K-State to Host KU Saturday

Kansas at Kansas State

Date: Saturday, November 10, 2018

Kickoff: 11 a.m.

Location: Manhattan, Kan.

Stadium: Bill Snyder Family Stadium (50,000)

Series: Kansas leads, 64-46-5

K-STATE RETURNS HOME FOR SUNFLOWER SHOWDOWN
Coming off a tough one-point loss at TCU, Kansas State will head home for the 116th edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown on Saturday as the Kansas Jayhawks visit Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game will kick off at 11 a.m., and be shown nationally on FSN with Jeff Levering (play-by-play), Brian Baldinger (analyst) and Lesley McCaslin 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, in addition to Sirius Channel 113, XM Channel 199 and the TuneIn app.

A LOOK AT K-STATE

K-State is looking to bounce back from a loss at TCU and put itself back in the bowl picture, needing three wins over the final three weeks to become bowl eligible.
The Wildcats have leaned heavily on their running game over the last four contests, averaging 221.5 yards and totaling 11 touchdowns on the ground.
The running game is solidified by Alex Barnes, who leads the Big 12 at 102.0 yards per game with a league-high tying nine rushing scores. He ran for a career-best 250 yards at Baylor, the fifth-most in a game in school history, while recording three touchdowns on the day.
Against Oklahoma State, Barnes had 181 rushing yards and four scores, and he added 102 yards against TCU.
The Wildcats’ rushing attack is anchored by five offensive linemen who were all returning starters from a year ago. The group is led by Midseason All-American Dalton Risner at right tackle.
Quarterback Skylar Thompson has started eight games, throwing for 995 yards and five scores, while he has added 360 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Isaiah Zuber leads the Wildcats with 41 catches on the year, totaling 496 receiving yards and three scores.
The Wildcat defense allowed only 275 total offensive yards against TCU, the fewest allowed since last year’s Vanderbilt game and the fewest in a Big 12 game since limiting Kansas to just 196 total yards in 2014.
The Cats had an impressive performance against an Oklahoma State team that was averaging 523.3 yards and 44.0 points per game. K-State held the Cowboys to 311 yards and just 12 points.
Senior safety Eli Walker (56) and junior linebacker Da’Quan Patton (53) lead the team in tackles, while Reggie Walker has a team-best 5.5 sacks and 8.5 TFLs.
Senior defensive back Duke Shelley has three picks this season – all coming in Big 12 play – to rank third in the Big 12 and 16th in the country in interceptions per game.
Shelley has 12 passes defended this year, ranking sixth nationally in passes defended per game.

A LOOK AT KANSAS

KU is coming off a 27-3 loss to No. 24 Iowa State last week in Lawrence.
The Jayhawks boast one of the league’s top freshmen in running back Pooka Williams, who has rushed for 711 yards and four scores this season.
On defense, Joe Dineen leads the Big 12 in tackles with 110, while Daniel Wise has collected a team-best 9.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Kansas leads the all-time series, 64-46-5, but Kansas State has won each of the last nine meetings and 22 of the last 27 dating back to 1991.
The Wildcats’ average margin of victory over the last nine years is 28.0, while they have hit the 45-point mark in five of those contests.
Head coach Bill Snyder is 22-4 all-time against the Jayhawks (12-1 in Manhattan), while three of his four losses came within his first four years in Manhattan.
Snyder’s 22 victories over the Jayhawks are tied for the most by an active head coach over any one opponent (Snyder vs. Iowa State).
The series is the fourth-longest continuously played series in the nation and the longest among Big 12 teams.

RYAN LACKEY
Director of Football and Golf Communications | K-State Athletics