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Don Best has officially released 250 early lines (mostly for BCS clubs), including eight of K-State’s conference games; Texas Tech is apparently too tricky to quantify right now, as only three lines on the Red Raiders are available, and K-State is not included. K-State is favored in five of its eight Big 12 games, and would likely be favored in the Texas Tech game as well (making six of nine):

 Saturday, September 21, 2013
KANSAS ST.
TEXAS -9

Saturday, October 5, 2013
KANSAS ST.
OKLAHOMA ST. -9

Saturday, October 12, 2013
BAYLOR
KANSAS ST. -5

Saturday, October 26, 2013
WEST VIRGINIA
KANSAS ST. -9

Saturday, November 2, 2013
IOWA ST.
KANSAS ST. -13½

Saturday, November 16, 2013
TCU
KANSAS ST. -4½

Saturday, November 23, 2013
OKLAHOMA -4
KANSAS ST.

Saturday, November 30, 2013
KANSAS ST. -21½
KANSAS

Two games immediately stick out to me. The first is that K-State is expected to triumph over TCU. Several pundits have made Texas Christian their favorite to win the Big 12, so it means something that K-State is expected to win this game. Granted, the game is in Manhattan, but the Wildcats are favored by more than a field goal. If you’ll recall, K-State won at TCU last year by the score of 23-10 to improve to 10-0 before falling to Baylor the following week.

Secondly, Oklahoma doesn’t have a big line against K-State. Everyone remembers how the Wildcats went into Norman to open Big 12 play and walked out with a 24-19 victory last year, but this Sooners team is expected to compete for the league title. Both K-State and Oklahoma suffered a lot of turnover this offseason, and it will be interesting to see how these odds change after we get a few games into the season.

K-State probably has the roughest introduction to conference play, having to start at Texas followed by a game at Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State has recently become the media favorite to win the Big 12, while there’s consensus that Texas has the most individual talent in the conference. Of course, Texas had more talent than K-State last year too. As did Oklahoma State. Or, at least that’s what ESPN told me…

As far as the other games on the list, Baylor may be the favorite if the game is held in Waco rather than Manhattan – the Bears clobbered K-State 52-24 last year and return a lot of talent. West Virginia’s defense was awful last year and the team lost its best players on offense, so I’m not afraid of what happens when the Mountaineers visit. And, yes, K-State is expected to win by more than three touchdowns against KU. Because what a better way to close out the season? (Well, humiliating Texas 42-24 to win the Big 12 last year was pretty great way to close out the season too, but you catch my drift.)

79 days left until kick-off of the 2013 Kansas State football season – do you feel the excitement yet?

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Yesterday we previewed the first half of the mess that is replacing quarterbacks in the Big 12 (seven of the league’s ten teams lose their starter to graduation). Here are the final four on the list before we look at how K-State’s (unnamed) starting quarterback will once again be the best in the land.

Texas: Texas actually returns a starter in David Ash. I will not say Texas returns a starter I’d like to see under center for the Wildcats. Fact: Ash did pass for 50 more yards than Collin Klein. He was also not featured against the Wildcats last year. He missed the 42-24 thrashing while injured on the bench, leaving Case McCoy to throw two interceptions in that game. Texas quarterbacks do not scare me.

Texas Christian: TCU finds itself with a comparatively embarrassing glut of talent at quarterback. Trevone Boykin was thrust into the starting position last year and helped lead the Horned Frogs to a 7-5 regular season record and a close 17-16 loss to Michigan State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. However, Casey Pachall also returns after undergoing a rehabilitation program last year. Pachall has started 17 games and led TCU to an 11-2 record in 2011.

Texas Tech: Mike Leach’s air raid offense is technically gone, but the statistics weren’t for outgoing Seth Doege this year. Doege tied West Virginia’s Geno Smith for third in passing yardage this year and completed over 70 percent of his throws. Michael Brewer appears to be the frontrunner to replace him, though freshman Davis Webb will push Brewer all season.

West Virginia: While K-State certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Smith for one more rodeo (he was held to only one touchdown and two interceptions while averaging 4.5 yards/attempt when the Wildcats visited Morgantown), there’s no denying he was the most saught-after quarterback from the Big 12 this draft. Ford Childress and Paul Millard battled to play the role of replacement throughout spring training camp. A Florida State transfer, Clint Trickett, will also be available at the start of the season for a wide-open contest.

Click here for our review of the first half of the conference.

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Longhorns, perpetually frustrated by their inability to beat K-State despite their five star recruits, multi-billion dollar facilities, and bloated coaching salaries, have one more trick up their sleeves: preventing their potential opponents from setting foot on campus in Manhattan in the first place. According to bleacherreport, Texas has been pressing hard to convince junior offensive lineman and K-State committed Robert Castaneda to don burnt orange in 2014.

Texas has done nothing wrong here – Castaneda gave his verbal commitment to K-State in March but has signed nothing and remains on the open recruiting market, so to speak. Any contact with the player is completely above the board. As such, it’s important Bill Snyder and company do everything they can to keep Castaneda’s eyes trained on K-State. At 6’5″ and 315 lbs, the Round Rock, TX player will provide some serious beef on whichever offensive line he chooses to bolster.

Former Texas quarterback and current assistant coach Major Applewhite recently visited Round Rock and will likely push hard to secure the 3-star recruit. Another in-state school – Texas Tech – is also continuing to court Castaneda. He reportedly visited the campus in Lubbock in April and has an offer from the Raiders on the table. Hopefully the opportunity for playing time on the Big 12 champion is enough to keep him a Wildcat.

Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Angel Rodriquez finished the first half on the bench with two personal fouls, relegated to watching his team work its way to a six point halftime lead. He quickly made up for lost time by knocking down a three on his team’s first possession of the first half to help power Kansas State to a 66-49 victory. The shot made K-State seven of ten for threes, cleaning up on open shots allowed by Rick Barnes who maintained 2-3 zone throughout the night. However, Rodriguez quickly returned to the bench after picking up his third foul only two and a half minutes into the half.

Texas started the game leading 7-1, but K-State went on a 14-2 run to go up 15-9 just six and a half minutes into the game, building a game that was never relinquished. Bruce Weber’s treatment of Angel Rodriguez was largely an enigma. Rodriguez did a little bit of everything, scoring and forcing turnovers while on the court, but saw much more bench time than he’s become accustomed to this season. Although he had fouls early in the game, Rodriguez finished with just three. He still finished second on the team with 13 points, along with three rebounds, five assists, and one steal.

Texas Longhorns G Myck Kabongo (12) dribbles the ball as Kansas State Wildcats F D.J. Johnson (50) defends in the second half during the second round of the Big 12 tournament. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Will Spradling and Jordan Henriquez both started the game despite injuries, but neither were able to contribute much offensively.  Henriquez began the second half on the bench, showing the strains of a tight back while spending much of the game on a stationary bike attempting to get lose. Both players made one out of four shots, Spradling a three and Henriquez a two, to finish with a combined five points.

With Rodriguez in foul trouble and Spradling still injured and suffering from a lack of conditioning, K-State’s bench continued to step up as it has all season. Martavious Irving continued his late season renaissance by pouring in six points while collecting five rebounds. Additionally, D.J. Johnson played his best game of the year. The freshman forward finished 4/4 shooting for eight points to go along with seven rebounds, tying McGruder for most rebounds among all players in the game while helping to fill in for Henriquez. The St. Louis native is averaging 2.2 points and 2.5 rebounds on the year.

The Wildcats blistered Texas from behind the arc, and at one point were seven of ten in three point shooting. The team cooled eventually, hitting nine of 21 on the night, but still finished at 41.5 percent from downtown as Rick Barnes refused to scrap a 2-3 zone that encouraged K-State’s sharpshooters to pull the trigger from long range. (Side note: this is another example of why Rick Barnes is an awful coach. K-State is somewhat offensively challenged inside – although its guards do like to drive on the basket. Still, when you have a height advantage and the other team is on fire, you should probably man up at some point).

Kansas State is now 26-6 on the season, and looks determined to make a run at a three seed. Texas finishes the year with a losing record – 16-17 – and will likely be left out of the postseason. The Jug fails to find tears to weep. The Wildcats now await the winner of Baylor-Oklahoma State tonight. A win there sends them to the conference championship game Saturday. Should they win that game, the Wildcats will have finished 28-6 on the season while laying claim to both the Big 12′s regular season and tournament championships. Should they pull off this feat by way of victory over KU, would the Wildcats deserve a two seed?

Hoping to extend their season after downing TCU last night, Texas didn’t seem capable of missing early on in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament. The Longhorns started 8 for 11, hitting over 70 percent of their shots with 7:30 left to play in the first half. On the other side, the Wildcats were hitting less than 40 percent of their shots. Yet K-State was leading 21-18. The principal reason? K-State had only one turnover to Texas’s five, and owned a 9-3 advantage in points off of turnovers.

Not only did Texas cool off, but K-State was able to resist fouls with the Longhorns picked up several of their own. Early in half, Texas has six to K-State’s three, though both teams now have seven. Additionally, the Wildcats have been much more successful from three, hitting six of nine, opting to keep the ball outside as Texas maintained a 2-3 zone. Texas, however, only managed to connect on two of eight three point shots.

Despite lingering injuries, Will Spradling and Jordan Henriquez both received starts tonight. Spradling hasn’t been healthy since suffering a brusied sternum against Texas in February, and was very visibly winded during his 19 minutes of action against Oklahoma State. Henriquez was also limited due to a back injury that has been recurring this year. Spradling has three points to go along with a steal and an assist so far tonight, while Henriquez has hit two of four free throws for two points and one rebound.

K-State could certainly boast a bigger lead if its free throws would fall. The team has only hit six of 12, and missed two one-and-one opportunities. Rodney McGruder leads the Wildcats with 12 points, while Angel Rodriguez has eight despite seeing some significant bench time with two fouls. McGruder has been nursing both a hurt hand and hip due to undisclosed injuries during this game. He is favoring half of his body when away from the ball, which will be a situation to watch during the second half of this very physical game.

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Will Spradling is a beast in a boy’s body. A week after Grantland declared only one other player in the nation looks less like he “belongs on a basketball court” than Spradling, #55 showed more heart, guts, and straight up blood than any other player on K-State’s team this year. Spradling got nailed – absolutely nailed – in the nose with an elbow in the first half and immediately went down. Everyone at the bar simultaneously agreed that that’s a broken nose as blood began pooling on the floor. When a coach is holding a towel over your nose and the towel starts dripping blood because it’s so saturated, that’s not just a ding on the snout – that’s some misaligned cartilage. Gonna miss the game against Oklahoma, plastic mask for the rest of the year, sucks to be Will Spradling. So what’s the kid do? Comes back in the second half to get a rebound and knock down a trey before coming out with about ten minutes to go and the game firmly in K-State’s pocket; not wearing any facial protection. Gotta love a player like that.

Overall, the Wildcats were able to dominate this game from almost beginning to end and the outcome was never really in question after they jumped out to a 21-9 lead, with a 38-19 margin at halftime. Steals seemed to flow all night as Shane Southwell recorded three of K-State’s nine takeaways – most of which led to fast break opportunities and ended in layups or foul shots. The free throw shooting that has dogged the team all year finally became a strength as the team hit 17 of 21 attempts (81 percent), although they could have missed every attempt and still won the game by nine.

Rodney McGruder was not called on to win the game, and spent the majority of the match on the bench (only 15 minutes of playing time). He wasn’t terribly effective during the moments he was on the court, missing his two three point attempts and shooting 40 percent on the night with one rebound, one assist, no steals, and three fouls. It was his lowest output since December 15 against Gonzaga, when he was held to four points on one-of-nine shooting.

In McGruder’s absence, Angel Rodriguez has been excellent at picking up the slack by knocking down threes and slashing his 5’11″ frame to the basket. However, tonight’s spotlight shown on bench player Thomas Gipson. Although only averaging 6.8 points on 19 minutes per game, Gipson shot a highly efficient 70 percent from the field to go along with three-of-three free throw shooting to finish with 17 points and seven rebounds on the night. Rodriguez managed 11 points on only 3-12 shooting, including 1-5 from behind the arc. However, he did finish with eight assists on the night.

Overall, the Wildcats did not completely shut down the Longhorns offense, allowing 41.3 percent field goal shooting by Texas. However, the Longhorns only managed to hit two of their nine three point attempts and finished with eleven fewer rebounds (28) than their average (39) – an average that ranked 30th overall in the nation.

Bruce Weber was incensed during much of the first half by the quick whistles of tonight’s referees, which sent McGruder and Martavious Irving to the bench early on in the game. He demonstrated said frustration by yelling at the officials. A lot. Weber engaged in multiple shouting matches with the refs and seemingly followed them from baseline to baseline during one change of possession. However, he was much relieved by the end of the game as K-State (16-4, 5-2) remained tied for second place in the Big 12 with the blowout win. Despite playing a team missing McGruder, Irving, and Spradling for much of the game, Texas (9-11, 1-6) was sorely beaten and remains ninth in the conference with only one league victory.

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

After climbing to #11 in the nation, the Wildcats dropped two straight games last week and experienced a subsequent fall to #18 in the country. While three of their four losses have been to top ten teams (#1 Michigan, #2 Kansas, and #8 Gonzaga), a 73-67 loss at Iowa State on Saturday left the team at 15-4 and 4-2 in Big 12 play.

On the other side of the aisle, Texas has been one of the most unimpressive teams in the league this year. The Longhorns (9-10, 1-5) have played hard in the face of a difficult schedule, beating then-number 24 North Carolina, and taking USC, Baylor, and West Virginia to overtime before eventually losing. They also jumped out to a halftime lead against KU before eventually succumbing. However, almost doesn’t count in the win column, and Texas still sits in ninth in the Big 12 basement.

Texas ranks 247th nationally in averaging 64.4 points/game. Expect another rough night for Rick Barnes’ squad as the Wildcats continue to be among the best defensive teams in the country. They rank 20th in scoring defense (58) and 42nd in rebounding margin (+5.4). 14 of their 19 opponents have failed to surpass 65 points, and eight of 19 have failed to surpass 55.

The game will be played in Bramlage, where K-State generally does not lose. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 CT and will air on ESPN2.

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

With wins by Texas Tech and Baylor already in the books, the Big 12 came into Saturday looking to extend its bowl dominance. West Virginia got the league off on the wrong foot in a blustery, snowy Yankee Stadium, while TCU lost the nightcap, leaving only Texas with a win to leave the conference at 3-2 at the end of the week.

The Big 12 has failed to establish a friendly history with the Pinstripe Bowl during its three years of existence. In the inaugural year, Wildcat fans remember a last-second loss to Syracuse after receiver Adrian Hilburn saluting the crowd after a touchdown reception, incurring a 15 yard penalty and making the two point try too difficult to achieve. It snowed the entire game and left Kansans with a negative impression of New York winters. Little has changed in two years, as a flag-happy Pac 12 officiating squad nailed West Virginia with 10 penalties and a constant snowfall culminated in a 38-14 loss to Syracuse.

Shortly after losing a game it shouldn’t, a second Big 12 game it wasn’t supposed to win ended with Texas emerging victorious over the Oregon State Beavers. Although the teams were ranked #23 and #13, few believed the game would be that close as Oregon State looked too dangerous for Texas to handle. However, Texas forced three turnovers and outgained the Beavers by 50 yards, 36 of which came on a touchdown strike to Marquise Goodwin with 2:24 left to provide the final score of the game. Alex Okafor helped power the Longhorns to eight sacks and the win, 31-27.

During the nightcap, TCU jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first half against a Michigan State team incapable of moving the football. The streak continued well into the third quarter, as the Spartans didn’t get on the board until 15:34 left to go in the game. However, it was TCU’s offense that failed to gain any momentum in the second half while Michigan State scored 16 of the game’s final 19 points for a 17-16 victory. While the Horned Frogs managed 288 yards to Michigan State’s 227, their two turnovers were the deciding factor as MSU did not turn the ball over during the course of the game.

Big 12 play starts again Monday night when Iowa State plays Tulsa in a Liberty Bowl rematch of a regular season game. Also to play are Oklahoma State against Purdue, Oklahoma versus Texas A&M, and, of course, K-State’s epic meeting with Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.

Dec 1, 2012; Manhattan, KS, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Case McCoy (6) is sacked by Kansas State Wildcats defensive end Meshak Williams (42) during the first half at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Tramaine Thompson had a heart-skipping punt return to open up the fourth quarter. It looked like he’d be pinned back ten yards from where he caught the ball, bounced off a hit, reversed field, and turned in a solid nine yard run. He covered about 35 gross yards on the return. Speaking of returns, The Jug didn’t give credit where credit’s due during the third quarter. Tyler Lockett had an excellent kickoff return for 33 yards and was stopped by the kicker. Not giving credit to Lockett, giving credit to the place kicker – not a lot of them are capable of taking down Tyler Lockett, even if Lockett was funneled directly into him.

It’s ok to chide Lockett a little bit about getting tackled by a kicker – on K-State’s first drive of the 4th quarter, Lockett ran a beautiful post route across the field on first down, Collin Klein hit him without a defender in a five yard vicinity, and Lockett hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass.

On the subsequent Texas drive, Meshak Williams hit Case McCoy and didn’t get off the field for quite a while. There was no obvious injury on the replay although it appeared to be a shoulder injury. We’ll keep you posted as information is forthcoming. On the next play K-State allows a first down pass and is assessed with a hit to the helmet by Ryan Mueller. Mueller screwed up again by getting a personal foul call two plays later. A play was called dead due to a Texas false start, and Mueller gave McCoy a light hit while slowing down. There was an acting job by the quarterback, but he still went to the ground and what should have been a play in favor of K-State ended up giving Texas additional yardage.

The drive should have been stopped on the play MeShak Williams came back in for. Texas bobbled a pitch and Nigel Malone immediately jumped on it. It appeared a Texas player hit Malone and ripped the ball away after Malone had already secured possession and was lying on the ground, but possession was awarded to the Longhorns. However, K-State came up big on the next two plays by holding the Longhorns to a five yard pass on 2nd and 21 with a great open field tackle and pass batted down by Ryan Mueller on third down. After Mueller redeemed himself with the play, kicker Nick Jordan missed a 40 yard field, returning possession to K-State. It wasn’t time to write ‘gameover’ at that point, but it looked

Collin Klein actually had a bad option toss on the next possession. Klein pump-faked and looked confused, ran forward, then threw the ball forward as he was going down, being assessed with an illegal forward pass. The drive would have ended with K-State punting on 4th and 14 due to some uninspired play calling that didn’t give any threat of pass, but Texas muffed the punt and K-State recovered at the Texas 39 after a mad scramble that pushed the ball an additional ten yards downfield. It was vintage Klein from there. On third down he took a draw 18 yards to get the team to the five yard line and had another two yard run before Hubert was hit at the goal line. On third and goal at the one, Klein executed a quick toss to Hubert before looking the other way to distract the defense/block 35-17, Kansas State. The crowd is chanting “we own Texas.”

Case McCoy attempted to engineer some late game heroics and completed one long pass, but Allen Chapman was sitting in zone coverage and made a break on his next pass for McCoy’s second interception. McCoy saved the touchdown by hitting Chapman out of bounds, but Klein scored on a nine yard run two plays later to go up 42-17 and punctuate one of the greatest careers Manhattan has ever seen. The crowd is now chanting “Klein for Heisman” as the team has scored three straight touchdowns in the final quarter, extending their lead from four to 25.

K-State seemed to be celebrating a little early, and the kickoff coverage unit was celebrating while lining up for the kick. They were caught off guard as D.J. Monroe provided a 72 yard return to put Texas in scoring range. Malcolm Brown caught a touchdown pass to close the gap to 42-24, but the margin is still impressive.

So, K-State wins the Big 12 championship. An invitation to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl follows tomorrow night, likely against Oregon. Interesting scenarios to discuss later, but for now it’s time to just savor the moment. EMAW.

Scott Sewell-US PRESSWIRE

Great play to kick off the half as John Hubert take a counter play to the write, then cuts back left about ten yards downfield to pick up 28 on the run. It’s only the second time the Wildcats have driven inside the 50 yard line. After a poor run, Klein pulls off an excellent play that we’ve seen a couple times this year and wouldn’t mind seeing a couple more. Collin Klein takes runs straight forward two steps to draw the defense in, then finds an open Travis Tannahill downfield to get the ball down to the five. A keeper for a short loss, a keeper for four yards, and pitch to Hubert puts K-State back in the end zone to go up 14-10.

It shouldn’t be so surprising, but The Jug is still amazed every time Collin Klein runs the option and keeps the ball until the last possible second before tossing the ball. It’s always sometime between when he gets hit and when his knee/back touches the ground, it always incurs a lot of punishment for the quarterback, and it almost always ends in success.

Quick note: it’s been loud all night long. Even when Texas has momentum, these fans have been loud.

Texas can’t run up the middle, period. However, they’ve found success running to the outside. They’ve executed multiple reverses tonight for positive yardage and have been able to exploit a speed advantage on the edge. However, from left guard to right guard, there’s a steel Texas has been unable to penetrate.

After Texas went up 17-14, Bill Snyder really started instituting some good play calling. There was no one smart string of plays to point to, but the most important aspect was an emphasis on Collin Klein. Rather than force Klein to make plays through the air, he’s been running on the ground. This team is best when Klein and Hubert are leading the team, but they’ve had the luxury of experimenting with passes, Angelo Pease, and plays that are not Klein/Hubert option runs. In a situation where K-State has to take control and enforce its will, number seven’s number has been called over and over again. And he responded by putting the Wildcats back on top, 21-17.

On the PAT that put K-State up 21-17, Texas jumped offsides twice. Bill Snyder declined the penalty, opting to maintain the extra yard to provide a little better angle. In this situation it’s better to still take the extra point (there’s no difference between going up four or five), but it’d be interesting if the score was 18-17 and Bill Snyder had the option of going up two or trying to go up by a field goal.