Countdown to Kickoff Day 34: #17 Kansas State Wildcats

The defending Big 12 champs have officially entered the chat. The Wildcats ended the regular season in 2022 at 9-3, won the Big 12 Championship against TCU, and earned a bid into the Sugar Bowl. Chris Klieman is coming off his best year at Kansas State and will have some work to do to repeat his 2022 success.

Replacing Deuce Vaughn is damn near impossible and will most certainly hurt the offensive production this year. That isn’t a knock towards the present Kansas State backfield, it is more so speaking to how much of a menace Vaughn was to every team. DJ Giddens will get the majority of the carries and Treshaun Ward will be there to help out as well. It will be a solid rushing attack, but it won’t be the same. The good news for KSU is that Will Howard will be back taking snaps for this team. He, along with Vaughn, led the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship last year and if Howard can get a little help from Giddens, a 2023 conference championship is not out of the question.

Kansas State will lose a handful of players on the defensive side, mainly in the secondary, but I would still take them over a lot of Big 12 defenses. Daniel Green might be the best linebacker in the conference and will return for his fifth season this year and Austin Moore, who led the team in tackles last year, will be by Daniel Green’s side leading this defense. The issue will be in the secondary, they have one returning player and will be filtering through cornerbacks in the beginning of the season to see who can earn a spot.

Prediction: Losing a huge star like Vaughn is tough, but this team is well coached and will be able to reload this year. I see a minor step back in the offensive production, but they will still compete on a high level. 8-4

How Many Games Will Kansas State Win In 2023

• 8 or more
• 7 or less