Well, we’ve had a few days to digest the disaster of last Saturday, about which we will not speak. Now it’s time to move on. With any luck, K-State will repeat its last performance against this week’s foe.
No, we mean the one last year, not the one last week. Let’s not do that one again.
The Game
The Kansas State Wildcats (1-2, 0-1 Big 12) visit the Arizona Wildcats (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) in a non-conference game between conference foes.
Arizona has a 5-2-1 series lead on the Good Cats, with one of those losses coming
in the first half of this home-and-home agreement last year. That game was also on a Friday night, in Manhattan, with K-State posting a 31-7 beatdown which sent Arizona — considered one of the potential challengers for the Big 12 title — careening toward a 4-8 season.
Very little of that was quarterback Noah Fifita’s fault. Arizona’s problem last year was that they couldn’t run the ball and couldn’t stop anyone on defense. Neither of those things appear to be a problem this year. The Desert Cats have stomped both Hawai’i and Weber State; the latter is an FCS team so whatever, but Hawai’i is 2-1 with a close win over Stanford and a not-so-close win over Sam Houston State. Neither Hawai’i nor Weber found the end zone, and Arizona’s run for 333 yards in two games.
Gotta be honest with you, friends: on paper, especially with K-State’s flaws the last three weeks, this doesn’t look promising.
Kickoff
Friday, September 12, 8:00pm CT at Arizona Stadium (50,800) in Tucson, Arizona.
Tickets
If you’re going to be in Tucson, secondary market tickets can be had for the mid $30s, or you can blow a grand on seats that aren’t worth a grand. Median price, however, is around $60, and that includes some pretty good seating on the K-State sideline. (As we write, there’s a pair of tickets in the second row at the 50-yard-line for $56, so there’s some deals there.)
Weather
It’s going to be hot. Partly cloudy and mid-90s through the afternoon, but hey, it’s a dry heat (humidity around 25%). Once the gates open, the temperature will have started falling, but it’s still expected to be 92° at kickoff, and still in the mid-80s at game’s end.
Odds
Despite everything, K-State opened as a 2.5-point favorite. DraftKings now has it as -1.5, with the over at 54.5. A glance at the calculator says that’s a 28-26 win for the Purple Cats. The money line is -115 for K-State, -105 for Arizona. When both teams are posting a negative money line, it’s a true toss-up. Oddshark’s computer is completely broken, projecting a 44-3 win for K-State. Yes, you read that right.
Television
FOX, with the stellar Jason Benetti, the iffy Robert Griffin III, and Alexa Landestoy on the call.
Radio
As always, Wyatt Thompson, Stan Weber, and Matt Walters will be on hand on the K-State Sports Network as well as via satellite on SiriusXM 381.
Internet Streaming
The game will stream on FOX Sports (cable or satellite subscription required). Audio available via kstatesports.com. Live stats provided by StatBroadcast.
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