No. 17 Kansas State will try to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive when the Wildcats travel to Houston Saturday afternoon for the second-ever matchup between the schools.
The Wildcats have won four straight games since losing their Big 12 opener at BYU. Kansas State (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) now turns its attention to Houston, who is in the bottom half of the Big 12 standings. But head coach Chris Klieman isn’t looking at the record.
“It’s another road trip, our third in the last four weeks,” Klieman said. “(Houston has) won two of their last three. I thought they played really well against Utah.
“I have tons of respect for Coach (Willie) Fritz because of what he’s accomplished every place he’s been. I know he’s going to get it done at Houston.”
The Wildcats are performing well all around and rank in the top half of the conference in scoring, scoring defense, total offense and total defense. They’re balanced on offense, with 223.3 yards per game on the ground (second in the Big 12) and 211.3 yards per game through the air.
Where the Cats look to have the biggest advantage against Houston is in run defense. The Cougars (3-5, 2-3 Big 12) are 12th in the conference in rushing yards per game (147.9 yards per game). The Wildcats’ defense is allowing a Big 12-low 96.8 yards on the ground per game, nearly 20 yards fewer than the next-best defense in the conference.
The Wildcats are coming off a narrow escape against in-state rival Kansas. Avery Johnson threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns, and Chris Tennant tied a career long with his 51-yard field goal inside the final two minutes of the game to help the Wildcats avoid the upset, 29-27.
“Looking back, obviously a really good team win Saturday night,” Klieman said Monday. “We went through a lot of adversity and stayed the course and stayed in the fight. We found a way to get a couple of stops in the fourth quarter on defense. We did enough to get Chris in field goal range.
“The margin for error in college football is really small, it’s razor-thin. That’s why I’m so proud of the guys for staying in the fight. I’m happy we were able to get that done.”
The Cougars also used a late field goal to down Utah at home. Jack Martin nailed a 43-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Cougars past Utah, 17-14. That was a turnaround after getting blitzed 42-14 by Kansas.
Now Fritz knows his team will face another challenge with the Wildcats.
“It was a big win (against Utah),” he said. “I believe they were picked to finish first in the conference. We did some good things, but we’re always looking for room for improvement.
“Every game is going to be tough. This is a very balanced and competitive league. Everybody in the Big 12 is pretty darned good. This is another tough opponent for us to play. It’s going to be tough to beat them. We’ve got to be plus in turnover (ratio). They’ve got two outstanding running backs and an outstanding quarterback who can run the ball. So we’ve got to do a good job in the run game.”
The Wildcats beat the Cougars 41-0 in Manhattan, Kan., last season in their inaugural meeting.
