– Last Updated on July 25, 2018 10:36 am
2018 Football Preview – Big 12 – Wildcats
Looking for 2018 Kansas State Wildcats predictions? It was a pretty typical year for the Wildcats. The Wildcats didn’t get off to the best of starts, but they got better as the season progressed – winning five of their last six games – and they went to a bowl game for the eighth straight year.
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2018-19 College Football Preview – Kansas State Wildcats
Head Coach: Bill Snyder
2017 Record: 8-5
Kansas State Wildcats Odds to win the 2018 FBS Championship: 80/1
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Since Bill Snyder came back from retirement back in 2009, the Wildcats have won at least six game in every year and I don’t expect 2018 to be any different.
The Wildcats should be in the thick of things and be a nuisance for the favorites in the Big 12 as the year unfolds.
2018 Kansas State Predictions: Team Strengths
1-2 Punch: The good news for Kansas State is they have two quarterbacks in Skylar Thompson and Alex Delton. Both played and both started last year and both were effective.
Both are two very dynamic, talented weapons at quarterback. Passing they are both raw and struggled last year, but they can move down the field with their legs.
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Delton nearly led the Wildcats over an upset win over Oklahoma with his 27 carry, 142 yards and three touchdowns performance.
For the bowl game, Delton rushed for 158 yards and three touchdowns carrying the Wildcats over the UCLA Bruins 35-17.
While Delton was hurt towards the end of last year’s regular season, Thompson stepped up and led Kansas State to an upset win on the road versus Oklahoma State. Thanks in large part to his 93 yard, one touchdown performance.
Rock Foundation: Kansas State will have a strong running game. Not only do they have talented quarterbacks who can run, but they bring back halfback Alex Barnes who gained over 800 yards last year and they bring back one of the best offensive lines in all of college football.
Tackle Dalton Risner is the anchor of that line and he has the potential to be one of the first tackles taken in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Offensively, Kansas State should be fine. Throwing the ball might pose a bit of a problem, but offensively this should be a classic Bill Snyder team.
They should run the ball effectively, take the air out of the ball, and control the clock; keep those Big 12 offenses on the sideline.
2018 Kansas State Predictions: Team Weaknesses
Rocky Foundation: Defensively, the Wildcats are losing a lot of bodies; particularly, the front seven. Kansas State’s two leading tacklers, Jayd Kirby and Trent Tanking, have both graduated and Will Geary – the leading sack man last year – graduated, too.
That’s a lot of production to lose at some key spots on the defensive side.
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Typically, this is where Bill Snyder works his magic. He’ll have to plug in some wet-behind-the-ears players and turn them into quality players.
On the offensive side of the ball, Kansas State loses their leading receiver last year in Byron Pringle which will be a much tougher task to replace.
Pringle was a quality receiver and Kansas State’s passing game in general is a bit shaky to begin with. Look for Isaiah Zuber and Dalton Schoen to take on larger roles this year.
Kansas State Prediction: 8-4
This is a pretty solid team all in all and basically a typical Kansas State team. They have plenty of veteran leadership on the offensive side of the ball and they’ll have a lot of green, walk-on, cast out type players on the defensive side of the ball.
Schedule wise, it’s pretty stingy. From top to bottom the Big 12 was strong last year and it should basically be the same this year with some shuffling around.
Oklahoma State might not be as good this year, but Texas will take their place. TCU might not be as good, but expect West Virginia to better; things of that nature.
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Anyway, I digress, Kansas State has the benefit of playing their first three games at home. The wild card game is against Mississippi State which will be one of the most interesting, under-the-radar out of conference games.
After the first three games then things kick off with a bang as Kansas State travels to Morgantown and the Longhorns come to Manhattan.
Those are two very interesting games to start conference play. I could see the Wildcats starting off the year 2-3 or 5-0. There are a wide range of outcomes for those three games in particular. As is usual the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
After that, the Wildcats have to play on the road in three of their next four games. The good news is that they are winnable games. They should beat Baylor and Oklahoma State – which is a home game.
After that game, they get a bye to get ready to play Oklahoma. The Sooners won’t have that luxury; they have to play TCU on the road. So, you never know.
All in all, I’ll say Kansas State finishes off the regular season with an 8-4 record. Which might be too high and it might be too low. There are a ton of swing games for the Wildcats and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of start Kansas State gets off to this year.
2018 Kansas State Football Schedule
- 9/1/18 TBD SD
- 9/8/18 TBD MSU
- 9/15/18 TBD UTSA
- 9/22/18 TBD @WV
- 9/29/18 TBD UT
- 10/6/18 TBD @BU
- 10/13/18 TBD OKST
- 10/27/18 TBD @OU
- 11/3/18 TBD @TCU
- 11/10/18 TBD KAN
- 11/17/18 TBD TT
- 11/24/18 TBD @IST
What do you think about our 2018 Kansas State Wildcats predictions? Please leave us a comment below telling us how you think they’ll do in 2018!
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