Kansas State doused a Colorado rally with a long touchdown pass
Shedeur Sanders and Colorado had overcome a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter on Saturday against Kansas State.
Deion Sanders’ defense needed to stop the Wildcats to seal a thrilling victory.
It didn’t happen at Folsom Field. Avery Johnson threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jayce Brown with 2:14 left and Kansas State left with a 31-28 victory in a Big 12 clash.
KANSAS STATE RESPONDS TO COLORADO WITH THE 50-YARD TD 🔥
What a play call by Kansas State OC Conor Riley.
Incredible HBO by Jayce Brown with the late hands and slowing down to keep himself between the defender and the ball.
He HELPED A BROTHER OUT when the throw wasn’t perfect for the win over Colorado. Kansas State is FORREAL. pic.twitter.com/JRECleQmpl
Shedeur Sanders was 34-of-49 passing for 388 yards and three touchdowns despite being without wideouts Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr., who were both injured during the game
Still, the QB threw a TD pass to LaJohntay Wester with 3:12 left to give Colorado the lead after it trailed 24-14 early in the final quarter.
That set up Johnson’s heroics and Colorado suffered its second loss of the season against four wins.
Kevin Durant on the sideline for Colorado – Kansas State.
The Suns play the Nuggets tomorrow in Denver. pic.twitter.com/vYBaphoQ0i
The Kansas State Wildcats have their work cut out for them this weekend when they play the Colorado Buffaloes. With a lot riding on this, including a big fan bet, what is the key to victory?
The Big 12 conference matchup with the highest stakes in Week 7 will take place in Boulder, Colorado on Saturday evening when the No. 18 Kansas State Wildcats take on the 4-1 Colorado Buffaloes.
Aside from dropping a game to the BYU Cougars in Week 4, K-State has been a powerhouse. Colorado, aside from dropping a game to Nebraska in Week 2, has been hard to judge. They blew out the UCF Knights but needed overtime to escape the Baylor Bears at home.
Kansas State got blown out by BYU, but what was even more embarrassing that weekend may have been one of their most significant fans.
Twitter/X user @SaintBillSnyder, who is notorious for making outrageous claims about what he will do if Kansas State loses, kept his word following the BYU game… which resulted in a rather embarrassing incident regarding a Taco Bell burrito.
For what it’s worth, this week @SaintBillSnyder went on to the Locked On Big 12 Squad show and said he will get a tattoo of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders… on his behind. This will add a layer of permanence to the shame of a loss this weekend, especially after his viral reaction to losing to BYU.
Syndication: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Keys to Victory
Kansas State coach Chris Kleiman has built a strong program each game since that weekend at BYU, and in some ways, the Wildcats have been riding the good karma that comes with a fan honoring his bets. But Colorado is their toughest opponent since their last loss.
The Buffs have two of the best handful of athletes in all of college football in Sanders and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter. Sometimes football comes down to “the Jimmies and the Joes” being more important than the X’s and the O’s.
Kansas State has their own playmaker at quarterback in Avery Johnson. Johnson is one of the highest-ranked recruits to ever step on campus in Manhattan, and he can pick apart defenses with his arm and legs alike.
What will Kansas State need to do? Control the clock. Johnson is a great runner, and Colorado gives up over 150 yards per game on the ground.
What will the Buffaloes need to do? Get after Johnson. Seven different Buffaloes have a sack this year, and four have more than one. If Colorado wants to add some names to that list, and force a loyal K-State fan to add a tattoo to his backside, they need to add a few names to that list Saturday.
Oklahoma State and Kansas State can’t afford another loss in conference play, making this Big 12 battle a must watch game.
The Big 12 conference game everyone will be talking about at the water cooler on Monday is between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Kansas State Wildcats. You’ll want to have your TV set to ESPN when they play at 12:00 PM ET on Saturday because, in the modern college football landscape, OSU vs KSU will become a de facto elimination game.
Oklahoma State and Kansas State are coming off of shocking losses which rattled the Big 12 landscape last weekend. Oklahoma State fought back at the end, but they got throttled for more than three quarters by the Utah Utes last week in Stillwater. Oklahoma State was, previously, the betting favorite, out of teams from the “old” Big 12, to challenge for the conference title in Arlington.
Kansas State went to BYU as a heavy favorite, lost by double digits, and gave up the most embarrassing punt return of the year a defense could imagine giving up. It was not the Week 4 anyone had drawn up for the Wildcats, who also entered the year with a very realistic chance to play for the conference championship.
The good news for both squads? Unlike their opponents last week, this game has absolutely nothing to do with the state of Utah.
Oklahoma State and Kansas State have their eyes set on a College Football Playoff berth, but the only way to control that future is by winning this game. It is hard to imagine either team makes it to a conference title game with multiple Big 12 losses, and it is increasingly unlikely that three Big 12 teams make the CFP. Thus, it appears there is no path to the College Football Playoff without a trip to that title game.
Both teams hang their hat on the run game. OSU does it with Ollie Gordon, likely to be the first running back taken in the 2025 NFL Draft, and KSU does it with a combination of young, highly touted quarterback Avery Johnson (one of the highest-ranked recruits to ever commit to KSU), and the RBU duo of DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards.
Parker’s Pick: Kansas State. While their result was more shocking a week ago, being at home for a “get-right” game is a significant advantage.
When will college football learn not to pick fights with broadcast partners?
Whew, buddy, the pettiness escalated quickly across college football in Week 4.
Maybe we should’ve seen this coming. After all, this is the point in the season where teams start to figure out who’s for real (Tennessee) and who can start focusing on the recruiting trail (NC State).
But you’d think after the mini Rivalry Week that took over Week 3 the temperature would’ve cooled off a bit last Saturday. Nope. Despite the Calgorithm running into a few coding errors in Tallahassee, Week 4 brought out some elite nastiness.
Strap in for some schadenfreude as we take our weekly trip around college football’s most online moments.
TCU trolling The CW backfires
(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
There is one hard and fast rule in college football these days, and it is do not bite the TV networks. These executives will not hesitate to organize another round of realignment, and the last thing you want to do is get on their bad side.
Which is to say TCU should’ve known better than to get petty with the network that aired Gossip Girl. When the Horned Frogs’ social team found out their rivalry game against SMU was going to be broadcast on The CW, it mocked the ACC and its broadcast partner with a “This is SportsCenter” spoof.
TCU got boat-raced at SMU, 66-42, with current Horned Frogs (and former Mustangs) coach Sonny Dykes ejected early in the second half. And then it was The CW’s turn to beat up on TCU.
Oh yeah, this was rivalry game as well, so SMU got in plenty of shots on social media as well — including a quick screengrab of an FTW blog about TCU’s campus looking like a La Quinta Inn.
Let’s start with the obvious. Touting the Hugh Freeze at Auburn with the fact he beat Nick Saban twice (at previous stops) only for Saban to retire is the type of thing you expect from an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Now, not even two full years into Freeze’s tenure at Auburn, the miscalculated hire continues to look worse and worse. After Saturday’s home loss to Arkansas, Freeze looked for anyone left to throw under the bus. The night ended with a Greyhound driven by Freeze’s former Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace speeding right over him instead.
During Freeze’s postgame press conference, aside from blaming his players, he also made this bold claim:
“I mean no offense whatsoever to at all to Arkansas or to Cal. I love Sam Pittman; I hope he wins the rest of his games. But the hard truth is if we play them nine more times, we beat them nine times,” Freeze said.
We’re sure the was similarly no offense taken by Freeze when Arkansas responded with this subtweet:
The Southland Conference wants no part of the SEC’s trash
(Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Saturday’s matchup between 1-2 Florida and 1-2 Mississippi State was technically an SEC game, but it couldn’t hide from the fact that these are two of the most embarrassing programs in the Power Four at the moment.
(Granted the Bulldogs are at least starting to rebuild in Year 1 with Jeff Lebby, and the Gators have yet to move on from Bill Napier.)
Still, these are two SEC teams! Surely any conference would want them, right? Right?
Thanksgiving with the Manning family should be pretty entertaining this year. Surely someone will bring up the fact that Eli made his starting debut at Ole Miss against Murray State.
Did nobody learn anything from our still off-the-grid friend @321nole? Don’t make a bet on college football against yourself — especially when the wager depends on graphic bodily harm. Especially, especially when watching your team play each week already does more than enough damage.
All we’ll say is that a K-State fan promised to ingest a Taco Bell product through an orifice other than their mouth if the Wildcats lost to the Cougars.
After BYU’s win, the team’s social media admin had only one thing to say:
Which ranked college football teams could get upset in Week 4?
Conference play is just getting underway for many of college football’s premier programs, which often leads to closer games and more upsets as the true contenders separate themselves from the pretenders.
While most of the top 25 programs are favored in Week 4, some by massive margins, there are three ranked teams that seem particularly in danger of losing to an unranked opponent.
Those three teams are highlighted here, starting with a late night Big 12 battle:
No. 13 Kansas State Wildcats
At BYU Cougars (9/21 at 10:30 PM ET)
A late night showdown in Provo against the 3-0 BYU Cougars is not an enviable matchup for anyone, and could spell trouble for Kansas State – who barely snuck past Tulane in Week 2.
Avery Johnson and the Wildcats stellar defense have kept them in the top 25 and as a favorite in the Big 12 this season, but BYU looks much improved from last year and has already won a pair of quality road games against SMU and Wyoming. Will BYU take down the Wildcats late on Saturday night, and if so could it put the Cougars on the map as a real contender in the Big 12?
No. 19 Louisville Cardinals
vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9/21 at 3:30 PM ET)
Louisville vs Georgia Tech is one of the most compelling ACC matchups of the young season. The Yellow Jackets dispatched Florida State in Dublin in the first game of the season, and are already about to play their fifth game of the year – with a three point loss to Syracuse the only blemish so far.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 2-0 with blowout wins over Jacksonville State and Austin Peay – two programs that put up little fight. Will Louisville and quarterback Tyler Shough be ready for the physical style of Georgia Tech?
No. 23 Northern Illinois Huskies
vs. Buffalo Bulls (9/21 at 3:30 PM ET)
Northern Illinois snuck into the top 25 after taking down then No. 5 Notre Dame in Week 2. The Huskies have now had an extra week between games, and with another matchup against a power conference opponent looming on September 28 at NC State, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them looking ahead rather than focusing on this week’s task at hand: the Buffalo Bulls.
Buffalo is 2-1 on the year, defeating Lafayette and UMass handily but getting smoked by Missouri, 38-0. The Bulls are a very good defensive team who could make life difficult on the Huskies, and this has all the makings of a classic #Maction matchup.
Arizona vs. Kansas State offers a good opportunity for top WR prospect Tetairoa McMillan
One of the early top-rated players for the 2025 NFL Draft will be in action on a rare Friday night game when Arizona visits Kansas State. The battle of the ranked Wildcats will mark a great chance to check out Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan in prime-time action against a quality opponent.
McMillan has quickly emerged as a potential top-10 pick with his outstanding blend of size and sure hands. He’s off to a torrid start with four TDs among his 12 catches in Arizona’s first two games, both wins.
He faces a step up in competition from New Mexico and Northern Arizona in visiting No. 14 Kansas State in a Big 12 Conference matchup. K-State has an experienced outside CB duo that can present a challenge for McMillan in Keenan Garber and Jacob Parrish.
McMillan will have a distinct size advantage against both, as they’re identically listed at 6-feet and 188 pounds. Garber tends to play bigger than that listed size, but his wild inconsistencies in man coverage also present a big opportunity for McMillan. Garber tends to play the ball more than the receiver, and with McMillan having about five inches and 20 pounds on the Wildcats CB should allow the wideout to shine in any contested catch situations.
Kansas State is ranked 14th and Arizona 20th, and the home team is favored by a touchdown in Manhattan, Kansas. That could mean more meaningful opportunities for McMillan to get the ball in big situations. The game is nationally televised on FOX on Friday night at 8 p.m. ET.
Penn State could host a playoff game this year and face the projected ACC champion in the second round.
Two weeks into the season sees Penn State paving a possible path to the College Football Playoff. The playoff, which expands to 12 teams from its former four-team format, gives Penn State as good a chance as ever to play for a national championship. According to the latest playoff and bowl projections from USA TODAY, Penn State will indeed be in the playoff mix when the postseason begins. And the playoff fun could continue for a few weeks.
Erick Smith of USA TODAY updated his bowl and College Football Playoff projections and he includes Penn State in the playoff. The Nittany Lions would host Kansas State, from the Big 12, in a first-round matchup in Beaver Stadium. That game would be played on either Dec. 20 or Dec. 21. Smith also has Penn State advancing to the second round of the playoff.
In the quarterfinal round, Penn State would return to the Peach Bowl for a second straight bowl season. In Smith’s projections, Penn State would face projected ACC champion Miami, who would be getting a first-round bye under the playoff format. But Smith thinks Penn State has one more game in them.
Penn State is projected to top Miami in the Peach Bowl in Smith’s updated projections. That would set the stage for a rematch with Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl for the semifinal round on Jan. 10. Unfortunately, this is where Smith sees Penn State’s postseason coming to an end, with Ohio State moving on to face Georgia in the national championship game.
Penn State will be off this week but returns to the field in Week 4 with a home game against Kent State. Penn State will host Kent State for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on Big Ten Network on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Can the Kansas State Wildcats compete for a Big 12 Conference title?
The Kansas State Wildcats went to Yulman Stadium in the heart of New Orleans and came away with a really big, impressive win over Tulane.
The Wildcats were threatened all game long by the Green Wave, but came up strong with 14 fourth quarter points to secure the victory.
After two weeks of college football action, the question remains, can Kansas State ride the momentum of two wins to start the season and contend for the Big 12 title?
Kansas State saw Avery Johnson, their dynamic signal caller, toss 23 times, completing 15 of them for 181 yards and two touchdowns. When Johnson was asked to describe the road win he had this to say:
It means a lot just coming on the road my first season as a starter and getting a win in a tough environment down here. Tulane is a really good team. It was a gritty game. We went through a lot of adversity. For me to be able to come down and be back against the wall on the road and have to put my big-boy shoes on and grit through it, I couldn’t let the whole environment get to me and I had to play my game and trust the guys I’m playing with.
DJ Giddens appears to be one of the elite running backs in the Big 12 if not all of college football. He rushed for 238 yards through two games, on 32 carries. He scored a receiving touchdown against the Green Wave as well.
Chris Klieman has been with the Wildcats since the 2019 season. He has gone three straight seasons reaching a bowl game. In 2022, the Wildcats won the Big 12 but lost in the Sugar Bowl. Last season, Kansas State won the Pop-Tarts Bowl. When Klieman spoke to the media following the game, he had this to say:
We made enough plays. I don’t think we played our best football. Tulane is a good football team. Their quarterback is the real deal. This is a good, big win for us.
Kansas State will face a trio of big games in conference play to wrap up September. The Wildcats will take on Arizona on Friday night. The following week Kansas State is at BYU, and then they wrap up the month at home against Ollie Gordon and Oklahoma State.
The Utah Utes are 10th in the most recent Coaches Poll.
There was not a ton of movement for the Big 12 in the Coaches Poll after Week 2. One Big 12 left the rankings and a new one joined. The Kansas Jayhawks were the lone team from the Big 12 to leave the poll, while the Iowa State Cyclones have moved into the 23rd spot.
The Utah Utes remained the top-ranked Big 12 team in the Coaches Poll, coming in at number ten. They come in just below Penn State and Tennessee, and just ahead of USC and Miami.
Next for the conference is the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who are 14th in the rankings. Kansas State checks in next at the 15th spot. The Arizona Wildcats remained in the top 20 as well, coming in at 18th. They are just ahead of a pair of teams that have lost; Notre Dame and Clemson.
As for the Jayhawks, with their loss to Illinois, they still received votes, but just 10. That put them 11th, which places them at 36th in the country. Central Florida is two spots behind at 38th, while TCU comes in at 40th, and BYU is 46th.
The Ball Dawgs Classic revealed its four-team bracket on Friday, pitting Duke women’s basketball against Kansas State for the first round.
The Ball Dawgs Classic, a women’s basketball tournament set for Las Vegas this November, revealed its four-team bracket on Friday, and the Duke Blue Devils will open against Kansas State.
The Blue Devils and Wildcats will face off at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time on November 25th.
In the third full season of Kara Lawson’s tenure last year, the Blue Devils won 22 games. Duke staged a massive comeback over North Carolina, upset NC State for a top-10 victory, and knocked off 2-seed Ohio State to reach the Sweet 16.
The upward trajectory continued this offseason with Kara Lawson winning her third Olympic gold medal, this time as an assistant for Team USA, and incoming five-star freshman Arianna Roberson winning gold with the Americans at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup. Lawson also recruited five-star forward Toby Fournier from Canada and Maryland transfer Riley Nelson, a five-star prospect from the Class of 2023.
Oklahoma and DePaul play each other on the other side of the bracket. The winners of the two preliminary games play each other in the championship two days later on November 27.
If the Blue Devils defeat Kansas State, Duke basketball could play a game in Las Vegas for three straight days. The men’s basketball team plays Kansas on November 26.
