Kansas State Hosts UTSA Saturday

Date: Saturday, September 15, 2018

Kickoff: 3 p.m.

Location: Manhattan, Kan.

Stadium: Bill Snyder Family Stadium (50,000)

Series: K-State leads, 1-0

WILDCATS CLOSE OUT NON-CON SLATE WITH UTSA
Following a tough loss to No. 18 Mississippi State last week, K-State looks to bounce back in its final non-conference game when it hosts UTSA at 3 p.m., Saturday afternoon at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The contest will be shown nationally on FSN with Mark Followill (play-by-play), Brian Baldinger (analyst) and Lesley McCaslin (sidelines) on the call. The game can be heard across the 39-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst) and Matt Walters (sidelines) calling the action. The game will also be on Sirius channel 106, XM Channel 210 and in addition to the TuneIn app. Live stats are available at k-statesports.com, and Twitter updates (@KStateFB) will also be a part of the coverage.

A LOOK AT K-STATE

K-State boasts 35 returning letterwinners – including 14 starters – from a team that went 8-5 in 2017 and has won its last four games dating back to last season.
Although Bill Snyder is back for a 27th year, he is flanked by two new coordinators in Andre Coleman (offense) and Blake Seiler (defense), two of the seven assistants on staff that played and graduated from Kansas State.
K-State has played both Skylar Thompson (starts) and Alex Delton in the first two games with Thompson leading the Cats to his third fourth-quarter comeback win (vs. South Dakota) in the Wildcats’ last seven total games.
The running game is solidified by the Wildcats’ leading rusher a year ago, Alex Barnes, as well as Justin Silmon and Dalvin Warmack. Barnes topped 100 yards in the season opener and has a Big 12-leading 178 yards on the season.
The Wildcats have the benefit of having all five returning starters along the offensive line back for another year, one of just five FBS teams to return 65-of-65 starts along the offensive line from 2017.
Wide receiver Isaiah Zuber not only caught the game-winning touchdown pass late in the game against South Dakota, but he also returned a punt 85 yards for a score to earn Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Defensively, K-State held South Dakota to just 77 yards on the ground and 334 total yards, but the Wildcats surrendered 384 rushing yards and 538 total yards against Mississippi State.
The Wildcats had to replace their place kicker from a year ago, and Blake Lynch has stepped right in to connect on 5-of-6 field goals, including a 4-of-4 mark in his Wildcat debut against South Dakota. Lynch is tied for fourth nationally in field goals, and his only miss was a 52-yarder against the win last week.

A LOOK AT UTSA

The Roadrunners have opened up with two tough losses at the hands of Arizona State (49-7) and Baylor (37-20) to open the season.
UTSA is averaging 237.5 yards per game through two weeks, with 187.5 per game of that coming via the pass. Quarterback Cordale Grundy has complete 52-percent of his passes with Greg Campbell Jr., and Kirk Johnson Jr. each having eight catches on the year.
Defensively, UTSA’s first two opponents have averaged 498.5 yards a game. Josiah Tauaefa leads the squad with 15 tackles, while three other players have 10 or more.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
K-State and UTSA will meet for the second time ever and the second time in three seasons when the two teams meet on Saturday.
The Wildcats won the lone meeting in the series, a 30-3, victory in 2015 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
CATS AGAINST THE C-USA
The Wildcats hold an all-time record of 23-4 against current members of Conference USA.
Saturday marks the sixth time in five seasons K-State will meet a C-USA foe. The Wildcats defeated Charlotte (55-7) last season, Florida Atlantic (63-7) in 2016, won at UTSA (30-3) and against Louisiana Tech (39-33 [3OT]) in 2015, and topped UTEP (58-28) in 2014.
NON-CONFERENCE NOTABLES
Since 1990, K-State has won 77 of its 89 (.865) regular-season non-conference games under Bill Snyder, including 67-of-71 (.944) at home.
K-State has had perfect regular season non-conference ledgers in 15 of the last 25 years.
SNYDER IN SEPTEMBER
Fast starts have propelled the Wildcats to winning seasons under Bill Snyder. Since 1992 under Snyder, K-State is a combined 68-10 (.859) in September.
Of the losses, six came on the road, as the Cats are 55-4 (.932) in September home games during that stretch.
K-State saw a nine-game winning streak in September home games snapped last week against No. 18 Mississippi State.
Since Snyder’s return to the sidelines in 2009, K-State is 26-7 (.788) in the month of September.

CATS NEED A QUICK START

K-State will be looking to break a trend of slow starts it has developed the last three years. The 2015 Wildcats started out 3-6 before winning their final three to make a bowl. In 2016, K-State started 3-3 before winning six of its final seven, including a Texas Bowl win. Last year, the Cats started 3-4 but won five of their final six with a Cactus Bowl victory.
It is especially important this year as the Wildcats will play five of their 12 games – and four of their seven homes games – prior to October 1 for the first time since the 2006 season.

ONE OF THE BIG 12’S BEST

K-State is one of only three teams in the Big 12 to reach 100 league wins since the league’s inception in 1996.
The Wildcats also rank third in the conference in winning percentage since round-robin play began in 2011. They sit at .651 (41-22), trailing only Oklahoma (.810; 51-12) and Oklahoma State (.698; 44-19).
During that stretch, the Wildcats are 22-10 (.688) at home in Big 12 play and 19-12 (.613) on the road.
K-State, picked sixth by the league’s media in the Big 12 preseason poll, has finished in the top four of the conference in five of the last seven years.

RYAN LACKEY
Director of Football and Golf Communications | K-State Athletics
T 785-532-7708 | C 785-587-7865
rlackey@kstatesports.com

K-State Athletics
West Stadium Center at Bill Snyder Family Stadium
1800 College Ave, Manhattan, KS 66502-3355