Meet Your Insider
Well, howdy, Wildcat family, and welcome to The Cover Window. I'm Hattie Brandvold. I have an agronomy degree, a purple denim jacket, a wheat-sheaf brooch and a field notebook with real Flint Hills dirt on it. I travel with this team and I live with this team, and I explain defensive fronts the only way I know how: crop rotation. Every drive gets named after a crop. A three-and-out is a dry sorghum patch. A long, patient march is winter wheat. And a touchdown? That's a bumper harvest, and you will hear me holler it. When we win, I do the Wabash Cannonball in my chair, tidy and joyful. When we lose, I whisper my most treasured words, "You can't rush a harvest," and I plant a tiny basil seed right there on set. Sweet as prairie pie, until I hand you the one fact that ends the argument.
The School in 60 Seconds
Kansas State football is the story of the biggest turnaround in the sport. When Bill Snyder took over in 1989, the program was in the middle of a 27-game winless streak. He turned it into a national contender that went to 11 straight bowl games and had six 11-win seasons in a seven-year stretch. Snyder won two Big 12 championships, one in 2003 with Darren Sproles and one in 2012. He went into the College Football Hall of Fame while still coaching, in December 2015. The Wildcats play at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, and the rivalry with Kansas is the Sunflower Showdown, played for the Governor's Cup. As of last Saturday, K-State has won that game 18 straight times, the longest active winning streak by any team in a rivalry game. Now that's a crop that keeps coming back every spring.
The Coach and the Scheme
Collin Klein was named the 36th head coach in school history on Dec. 4, 2025. You may remember him as the quarterback: he was a 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist and won the Johnny Unitas Award that year, when K-State won the Big 12. He is the first K-State alum to be head coach since Ellis Rainsberger in 1975-77. Before this job he coached nine years in Manhattan, including two as offensive coordinator (2022-23) that went 19-8 with a Big 12 title, then ran the offense at Texas A&M. The 2026 numbers say this offense grows on the ground. K-State runs on about 54% of its plays and gains 6.23 yards a carry, with 15 rushing touchdowns. It averages 35.5 points and 464.7 yards a game. On defense, the Wildcats allow 20.0 points and 296.3 yards a game, and only 136.3 passing yards. They have 13 sacks and have allowed just 3. One weed to pull: six turnovers lost against four forced.
Players to Know
QB Avery Johnson (senior, Wichita): 1,301 passing yards and 462 rushing yards, leading the team in both. Against Kansas he passed for 209 yards and a touchdown and ran for 132, and he became the school's all-time leader in total offensive yards. He went down after a 59-yard run and pointed to his right shoulder, but he returned and said, "I just got the wind knocked out of me."
RB Joe Jackson (senior): a season-high 159 yards and a touchdown against Kansas.
WR Jaron Tibbs: the team's leading receiver with 268 yards.
K Luis Rodriguez: four field goals against Kansas, from 22, 51, 28 and 34 yards, the second-most in a game in school history.
DB Logan Bartley: made an end-zone interception against Kansas.
I could not find official season defensive leaders from a source newer than the start of October, so I'm not listing them.
The Conference Picture
K-State is 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12, 4-1 at home and 0-1 on the road. The Wildcats are not ranked in the AP or Coaches poll this week. The two league losses came at Cincinnati, 31-26, and at home against Houston, 35-16. The top two teams in the Big 12 meet in the championship game, so a 1-2 start means every Saturday from here matters.
This Week: Kansas State (4-2) at Arizona State (3-3)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 3:45 p.m. ET (12:45 p.m. MST) · Mountain America Stadium, Tempe · ESPN2. It's K-State's first game in Tempe since the 1989 season opener, and the Wildcats' last game in this stadium was a 31-14 bowl win over Michigan in 2013.
Last week: K-State trailed Kansas 17-7 in the first quarter, then won 35-24 and racked up 568 yards, 359 of them on the ground. Arizona State lost 53-25 at Texas Tech. Coach Kenny Dillingham replaced quarterback Cutter Boley with Mikey Keene at halftime, and Keene threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns.
Our offense vs. their defense: this is where my winter wheat should grow. Arizona State allows 32.0 points and 373.2 yards a game, and 4.80 yards a carry. Texas Tech gained 7.8 yards a play against the Sun Devils last week.
Their offense vs. our defense: ASU throws for 276.7 yards a game, and senior receiver Reed Harris is a big-play threat. But the Sun Devils have allowed 15 sacks, including a season-high six at Texas Tech. K-State has 13 sacks of its own.
Series: Arizona State leads 6-1, and the Sun Devils won the last meeting, 24-14 in Manhattan in 2024. K-State's lone win was 34-27 on Dec. 27, 2002.
Availability: Johnson's shoulder scare turned out to be the wind knocked out of him. I found no official availability report for either team as of Oct. 18, 2026. Dillingham has not named a starting quarterback for this game.
What decides it: (1) Can K-State's run game keep producing like it did against Kansas? (2) Who plays quarterback for Arizona State, Boley or Keene? (3) Can our pass rush get home against a front that gave up six sacks last week?
And to Skylar Vanterpool, Arizona State's insider: I'll bring the shade hat and the water jug, darlin'. Hydrate all you like. You still can't rush a harvest.
Local Flavor (unsponsored, not an ad)
Watching from Manhattan? Varsity Donuts on North Manhattan Avenue is how I start every game-day morning.
My call: Kansas State Wildcats 32, Arizona State Sun Devils 27.