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topicnews · August 27, 2024

Four bold predictions for the 2024 season

Four bold predictions for the 2024 season

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MANHATTAN – The Kansas State football team had high hopes last year of returning to the Big 12 championship game and repeating its 2022 title.

While the Wildcats’ failure to achieve that goal with a 6-3 conference record and 9-4 overall record was disappointing, it made Kansas State even more determined to bounce back in 2024.

The Wildcats set the tone with their 28-19 victory over North Carolina in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in December, led by an MVP performance from true freshman quarterback Avery Johnson in his first career start.

K-State isn’t the only one setting the bar high for the upcoming season, which begins Saturday at 6 p.m. at Bill Snyder Family Stadium against Tennessee-Martin. With six starters back on offense and eight on defense, the Wildcats were ranked well in both national preseason polls, finishing second in the Big 12.

As we count down the final days until the opening game, here are four bold predictions for the 2024 Wildcats.

Related: Joe Klanderman ensures that Kansas State Football’s defense continues to develop

Related: Kansas State football earns more respect for the team than for the individual in Big 12 preseason polls

Kansas State football will not be left off the Big 12 All-Conference team

As the Big 12 expands to 16 teams, it will be more difficult to get recognition in all conferences, and not a single Wildcat was named to the preseason team.

The Wildcats lost two first-team All-Conference picks in Offensive Lineman of the Year Cooper Beebe and Tight End Ben Sinnott and will rely on their depth and experience to pull through, but if they meet expectations as a team, individual accolades are sure to follow.

Johnson is an obvious candidate on offense if he has a standout season, and junior running back DJ Giddens ran for 1,226 yards with 10 touchdowns last year. Guard Hadley Panzer is a three-year starter on the offensive line.

On defense, third-year starter Austin Moore was named to the second team last year and has led the Wildcats in tackles the past two seasons. Cornerback Jacob Parrish, safety Marques Sigle and defensive end Brendan Mott could also easily break out if they build on last year’s success.

Related: Kansas State football coaches are optimistic about their young and talented defensive ends

The number of Wildcats sacks will increase by committee

For a team that recorded a measly 25 sacks last season, the fact that the two players responsible for 10 of them are missing may seem alarming.

Khalid Duke, a second-team all-conference selection, led the Wildcats with six sacks last year, and Nate Matlack took his four sacks into the transfer portal, leaving senior Cody Stufflebean’s two as the best among the returning ends.

That’s the bad news. With Duke and Matlack gone, the defensive end position is perhaps K-State’s strongest and certainly deepest, led by super senior Brendan Mott and fifth-year senior Stufflebean. Add in sophomores Tobi Osunsanmi, a converted linebacker, and Travis Bates, who transferred from Austin Peay, as well as talented redshirt freshmen Chiddi Obiazor, Ryan Davis and Jordan Allen, and the Wildcats have options galore.

Mott had just one sack as a starter last season, but had six in 2022 while playing alongside Felix Anudike-Uzomah. Osunsanmi is an exceptional athlete with speed at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, and Bates had three sacks as a redshirt freshman at Austin Peay last year. The emergence of Obiazor, Davis and Allen should only increase the total.

While it’s doubtful the team record of 52.5 sacks in a season will fall in 2003, the Wildcats should easily surpass last year’s record even if no one tops Duke’s individual mark. A more realistic goal would be to finish in the top 10, which would mean matching the 1994 overall record of 36.

Related: Kansas State football coaches take a “less is more” approach to new helmet communication

Expect more turnovers from K-State this season

To their credit, the offense did a good job of securing the ball, but K-State’s defense more than did its job, and the Wildcats led the Big 12 in turnover percentage last season at plus-11, or plus-0.85 per game.

K-State forced 23 turnovers, second only to Oklahoma’s 26 among teams that played 13 games — Texas had 24 in 14 games — while the offense allowed just 12 turnovers. The Wildcats are tied for the league lead with 10 turnovers and have had 13 interceptions.

An experienced secondary that returns four of five starters should increase the interception total. Parrish led the team with four last year and Sigle reportedly piled up plenty of them in preseason training camp. Returning linebackers Moore and Desmond Purnell, who forced three fumbles, should help increase that total.

Related: Joe Klanderman ensures that Kansas State Football’s defense continues to develop

Beating the over-under win rate of 9.5 is a big challenge

If all goes well, the Wildcats could be favorites to win all 12 regular-season games. But reaching 10 wins would mean they reach that number for only the second time in five years under Chris Klieman, and that would require a win in the conference championship game.

The Wildcats have won consistently in those five seasons, reaching eight wins every time except for one, with the lone exception of a 4-6 record during Covid in 2020. But only the 2022 conference championship team reached double digits.

K-State also has six road games, including a non-conference game at Tulane and a trip to Iowa State to close out the regular season. On the plus side, they avoid preseason favorite Utah altogether and face rivals Arizona, Oklahoma State and Kansas at home.

However, a record of 9-3 in the regular season is more realistic.

Arne Green lives in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett Network. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

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