K-State Wildcats vs. Troy Trojans: Five things to know about Week 2 football game
The Kansas State football team aced its first test of the season when it defeated Southeast Missouri State 45-0 over the weekend at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Now it’s time to find out if the Wildcats are ready for a more challenging assignment.
Troy, a team that won 12 games and a Sun Belt Conference championship last season, is next up on the schedule at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Here is everything you need to know to start preparing for this week’s game.
The details
Kickoff: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas
TV: Fox Sports 1
Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City and KFH (1240 AM and 97.5 FM) in Wichita
Betting line: Kansas State by 16 with an O/U of 50.5
Five things to know
1. Chris Klieman has struggled in this situation before. No one should consider this game a lay up for the Wildcats, even though they are favored by 16 points and playing at home against a team from outside the power conferences. K-State has lost under similar circumstances twice in recent years, as it fell to Arkansas State in 2020 and Tulane last season.
2. Troy has the second-longest active winning streak in the country. The Trojans have won 12 games in a row dating back to last season when they claimed a Sun Belt championship and won the Cure Bowl. Only Georgia, which has won 18 straight, owns a longer winning streak.
3. The Trojans are at their best on defense. It may not look that way after they won their opener against Stephen F. Austin 48-30 by scoring a bunch of points, but it is usually hard to move the ball on Troy. Last season, it allowed an average of 17 points and 240 yards per game.
4. The Wildcats should get two starters back this weekend. K-State played without wide receiver Keagan Johnson (injury) and safety Marques Sigle (suspension) during a 45-0 victory over SEMO last weekend, but there is a chance both will be in uniform against Troy. Klieman said Johnson didn’t play for precautionary reasons, which means he will likely be healthy enough to go after a week of rest. Sigle is expected to start now that his suspension has been lifted.
5. Three K-State players joined the century club last week. The Wildcats were the definition of balanced on offense in their first game, as D.J. Giddens (128 rushing yards), R.J. Garcia (119 receiving yards) and Ben Sinnott (100 receiving yards) all reached triple figures in yardage with quarterback Will Howard playing at a high level. It will be interesting to see if any new players like Treshaun Ward or Johnson can join them this week.
