Bill Snyder is one of these coaches who simply won't step away from the game. And why should he? He's had a tremendous degree of success with the Kansas State Wildcats over the years, and he's got a team which could end up being sneaky in the Big XII in 2016.
Kansas State Wildcats Regular Season Win Total Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kansas State Over 5.5 Wins ( -120 )
Kansas State Under 5.5 Wins ( -110 )
The Wildcats are going to be looked upon as a big disappointment waiting to happen this year offensively. They had a woeful passing attack last year, and on paper, there shouldn't be a ton to change that. That said, Jesse Ertz was lost to a season-ending ACL injury on the first drive of the year, and we have to wonder if his return is going to be a big boost to an otherwise generally anemic passing game.
Most of the rest of the skill players of note are back from last year, but the offensive line is a real issue. Four of the five starters from a unit which was quite good last year are gone, and there's some revamping which surely needs to take place.
Snyder's calling card has been his defense in recent years, and a front seven which returns six of its starters from a year ago and a secondary which returns a number of players who were injured for much of last season should end up helping out a lot. This unit allowed 285.5 passing yards per game, but that was thanks to the fact that the secondary was largely forced to go three deep on the depth chart. Playing against the elite passing games of the Big XII didn't help matters any either.
2016 Kansas State Wildcats Football Schedule
September 2 – at Stanford
September 17 – vs. Florida Atlantic
September 24 – vs. Missouri State
October 1 – at West Virginia
October 8 – vs. Texas Tech
October 15 – at Oklahoma
October 22 – vs. Texas
October 29 – at Iowa State
November 5 – vs. Oklahoma State
November 19 – at Baylor
November 26 – vs. Kansas
December 3 – at TCU
Take away a home game against Kansas and the end of this schedule is a nightmare for the Wildcats. They have to play Oklahoma State, Baylor and TCU in November and December, and there aren't many teams which have to play more difficult dockets than that. Throw in road games against Stanford, Oklahoma and West Virginia, and you've got the makings of a really tough schedule which might not be able to be overcome.
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Sure, the schedule is really tough, but that doesn't mean that Kansas State is beyond the challenge. We've seen this team pull off some big upsets over the years, even on the road, and we wouldn't put it past the crew again this year.
The real question is going to be Ertz. The Wildcats had high hopes for him in 2015, but that ACL injury ended any hopes of that happening. He's almost a forgotten man at this point, but if Snyder trusts him, why shouldn't we trust him, too? There are some coaches which flat out deserve that level of respect.
Kansas State is better than it was last year, and last season ended in a bowl game. To think that this year is going to end up being worse is tough to do. Go with K-State to go beyond 5.5 wins and get to another bowl game and don't be overly shocked if the Wildcats end up producing some stunning results to finish in the top half of the Big XII as well.
College Football Odds: Kansas State Wildcats Over 5.5 Wins
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