win 2015 Big 12 Championship: +1200
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All the same, the Wildcats must replace some key components in 2015, making Snyder’s job even more difficult than normal. Yet, only a very foolish person doubts Bill Snyder. His name is on the stadium, for goodness sake!
While the unsung elements of the football team are in good shape; not surprising perhaps with the school located in nondescript Manhattan, KS (how different than its counterpart in New York City), the skill position players raise some questions.
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With that in mind, let’s pick apart the strengths and the shortcomings of the 2015 Kansas State Wildcats.
Team Strengths:
KSU’s offensive line should be excellent, as it returns every starter from last year except C B.J. Finney. Tackle Cody Whitehair and OG Boston Stiverson should be the brightest spots on a strong unit.
While there are some no-names in the backfield, mobility is a strength for the Wildcats, at the QB position and among the RBs – this should play into the hands of the line’s mauling mentality.
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Defensively, the Wildcats are a little “feast or famine”, but the feast is sumptuous and ample. Namely, senior DT Travis Britz and SS Dante Barnett are all-Big 12 talents, with LB Elijah Lee bringing mouth-watering potential to the table. OK, enough food analogies.
At kicker, sophomore Matthew McCrane is looking to follow up on a wonderful freshman campaign, where he made 18-of-19 field goals. Although departed WR Tyler Lockett was a great return man, his shoes could be filled by slippery CB Morgan Burns.
Team Weaknesses
Kansas State loses not only Lockett to the NFL, but crafty slot receiver Curry Sexton and starting QB Jake Waters. Those bodies won’t be easily replaced.
The QB competition is still hotly-contested between junior Joe Hubener, who was Waters’s backup last season, sophomore Jesse Ertz as well as freshman Alex Delton and JUCO transfer Jonathan Banks.
Snyder and his staff could definitely rely on more than one guy, as scary a proposition as that is. It doesn’t help that this team needs players to emerge at the skill positions – WR, TE and RB. Keep an eye on Dayton Valentine, a freshman TE, and junior tailback Charles Jones to have a more dynamic season.
Snyder’s young men were 24th in the nation in scoring offense a year ago (35.8 ppg average) and look for that metric to regress in 2015.
Someone must step up alongside Lee in the LB corps. The program hopes it’s junior Will Davis, who has the ability to anchor the middle of the defense.
2015-16 Kansas State Wildcats Prediction: 8-4
Conventional wisdom states that the Wildcats would take a drastic step back after all the offensive attrition, but that’s not how a Snyder-coached football team works. There has been more than once that I’ve counted Kansas State out and there’s been more than once that I’ve looked silly.
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KSU has a manageable non-conference schedule and gets TCU, Baylor and Oklahoma in Manhattan. They won’t be better than last year but they should still eke out eight victories.
2015 Wildcats Schedule
9/5/15 7:00 PM S. DAK.
9/12/15 NOON @UTSA
9/19/15 3:00 PM @LA. TECH
10/3/15 TBD @OK. ST.
10/10/15 TBD TCU
10/17/15 TBD OU
10/24/15 TBD @ TEXAS
11/5/15 7:30 PM BAYLOR
11/14/15 TBD @TX. TECH
11/21/15 TBD IA. ST.
11/28/15 TBD @KANS
12/5/15 TBD WVU
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