This game will be different for the Kansas State football team.
The Wildcats will get their first afternoon kickoff of the entire season when they head to Houston for a 2:30 p.m. game on Saturday against the Cougars at TDECU Stadium.
K-State has only played two other games before sunset this year, and they were the first two games on the schedule. The Wildcats opened against Tennessee-Martin in the evening and then played Tulane in the morning. It’s been nothing but late games ever since.
That has led to several jokes within the K-State football facility this week.
What will it be like to wake up early for a game? Does anyone remember what it’s like playing under the sun?
Those changes are unlikely to matter in the grand scheme of things, but K-State will have to follow a different routine leading up to this kickoff.
Here’s everything you need to know about the game …
No. 15 Kansas State at Houston
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: TDECU Stadium in Houston
TV/stream: FOX
Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City, KFH (1240 AM and 97.5 FM) in Wichita
The line: Kansas State by 13.5 with an O/U of 45.5.
K-State game prediction
Motivation could be an underrated part of this game.
Kansas State is coming off not one, not two, but three straight emotionally draining victories over Colorado, West Virginia and Kansas. Do the Wildcats have enough maturity to get up for another game and play with maximum energy against a mediocre opponent?
Houston is oddly in a similar situation. The Cougars are fresh off a big win of their own against Utah. Willie Fritz’s team hasn’t played well in back-to-back games all season.
After their first two wins, they came out the next week and lost 34-0 at Cincinnati and 42-14 at Kansas. Do they have enough talent and focus to throw a scare into a superior opponent?
It’s impossible to know how either team will handle this game.
On paper, though, K-State should have lots of advantages.
Houston has the worst passing offense in the Big 12 at 153.7 yards per game. That suggests it will have trouble exploiting K-State’s secondary the way other high-octane offenses in the Big 12 have been able to do in recent weeks. But the Cougars aren’t that much better on the ground, as they are averaging 147.9 rushing yards per game.
The Cougars were able to beat the Utes by rushing for 228 yards and scoring 17 points last week. That strategy won’t work against a K-State defense that is stout against the run or a K-State offense that has averaged 36.8 points during its current four-game winning streak.
K-State should win this game if the Wildcats don’t make many mistakes.
They have the better offense, the better defense and the better quarterback. Chris Klieman and Willie Fritz are both excellent coaches, but K-State gets the edge there, too, because Klieman has been in Manhattan for six seasons, while this is Year 1 for Fritz in Houston.
I won’t be surprised if Houston finds a way to make this game ugly and perhaps more competitive than some expect, but K-State will find a way to win by at least two scores.
Kansas State 30, Houston 13
Last week’s prediction: K-State 34, KU 28
Actual score: K-State 29, KU 27
Season record: 6-2
Season record ATS: 5-3
Season record O/U: 4-4
