Mourning the loss of offensive line coach Shawn Clark, the UCF Knights begin Big 12 Conference play with their first road game of the season in one of the most difficult places to play in the league, as UCF heads
to Manhattan, Kansas, to face the surprisingly struggling Kansas State Wildcats.
Let’s get up to speed on the ’Cats:
Gameday Info
- Kickoff: Saturday, September 27th, noon ET (11 a.m. local time)
- Location: Bill Snyder Family Stadium Manhattan, Kansas
- TV: FS1
- Spread: K-State -6.5 (ESPN)
- Weather: 84°, sunny and gorgeous — Accuweather
Series
Leader: K-State leads 2-0. Both games were in Manhattan.
Last Meeting: 2023 — K-State 44, UCF 31.
It was UCF’s inaugural game as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The Knights kept pace much of the night behind Timmy McClain and RJ Harvey, leading 24-21 in the third. But QB Will Howard and RB DJ Giddens wore down the Knights in the second half, scoring 23 unanswered to put it out of reach.
About the Wildcats
Record: 1-3
Last Week: Lost at Arizona 23-17
K-State started the season at #17 in the preseason rankings, but their misfortune started with a Week 0 loss in Ireland to Iowa State in an international edition of Farmageddon.
Since then, they’ve only won one game, and that was by three points to FCS South Dakota. They lost to Army by three, right after Army lost to FCS Tarleton State.
Last week, K-State had their chances on the road but could not capitalize against Arizona. This will be the Cats’ conference home opener.
Head Coach: Chris Klieman
Klieman is 121-44 for his career but 49-31 since coming to Manhattan after four FCS national titles in five years at North Dakota State.
He’s won 9 games each of the past three seasons, but a rough start to this season has K-State fans asking questions.
In his press conference, he paid tribute to UCF’s late OL coach Shawn Clark off the top.
K-State Offense
Key Player: QB Avery Johnson
- 6-3, 196 lb. Junior from Wichita, Kansas
- 2025: 60.6% (77/127), 851 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT, 62 rushing yards and 2 TDs
The highly touted Johnson remains a key dual threat in the best of times. However, he has struggled in the last two games, being held to just 88 yards through the air and -16 on the ground against Arizona.
Other Guys to Watch
- Leading Rusher: #4 Joe Jackson — 30 rushes, 136 yards, 4.5 yards/rush, 0 TD
- Leading Receiver: #1 Jayce Brown — 25 catches, 284 yards, 2 TD
K-State Defense
Key Player: LB Austin Romaine
- 6-2, 245 Junior from Hillsboro, Missouri
- 2025: 37 tackles (23 solo), one pass defended
Romaine is the key man in the middle for K-State’s defense, which has been good agains the pass but highly susceptible against the run. He recorded 96 tackles last season and was second-team All-Big 12.
Other Guys to Watch
- Leader in Sacks: #44 Tobi Osunsanmi — 16 tackles, three sacks, one fumble recovery
- Leader in Passes Defended: #25 Zashon Rich — 19 tackles, five passes defended
The More You Know…
- The OGs out here will remember the first time UCF went to Manhattan in 2010, if nothing else than for this:
