K-State Wildcats vs. Troy Trojans: Football game prediction, betting line, TV, time

The Kansas State football team will try to build on its convincing victory over SEMO last week when it hosts Troy on Saturday. Here’s everything you need to know before kickoff ...

Kansas State vs. Troy game details

Kickoff: 11 a.m. Saturday

Where: Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan

TV: Fox Sports 1

Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City, KFH (1240 AM and 97.5 FM) in Wichita

The line: Kansas State by 17 with an O/U of 51.5

Game prediction

Much has been made about Chris Klieman’s struggles against teams from outside the power conferences in recent years.

For good reason.

The Wildcats have a history of not playing well against teams like Troy. Arkansas State came to Manhattan and beat K-State 35-31 in 2020. Then Tulane upset K-State 17-10 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium last season. It’s fair to wonder if that trend will continue against a strong opponent like Troy, which has won 12 consecutive games and is considered to be the best team in the Sun Belt.

But there is another game I would like to bring up before I make my prediction for Saturday’s game. Two years ago, K-State throttled Nevada 38-17. Why is that worth mentioning here? Well, the buildup to that matchup reminds me a lot of what we are seeing right now.

Back then, Nevada entered that game as the betting favorite with a lot of talk centering on its quarterback, Carson Strong.

K-State players had to listen to questions all week leading up to that game about how they might lose to the Wolf Pack. Then they won by three touchdowns.

I won’t be surprised if the same thing happens this weekend. The secret is out on Troy. Unlike previous games against Arkansas State and Tulane, it is very hard to overlook the Trojans. K-State players were peppered with questions about them this week. They know Troy owns the nation’s second-longest winning streak behind Georgia. They know the Trojans are salty on defense. They saw Kimani Vidal rush for 248 yards last week.

The Wildcats won’t sleepwalk their way through this game.

If K-State shows up ready to play at a high level, it will win. But will it cover the 17-point spread? That is a tricky question. Troy is excellent at winning close games and it hung with Mississippi on the road last season before losing 28-10.

Even if the Wildcats pull ahead early, it’s doubtful that the Trojans will quit on the game. A late score could make the difference between K-State winning by 21 or Troy pulling off a backdoor cover and losing by 14.

Still, I like K-State’s chances of finding enough separation to win comfortably against an opponent it won’t take lightly.

Kansas State 35, Troy 17

Last week’s prediction: K-State 49, SEMO 13 (Actual: K-State 45, SEMO 0)

Season record: 1-0.

Season record against the spread: 1-0.