K-State Wildcats vs. SIU Salukis: Five things to know about Big 12/FCS football game
The Kansas State Wildcats began the 2021 football season with an impressive 24-7 victory over Stanford last weekend at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
They will try to build off that game when they host the Southern Illinois Salukis in their home opener on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan.
Here is everything you need to know to start preparing for the Big 12/FCS clash.
The details
Kickoff: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan
TV: ESPN+ (Online streaming service, subscription required)
Radio: KCSP 610 AM in Kansas City; KKGQ 92.3 FM in Wichita
Five things to know
1. K-State can’t afford to overlook a FCS opponent, even after beating Stanford. The odds of Chris Klieman, a former FCS head coach at North Dakota State, allowing the Wildcats to underestimate the Salukis ahead of this game seem remote. Not only does Klieman respect FCS teams more than most of his peers in the FBS ranks, beating them by lopsided scores is his forte. Still, it’s worth mentioning here because several FCS teams found success on the road against FBS opponents in Week 1. Six FCS teams have already defeated FBS teams this season. The best upset of the bunch came from Montana against No. 20 Washington. This is not the year to sleep walk through a guarantee game.
2. Southern Illinois is one of the best teams in its conference. The Salukis opened their season with a 47-21 victory over Southeast Missouri State in which quarterback Nic Baker threw for 460 yards and four touchdowns. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who follows Southern Illinois. It upset North Dakota State last season and opened this year ranked seventh in the FCS top 25.
3. The Wildcats are off to a strong start on defense. How good was Joe Klanderman’s unit against Stanford? Well, K-State ranks inside the top 20 nationally in three important defensive statistics after one week. The Wildcats rank 11th in rushing yards allowed (39), 17th in points allowed (seven) and 19th in total yards allowed (233).
4. Rushing for 100 yards no longer seems impressive for Deuce Vaughn. The sophomore K-State running back eclipsed the century mark in this third consecutive game when he rushed for 124 yards on 13 carries against Stanford. He became the 12th running back in program history to rush for 100 yards in at least three straight games. Alex Barnes was the last K-State player to rush for 100 yards in four straight games.
5. This game could be an opportunity for K-State’s reserves to shine on offense. Sophomore quarterback Will Howard didn’t play a single snap against Stanford. Backup running backs Joe Ervin and Jacardia Wright saw some action, but played sparingly behind Vaughn. Malik Knowles and Phillip Brooks were the only two receivers who caught passes. K-State coaches leaned mostly on their veteran leaders last week. But that could change against Southern Illinois, especially if the Wildcats are leading comfortably in the second half. There’s no doubt this game will be one of K-State’s best opportunities to empty the sidelines this season. With Nevada and then Big 12 play coming up next, there won’t be time to experiment in future games.
This story was originally published September 6, 2021 at 1:19 PM with the headline "K-State Wildcats vs. SIU Salukis: Five things to know about Big 12/FCS football game."