Kansas State football has two bye weeks this season and the first one comes this weekend. After a 42-20 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday, K-State sits at 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in the Big 12.
The Wildcats still have a shot to make the Big 12 championship game, but they might have to win out to do it. In this week’s column, I will analyze the early Big 12 football season and K-State’s place in it.
This is my “Bye Week No. 1” reset of the 2024 K-State football season.
Here are the current Big 12 standings heading into Week 6:
- BYU 5-0 (2-0)
- Colorado 4-1 (2-0)
- Texas Tech 4-1 (2-0)
- Iowa State 4-0 (1-0)
- Arizona 3-1 (1-0)
- West Virginia 2-2 (1-0)
- K-State 4-1 (1-1)
- Utah 4-1 (1-1)
- UCF 3-1 (1-1)
- Cincinnati 3-2 (1-1)
- TCU 3-2 (1-1)
- Arizona State 3-1 (0-1)
- Oklahoma State 3-2 (0-2)
- Baylor 2-3 (0-2)
- Houston 1-4 (0-2)
- Kansas 1-4 (0-2)
Initial Thoughts Ahead of Week 6
Someone’s Gotta Run the Table
The top two preseason favorites to win the Big 12, K-State and Utah, each have one loss. I believe an undefeated or one-loss conference record will be needed to make the conference championship game, meaning both teams must run the table to make it.
Shaky Start in Stillwater
Oklahoma State starting 0-2 in conference season is surprising, but the losses were to K-State and Utah. Oklahoma State will win some games coming up, so I am not counting them out yet.
Undefeated Teams Will Fall
Of the remaining undefeated teams, I believe it is unlikely that any of them will run the table and finish the season without a conference loss. BYU still has to play Arizona, Oklahoma State, and Utah. Colorado still has K-State, Arizona, Texas Tech, Utah, and Oklahoma State. Texas Tech still has Iowa State, Colorado, Oklahoma State, and West Virginia. Iowa State still has West Virginia, Texas Tech, Utah, and K-State. Arizona still has BYU, Colorado, and West Virginia. West Virginia still has Oklahoma State, Iowa State, K-State, Arizona, and Texas Tech.
Please Don’t Make Me Use the Tiebreaker Scenarios…
Potential tiebreaker scenarios in the final couple of weeks of the season might give me a headache. There may be two or three teams with two losses at the top of the conference standings when all is said and done.
Analyzing the Rest of K-State’s Schedule
@ Colorado
This game will be a challenge, but I expect K-State to win. Colorado has beaten two of the worst teams in the league, UCF and Baylor, and they needed overtime to beat Baylor. Nebraska defeated the Buffaloes 28 to 10. I don’t think Colorado is as good as their record indicates.
@ West Virginia
I am still not sure how good West Virginia is. They got destroyed by Penn State, lost to Pitt, and barely beat Kansas. I like K-State’s chances.
Kansas
This game looks much easier than it did before the season started. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, K-State gets the win.
@ Houston
Houston hasn’t scored a point since September 14th, getting shutout by Cincinnati and Iowa State in successive weeks. This game shouldn’t be a problem.
Arizona State
Arizona State struggled to beat Texas State by three points a couple of weeks ago. A K-State win is likely.
Cincinnati
Cincinnati beat Houston and lost to Texas Tech, but hasn’t beaten anyone of note this season. A K-State win is likely.
@ Iowa State
I think K-State, and maybe Iowa State as well, will be playing for a spot in the Big 12 championship game in this last game of the regular season.
Conclusion
Not much has changed from my preseason assessment of K-State’s 2024 football season. I didn’t see the BYU loss coming, but I don’t think West Virginia is as good as I thought they were. The Wildcats still appear to be one of the top contenders in the Big 12 and have a good shot to play in Arlington on December 7th.
