K-State Wildcats Q&A: Jayce Brown, Linkon Cure, Big 12 title scenarios and more

It’s time for another K-State Q&A.

Let’s dive right into your questions so we all have time to get ready for Halloween and a fun weekend of sports in Manhattan. Thanks, as always, for providing them.

Assuming the Wildcats win out (doubtful), what else has to happen to make the Big 12 championship game? -@BusMedicMike via X.

Kansas State’s odds of winning out and finishing the regular season at 8-4 have risen to 4%, according to college football statistician Kelley Ford.

Lloyd Christmas is feeling more and more confident by the day!

Staying hot is the biggest challenge for the Wildcats. Beating Texas Tech on Saturday won’t be easy. Taking down Utah in Salt Lake City next month might be even harder. But if K-State can win both of those games, and also take care of business against Oklahoma State and Colorado, I truly think it will earn a berth in Arlington, Texas for the Big 12 championship game.

Why? Because a team with at least two conference losses has played in the league championship game every year since 2021. Odds are good it will happen again.

It’s not a lock by any means. BYU and Cincinnati are both undefeated in league play. Houston and Texas Tech both have one conference loss each. Two of those teams could finish strong and slam the door on K-State even if the Wildcats win out.

But K-State controls its destiny against Texas Tech and Utah.

Cincinnati, BYU and Texas Tech all have to play each other down the stretch. And it will be hard for Houston to avoid another loss, even with a soft closing schedule.

K-State fans need to hope the Wildcats win out and only one of the aforementioned teams does the same.

But here’s guessing 7-2 will be good enough to finish in second place without rooting for or against any other teams in the conference standings.

Will Texas Tech leave Jayce Brown alone in a 1-on-1 situation this week? What tight end other than Garrett Oakley will score next? Could it be Linkon Cure? -@ChadFullington via X.

Jayce Brown needs to have a good game against Texas Tech.

I’m not expecting the Wildcats to run the ball for many yards against the Red Raiders and their stingy front seven. But teams like Arizona State and Kansas have been able to throw against them. That means Avery Johnson will be looking to connect with his top wide receiver early and often on Saturday.

Will Texas Tech defend him one-on-one without any safety help? I doubt it. Why would anyone try that?

Baylor and Kansas both did earlier this season, and Brown made those defenses look silly.

But I still think Brown can get open and have a big day.

Quick aside: Brown is far and away the best wide receiver of the Chris Klieman era. He’s caught 36 passes for 577 yards and four touchdowns this season. It’s too bad he was unable to play most of the UCF game, otherwise he would be well on his way to 1,000 yards. But he could still hit that mark.

When it comes to tight ends, both Will Swanson and Will Anciaux seem like better touchdown threats than Cure. Why? Because Cure is lining up mostly at wide receiver right now. K-State likes to target its tight ends on gadget plays in the red zone.

Cure is gaining a bigger role in the offense with each passing week, and he looked good in the Sunflower Showdown. But he will need to start lining up on the line and blocking a little bit to get involved in those situations.

How long do you think Kansas State can realistically keep its winning streak against KU going in football? Twenty years feels like a lock. What about 25 or 30? - Josh F. via e-mail.

The better question may be, how long will I remain on the K-State beat?

I covered my first Sunflower Showdown football rivalry game in 2009, which means K-State’s 17-game winning streak over KU began on my watch. The Wildcats have gone 17-0 against the Jayhawks with me watching from the press box.

You’re welcome, K-State fans.

To answer your question, though, there’s no reason to predict a KU win in the series right now. The Wildcats are the better program, and they take the rivalry more seriously. It’s hard Lance Leipold to break the cycle when he has that kind of combination working against him.

The streak is bound to end eventually. But the Wildcats widened the gap in the rivalry last weekend. For now, there is no end in sight.

What do you think each of the head coaches at K-State’s favorite Halloween candy would be? -@scottwildcat via X.

Chris Klieman: Snickers, because it’s starting to look like the football team took a break and ate this candy bar after its 1-3 start. The Wildcats have turned their season around since.

Jerome Tang: Toblerone, because the men’s basketball team is relying on so many Europeans this season.

Jeff Mittie: Feastables, because after years of winning with established and well-known players the K-State women’s basketball team is now relying on a young and new roster.

Pete Hughes: Omaha Steaks flavored candy, because the guy is always focused on the College World Series.

For the Men’s basketball team, what has to happen for a top four finish? For the Women’s basketball team, what has to happen for a top four finish? -@bfullingt1 via X.

Let me start by saying that it would be an impressive achievement for Jerome Tang to lead the men’s basketball team into the top four of the Big 12 standings.

Have you seen the top of the conference this season? Arizona, Baylor, BYU, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas and Texas Tech are all formidable teams.

Tang needs to get enough contributions from Andrej Kostic, Elias Rapieque and Dorin Buca for fans to affectionately refer to this roster as the Euro Cats.

College basketball statistician projects K-State as the nation’s No. 79 team (and No. 14 in the Big 12) in his preseason rankings database, which is a step down from where the Wildcats finished last season (59). But I don’t think his projections are expecting much from the three international players that Tang added during the offseason.

If they all play at a high level, then it shouldn’t be hard for K-State to exceed preseason expectations. But Torvik’s numbers have already accounted for its returning players and traditional transfers. If those guys turn out to be the main contributors, K-State could be in for another average season.

K-State got mixed results from its Euro Cats in an exhibition loss to Missouri last week. Rapieque was in the starting lineup, and he finished with seven points but no rebounds. Buca had six points and six rebounds off the bench. Kostic had seven points and four assists.

I don’t want to jump to any conclusions based on a preseason game. But K-State will need more from its European trio if it wants to finish high in the Big 12 standings. The Wildcats also need to toughen up on defense.

With the women’s team, Izela Arenas led K-State to an exhibition victory over Tarleton State with 22 points. But the most impressive number on the stat sheet came from Nastja Claessens, who finished +28 on the plus/minus chart in 23 minutes of action. No one else was better than +14.

The road to a top-four conference finish will be easier for the women than the men. But it will still be a challenge. If they can rely on youth and athleticism to make up for the experience they lost then they will have a chance.

It appears to me they don’t list a player on the availability report after he’s definitely out for the season (Tobi Osunsanmi isn’t listed this week). Does that mean they really think there’s a chance George Fitzpatrick will play yet this season? Seems hard to believe. -@kstatefanfirst via X.

Gus Hawkins also isn’t listed, and he is done for the season.

Matt Wells referenced George Fitzpartrick as a player that K-State has most likely lost for the season a few weeks back. So the odds of him playing late in the year are low.

It’s much more likely that he remains on the sideline and seeks a medical redshirt or simply retires from football.

But Chris Klieman has also said that the Wildcats are exploring a few possibilities to get Fitzpatrick on the field. The door hasn’t slammed shut on him playing just yet.

When K-State goes on the road, it loads a huge semi full of gear. NFL teams do not. What are college teams taking to away games that professional teams are not? -@the_funky_andy via X.

This is an interesting question that I haven’t thought much about before.

I assume NFL teams are able to ship their equipment via plane because they don’t travel massive rosters to away games. There are 53 players on each roster, and only 48 of them can be active for a game.

Most college teams have over 100 players. The entire roster rarely travels for a road game, but there are usually around 70 players on the sideline for college away games.

College teams have more equipment to transport, so they all utilize semi-trucks.

Some NFL teams also have their own planes, which presumably makes it easier to transport equipment than renting different charter flights throughout a season.

The semi-trucks are also really cool. You will never pass a Kansas City Chiefs big rig barrelling down I-70 on its way to a game in Denver. But you can honk at the K-State semi-trick every other week during the fall.

My weekly recommendations

Streaming: Gridiron Heights and/or SEC Shorts. You won’t find either of these football comedy shows on traditional cable. But they make me laugh every week. There has never been a better time for pigskin humor on social media.

Food: Almond Joy. I like eating them. My kids hate them. There is no better candy to swipe after Halloween.

This story was originally published October 31, 2025 at 10:35 AM with the headline "K-State Wildcats Q&A: Jayce Brown, Linkon Cure, Big 12 title scenarios and more."

Kellis Robinett

The Wichita Eagle

Kellis Robinett covers Kansas State athletics for The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star. A winner of more than a dozen national writing awards, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.