Football season is just around the corner, and the Kansas State Wildcats are gearing up for an exciting year. The team is still under head coach, Chris Klieman, who is known for his strong defensive strategy, which was a welcomed change for the Wildcats in 2019.
The team also has offensive coordinator, Collin Klein, who as a younger coach and former K-State QB, is a player’s coach. The Wildcats have high hopes for the upcoming season. With a strong coaching staff and a talented team of players, the Wildcats are sure to make it to another bowl game.
That said, they need to improve significantly during in-conference play. Their record wasn’t woeful, as they won all of their non-conference matchups last year, finishing 8-5 overall. But their 4-5 conference record found them left wanting in the BIG12.
Recruiting should help them do just that. Although it won’t impact the team this season, the Kansas State Wildcats got a hard verbal commitment from Jackson Fullmer. The 6-foot-5 267 young man is set to graduate with the high school class of 2023. He’s a 3-star outside tackle with a high ceiling. With his potential, Jackson Fullmer had the Arizona State Sun Devils, Boise State Broncos, Oregon State, Washington State, and others recruiting him. However, he went with the Wildcats, and they’re excited to have him.
According to Rivals.com, Jackson Fullmer made several trips to the Manhattan campus and worked with Conner Riley, the offensive line coach. If the Wildcats keep up this type of wire-to-wire recruiting, they’ll be in a very good place in the near future.
Wildcats 2022 Preseason Strength of Schedule
The 2022-2023 season is going to be packed with drama. The Big12 is always a crazy ride and this year is no different in that regard. On the bright side, the Kansas State Wildcats don’t have the toughest of schedules. They are currently ranked with the No. 40 most difficult schedule in the FBS. They are just ahead of (or behind, depending on how you look at it) the Oklahoma Sooners, who have the 41st toughest schedule.
Speaking of Oklahoma, the Wildcats face them on September 24th, during Week 4. This will be a tough game, as it’s at OU Memorial Stadium. However, Kansas State should come into that game with a couple of wins, perhaps even undefeated. The Wildcats open their season at home against the South Dakota Coyotes on September 3rd, the Missouri Tigers on the 10th, then head to Tulane on the 17th.
Missouri will be their toughest opponent in those first three games, but the Wildcats should come in as –7 home favorites at outlets like BetMGM Kansas. The OU game is another story. Kansas State has to travel to Oklahoma and play in a tough environment against the team with the 8th best preseason FPI in NCAAF. The Sooners currently sit with an FPI of 14.9 against the Wildcats’ FPI of 6.0. When we add in home-field advantage, it’s likely we’ll see OU as a double-digit favorite—perhaps OU -10.
But even if the Wildcats lose to Oklahoma, starting the season 3-1 isn’t too bad. After that, they’ll host the Red Raiders of Texas Tech, which is a more than winnable game and as long as K-State doesn’t completely flop in the first four games, they should come in as home favorites.
The next really tough game is over in Jack Trice Stadium against the Iowa State Cyclones. My early handicapping of this game puts the Cyclones at -5.5 favorites. This is far from a defeat set in stone. However, it is the beginning of a difficult five-game stretch that will test the 2022 Kansas State Wildcats. They face Iowa State, then TCU, both on the road. Before coming home to play against a tough Oklahoma State Cowboys team. On November 5th, they host an even tougher Texas Longhorns team before traveling to play against a high-scoring Baylor Bears, then turning the corner to head all the way over to West Virginia to face the Mountaineers. I believe the Wildcats should win that game and will be listed as slight road favorites, or worst case, a pick ‘em. Still, they will be beaten up and tired from playing four smash-mouth games in a row against tough teams.
How Many Wins Will K-State Get?
Kansas State has a fairly difficult schedule. It’s on the wrong side of 61 (the halfway point between the 122 teams). Because of this, the bar is set pretty low with bookmakers in Vegas setting the line at OVER/UNDER 6.5 wins. That said, the OVER is currently at -160, meaning they have juiced the lineup because they think there is a good chance K-State wins at least seven games.
I have to agree. They won eight games last year, I don’t see them taking a significant step backward. Oklahoma is set at 9.5, so, unfortunately, I don’t think the Wildcats are going to push nine wins or more. But I do think they’ll get seven, possibly eight in 2022. And with the type of wire-to-wire recruiting they are doing, that number could go up in 2023 and 2024.