Yeah, it’s early in the season but that’s not the reason why tonight’s game is so huge. We are not going through a blah weekend like last weekend, which turned out to be surprisingly tasty. Nope, it’s the biggest because it’s the most anticipated game since the end of last year. It has the highly ranked Auburn Tigers going to Manhattan, Kansas to play the ranked Kansas State Wildcats. Buckle up….
Continue reading Pick It And Stick It: Where The Biggest Game Is On A Thursday
I grew up in Kansas, but I’m no farmer. Shocking right? Well not really, but I have grown to love the rivalry that started all Great Plains rivalries. Yup, I’m talking about Farmageddon. It’s yearly tradition where Kansas State takes on Iowa State. It’s also very early in the year. It’s like getting up at the crack of dawn for the college football year’s day. There’s other games, too so let’s get started. Continue reading Pick It And Stick It: Morning Farm Time
Hey it’s another year of football for Kansas State and it’s a weird time to be a fan. Usually Kansas State comes in underpicked, underestimated, and just generally dumped on. Welp this year is different. The Wildcats ended the year strong with an even stronger win over Michigan in the bowl game. Now all of the sudden the pundits and spineless sports media are picking Kansas State to finish well.
It’s a weird feeling. If any fan, and team, watches and plays better with a chip on their shoulder, it’s Kansas State. So now it’s time to act like we’ve been there. Yes, we have, but that added extra juice of being the underdog is gone. What’s a K-Stater to do? I guess the best thing is to do what got you to this point.
For us fans, that means cheering loud and staying proud. Pretty easy. For the football team, that means Jake Waters tossing bombs to Tyler Lockett. That’s pretty easy, too, actually. It helps that there’s this sexy stats the pundits refer to that each returning Wildcat quarterback leads the team to 11 wins (minus the early Snyder teams). So Jake Waters has that going for him.
You know what else he has going for him? Collin Klein. No no, he’s not playing for the team again, he’s COACHING them. While you can’t teach those kind of running instincts, Collin Klein can at least give direction. And that’s exactly what he’s doing with Jake Waters. Dark horse Heisman right there. I expect Jake Waters to do great, great things this year. More so than Tyler Lockett, although he’s right up there.
The offense sort of has questions elsewhere. There’s a decent group of wide receivers coming back, even though Daniel Sams took off after losing the quarterback job. The running back situation will be a committee until someone shows up. I hope its fast. There’s a polarized set of experience on the offense line and I hope they gel fast too.
I’m not sure what’s up on defense. Ryan Mueller is the man on the defense line (and former St. Thomas Aquinas alum, like me). That’s about all I know. There’s a couple of JUCO transfers that will help out immediately and we’ll have to see what the team looks like when they take the field today. Chances are, they will be fundamentally sound but not the biggest and fasted. Just like the last couple of years.
So speaking of games, how do I see the Wildcats this year? After last year’s fist game turd, I expect them to punch the ball in quicker and grow a bigger lead in the first half against Stephen F. Austin and then let up on the peddle a bit. They won’t be vanilla the whole game. Not with what’s coming up next.
Right after that, it’s a brutal stretch. Farmageddon is next, then Auburn. Iowa State will be better on the offensive side of the ball now that they got Mark Mangino as the offensive coordinator. And it’s on the road. Even though it wasn’t close last year, it will be this year. Kansas State will win.
Auburn is the big tomato. At least it’s in Manhattan. I get the feel from Tigers fans that they are scared about this one. They should be. But for some reason, all of the hype surrounding Kansas State this year has at least alerted them to the danger that is the Wildcats. Which means the team will be ready. Will Kansas State be ready? Yes. Will they lose? Unfortunately, yes.
So what does the rest of the schedule look like? Let’s run it down. They come back down to Earth and beat up UTEP. Texas Tech is in Manhattan so that’s a Wildcat victory. That Oklahoma game is a toss up because they are getting overrated too. I’m going with a loss there. They will beat Texas and Oklahoma State in Manhattan. They will beat TCU and West Virginia on the road. They will roll Kansas.
So that leaves Baylor. On the road. Hey guess what? I’m going to the game! New stadium. Last game of the year. Will it be for the Big 12 title? I sure hope so. My guess is that it will have huge implications on the Big 12 title. That’s good enough for me. Because I just don’t think Kansas State can keep up with Baylor.
Which means I’m pretty much going chalk this year. Weak, isn’t it? That’s what happens when the hype matches where I actually think the team will be, which is about 3rd in the conference with 3 losses. Now what bowl game that will be, I don’t know. I hope it’s close to Austin so I can finally see the Wildcats in a bowl. But until then, I’ll keep cheering loud and staying proud. Go Wildcats!
It’s an easy method to take advantage of. Yesterday in my Dart Picks for the year, I explained that I was too busy/lazy to get anything together. That helped me avoid the blowout out by (shudders) Kenny Football and Texas A&M over South Carolina. I’m already up on the year! Let’s see what that cache will garnish me here for the rest of the kickoff weekend. Continue reading Pick It and Stick It 2014 Week 01: I Saved Faced By Waiting Until Today
I can’t ever remember having this many contests going on for a Thursday night like this that meant so much. So now we have it. We get Baylor taking on Oklahoma and then Oregon taking on Stanford. What a meaty plate. It’s good thing we’re getting a day’s rest on Friday before another serving Saturday. That plate won’t be light either, with Kansas State cow cooking and some SEC sausage to gnaw. Why am I so hungy? I should be out on the unofficial start of the college football weekend. Continue reading Pick It And Stick It: The Unofficial Start Of The Weekend
Yes, Kansas State won yesterday. They have to fight their way to a bowl game and the win over West Virginia helped. These rebels are coming on strong. Watch me talk about that and Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Farmageddon, Texas Tech, Kliff Kingsbury, Oklahoma, Baylor, Kansas, Big 12, Texas, TCU, South Carolina, Missouri, SEC East, Tremaine Thompson, and Tyeler Lockett. Continue reading Purple Yeti Roar 92: A New Hope
Time to dust to cobwebs again. This time, I was actually at a football stadium to watch live college football! So I don’t travel as much anymore which means that it was again at Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium. And yes, it was again Kansas State taking on the Texas Longhorns. While the outcome was different, the tailgating was not and it still made for a fantastic experience. Continue reading Stadiumspotting Was Back At Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium
Last week wasn’t too hot for me but at least I had the Game of the Century of the Week called. In fact, there were so many great games last week, I almost didn’t mind that I did pretty dang poorly in the picks. Well, I hope this week I hit hard on my picks because the slate of games looks pretty dang dry. Let’s see what we got. Continue reading Pick It and Stick It: Coming Up Dry
So it’s getting amazingly close to the first whistle of the year and it’s time now that I take a moment and peer into the crystal punch bowl to predict Kansas State’s football season. I’ve learned alot down here in Austin after living here for a little more than 3 years. One of the things happens to be pride. So I’m taking my pride in Kansas State and leaning on that hard coming into this year. Everyone else says they will fall back down below the middle of the pack. Is that the case?
Okay so yeah, they lose Heisman runner Collin Klein and a bunch of starters from last year, mostly on defense. That makes it easy for the naysayers of last year to come back even louder this year and say that the Wildcats will be down. Why are we even listening to this naysayers, er, sports media types? Welp, they have the bullhorn by the horn and won’t let go. They say that no one knows anything about the kids coming in to replace the starters. Is it that bad?
Well typically when you lose starters, you lose a ton of experience which does count way more college football than in the pros. So the argument might be pretty tight. But this is a Bill Snyder coached football team. He will find a way to get the best out of his youngsters at whatever position he plunks them down at. How come we’ve never heard of Collin Klein, Darren Sproles, or Michael Bishop before they played Kansas State? Because they get their name wearing the purple. The naysayers never predict that.
Yet I couldn’t predict what is happening at the quarterback position. Going into this year, I thought it was all Daniel Sams. But then all of the sudden, this Jake Waters kid comes into the picture. He had a career in the JUCO area not unlike a one Michael Bishop and his name was being talked about amongst the naysayers. Ruh roh. Do I smell trouble with this? Maybe a little. Coach Snyder announced him as the starter coming into this weekend. That could mean it’s his all the way or it’s Sams to catch up and take. I’ll be there at DKR to see who won.
Looking at the schedule, that big conference opening game will tell us alot. It will tell us just how good the fresh new defense is. It will tell us who the solid quarterback is. It will tell us if Kansas State has a shot to repeat. Thank goodness it’s against Texas. That bottle is almost empty and the magic is about to run out. I’m hoping for one more huge squeeze to give a go in my new-ish hometown of Austin. Before I run down the rest of the schedule, let me talk a bit about the defense.
Yes, they lost a ton of kids. But they also have some experience coming back, most notably Ty Zimmerman. I’m not entirely dumb enough to think that the defense will actually be weaker this year, but for some reason I’m thinking it will be enough. The two quarterback race tells me almost instantly that Kansas State may actually produce as much or even more than last year. Especially if Waters can really throw. So, yeah, they can be down on defense but the offense is already in motion to catch up.
No need to talk about the special teams. It’s the best in the Big 12 period. Thanks Tyler Lockett.
Now on to the schedule: The first two games are actually tough. They get North Dakota State and UL-Lafayette, both fairly tough tiny schools. If they can come out of that alive, they can take out Umass. I’m smelling a very heart attack inducing 3-0 start. Next up is Texas. They will beat Texas. I will say that until it stops. Oklahoma State will be tough and so will Baylor. Kansas State gets Baylor at home. Revenge for that one but I think they lose to the Pokes, it’s just too much. West Virginia will want revenge but I think we take them. Iowa State will be close as usual and seeing as its at home, I gotta give it to the Wildcats. Texas Tech has a new coach so I don’t know what to expect. I will go with Kansas State. TCU and Oklahoma will beat Kansas State. There’s too much defense and talent. Finally, Kansas State beats up on Kansas again.
Final Prediction: 9-3 with a bowl spot again and win to be 10-3
The ones I’m not entirely sure of are Texas and Iowa State. Those could go either way. I’m sure I’ll eat crow on one of those. But for the time being, it looks like the champ will fall back. Just not as far back as others are claiming. It’s time for another football season so let’s strap it up, EMAW Nation!
I’m having a hard time adjusting to Kansas State’s #1 BCS ranking. It’s a great but unusual feeling. I know alot of you aren’t used to it either. So take a breath and help me cope with the success. This week I’ll talk about that as well as TCU, Tyler Lockett, Ty Zimmerman, Collin Klein, Oregon, California, Notre Dame, Boston College, Alabama, Texas A&M, SEC, Big 12, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa State, Darrel K Royal, Baylor, Texas Tech, Kansas, and the BCS. Continue reading Purple Yeti Roar 43: Number One With A Purple Bullet
People are saying that it’s all down hill from here. For Kansas State that is. They put a whuppin’ on West Virginia and now everyone else on schedule will be easy walkings. Okay so the same people who are saying that were talking up that same West Virginia. I’m not falling for it. Most Kansas State fans won’t either. It’s a new week of college football and it just keeps getting tougher and tougher. Continue reading Pick It And Stick It: Rolling Down The HIll
Alright I’m finally recovered from the long trip enough to pop back up and give y’all meager roar of the weekend that was in college football. This week I’m talking about Kansas State, West Virginia, Oregon, Mississippi State, Alabama, Big 12, SEC, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Bill Snyder, Texas Tech, Tommy Tubberville, Seth Doege, Collin Klein, and Tyler Lockett
Ho man, finally we get into the meat of college football. Last week, it was trap time. Now it’s the real deal. I can’t keep my homer-ism down. I’m full tilt on Kansas State vs Oklahoma this weekend. And what’s about to launch me out of my chair is that we are also treated to Notre Dame vs Michigan. It’s a shame they are on at the same time. Yup, it’s gonna to be a massive weekend and I’ll try to pick and stick my way through it. Continue reading Pick It And Stick It: Sensory Overload Weekend
Another year of Kansas State football is upon us and there’s some weird mixed feelings going on. Maybe not in Manhattan, but certainly down here in Austin and in this Purple Yeti’s abode. You see, part of me wants to believe that Kansas State will improve upon its amazing record from last year, but another wants to believe in the negative hype the so called sports media jams down my throat. Is everyone writing off Kansas State too easily, or will reality hit hard for the little Wildcats from the Little Apple? Continue reading Kansas State Football Preview 2012: Always The Underdog
Ahahah ho man. I couldn’t resist that pun for Alabama’s BCS Championship trophy breakage this week. There were other things going on as well. Among the other stories that broke (ba doom ching): Kansas and all it’s Domer Glory, the Cy-Hawk Trophy is back to being cool, Barry Sanders (I said Foster HA) comes back from my childhood, Tyler Lockett practices full speed for Kansas State, an Auburn fan gets punched, and Oliver Luck wants it big. Let’s shuffle through the damage. Continue reading Purple Yeti Roar 13: I Hate To Break It To Ya