3-2-1: Over or under 9.5 Kansas State wins

It is time for the Kansas State edition of the 3-2-1 feature.

THREE THINGS WE LEARNED ABOUT KANSAS STATE

1. NFL Combine: Four Kansas State players were invited to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine just before the 2024 NFL Draft. We’ll see all of Cooper Beebe, Ben Sinnott, KT Leveston and Khalid Duke competing in Indianapolis.
2. Third loss: Unfortunately, K-State dropped their third conference loss of the season in the return of Ayoka Lee. That places them in a tie for second with Texas, but both the Longhorns and Wildcats are now two games behind Oklahoma. Much work remains for Jeff Mittie and his Kansas State bunch.
3. Scholarships: According to our sources, three K-State walk-ons are now on scholarship in linebacker Beau Palmer, offensive lineman Sam Hecht and receiver Ty Bowman. Palmer played a scholarship worthy amount of snaps a season ago, Hecht is trending towards competing for the center job this upcoming season and Bowman likely replaces Seth Porter as one of the leaders on the special teams unit.

TWO QUESTIONS

1. First commit: While many teams already hold a 2025 football commit, Kansas State does not. That does not mean they are in a difficult spot or struggling in that regard, as they do sit in a favorable position for many of their top targets, but nobody has broken the seal on entering the class. Once the first one pops, more could soon follow, though. When does it happen and who will it be? That is anyone’s guess at this point. A few to keep in mind are running back Monterrio Elston, offensive linemen Brock Heath, Lucas Allgeyer and Broderick Shull, defensive lineman Kade Pietrzak and cornerback Graceson Littleton. Yes, I left off Linkon Cure. The Wildcats are fine there but I’m not sure a decision is imminent.
2. NIL war chest: In the current era of college athletics, mining the transfer portal can require a pretty loaded NIL war chest. And quite frankly, it sounds like K-State will need to allocate a handful of spots to targets from that pool of talent. Will they have the resources to compete at a high level for some of the best players available? That is a large reason you’re seeing a major push from Gene Taylor and the Kansas State athletic department, Curry Sexton and WildcatNIL and even head coach Jerome Tang.

ONE K-STATE PREDICTION

1. Over: The K-State win total for the 2024 football season has already been set, and the number is 9.5. That’s larger than usual but gone from the Big 12 are Texas and Oklahoma. That 9.5 number is tied for highest in the Big 12 with Utah. I’m going with the over at this moment. The Wildcats may be favored in every single game, and Avery Johnson is producing a lot of hype around Manhattan from many corners of college football. Kansas State coaches do not seem too concerned about diffusing it. That tells me they believe he can handle it and is up to the task of living up to it.

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