Five key storylines as K-State Wildcats return to Big 12 action at Colorado Buffaloes
The Kansas State football team will return to action when it heads to Folsom Field for an important Big 12 game against the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday.
Both teams were idle last week, so they should be healthy and rested for a late-night kickoff.
This will be an important game in the race for a conference championship. No. 19 K-State (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) will try to stay near the top of the league standings. Colorado (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) will try to remain undefeated in conference play.
It should be a good one.
Here is everything you need to know to start preparing for this week’s game:
Kansas State at Colorado: Game details
Kickoff: 9:15 p.m. (central) Saturday
Where: Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado
TV: ESPN
Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City and KFH (1240 AM and 97.5 FM) in Wichita
Betting line: K-State by 5.5 with an O/U of 54.5
Five things to know
1. Colorado is a better football team than most expected. Some left the Buffaloes for dead when they opened the season with a lackluster win over North Dakota State and then got blown out at Nebraska. But they have bounced back nicely with consecutive victories over Colorado State, Baylor and UCF. Their most recent win against the Knights (48-21) was particularly impressive.
2. Chris Klieman has historically struggled after a bye week. The Wildcats are 1-4 after a bye week during the Klieman era, excluding the COVID year of 2020. They have also lost three straight games after a bye week, dating back to 2019. Those struggles are hard to explain, as teams generally play better when they have more time to rest and prepare for games.
3. An old Big Eight rivalry is about to be renewed. Of all the teams that have left the Big 12 during the era of conference realignment, Colorado may have been missed the most by K-State fans. It should be fun for both sides to renew this rivalry, which dates back to 1912. The Buffaloes own a 45-20-1 advantage over the Wildcats, but these teams split their last eight games when they were both members of the Big 12 North.
4. Is this a revenge game for Dylan Edwards? Probably not, seeing as how Edwards chose to transfer away from Colorado after one season and now seems happy playing running back at K-State. But he is sure to experience different emotions than usual as he returns to Boulder.
5. Colorado is loaded with star power. The Buffaloes have some of the biggest names in all of college football on their roster. Deion Sanders is perhaps the most famous and outspoken coach in the business. His son, Shedeur Sanders, is a talented quarterback who has an NFL future. And Travis Hunter is a Heisman Trophy contender.
This story was originally published October 7, 2024 at 9:48 AM with the headline "Five key storylines as K-State Wildcats return to Big 12 action at Colorado Buffaloes."