Kansas State at Colorado
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
This Saturday the Kansas State Wildcats will go on the road to take on the Colorado Buffaloes in Big 12 action. The Wildcats lost 38-28 last week at Missouri for their fourth loss in their last six games, while the Buffaloes snapped a five game losing streak with a 34-14 win over Iowa State. The Wildcats have won six of the last eight in the series, including a 20-6 win at home last season. The oddsmakers don’t seem to think there is a lot that separates these two this weekend, as the current odds have the Wildcats favored by 2-points over the Buffaloes at home.
Kansas State (6-4, 3-4 Big 12): The Wildcats got off to a good start against the Tigers last week, and trailed just 21-14 at half, but Missouri scored 17 straight points to open the second half, and the game was all but over. Kansas State didn’t help themselves in this one, as they turned the ball over four times, including a fumble that was returned 53 yards for a touchdown.
Carson Coffman completed 11 of 19 attempts for just 170 yards with one touchdown and one interceptions. The Wildcats did most of their damage in the running game. Star running back Daniel Thomas had just 66 yards on 12 carries, but did score two short touchdowns. Backup Collin Klein really looked good, rushing for 141 yards on 18 carries, and also threw a 35 yard touchdown pass to Adrian Hillburn.
The Wildcats finished the game with 422 yards of total offense, so if they would have just eliminated the mistakes, they could have came away with a win. The Buffaloes don’t figure to give Kansas State much of a challenge defensively, as they come in allowing 398 yards of total offense a game.
Colorado (4-6, 1-5 Big 12): The Buffaloes have really got the offense rolling the past two games, and are coming off one of their best defensive performances of the season. Colorado held Iowa State to -6 rushing yards, and only allowed 229 yards of total offense on the game.
A big reason the Buffaloes have got things going offensively, is because of the play of quarterback Cody Hawkins and running back Rodney Stewart. Hawkins threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns against the Cyclones, and has 588 yards and six touchdowns in his last two games. Stewart has racked up 367 total yards in the last two games, including 148 against Iowa State.
There is a good chance the offense will continue on a roll this week, as the Wildcats have had their struggles on the defensive side of the ball. Kansas State comes in allowing 220 yards a game on the ground, and another 216 yards through the air.
Looking at the Odds: As good as the Buffaloes have played the last couple weeks, they have just one win to show for it, and its their only conference win on the season. Kansas State’s four losses have came against Nebraska, Baylor, Missouri, and Oklahoma State, not exactly a group of teams you would throw the Buffaloes in. I think Kansas State rolls to an easy win in this one. My final score prediction is Kansas State 45, Colorado 34.
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