Kansas State coach Chris Klieman can tell his players it’s a different year.
Or it is late in the season and the team has improved or on any given Saturday, any team can beat any team if you don’t show up ready to play.
But the simple truth in mid-July is the Wildcats’ home game against Arizona State Nov. 16 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium is the easiest Big 12 conference contest of the season.
The Sun Devils are coming off a 3-9 season and have the youngest coach in FBS in 34-year-old Kenny Dillingham.
Dillingham recently told the Arizona Republic his team is physically stronger than last year.
“Last year we had two guys who could squat over 600 pounds,” Dillingham told the Arizona Republic. “Now we have six. Last year we had, I think it was 44 guys on our team squat 400 pounds. Now we have upwards of 65, somewhere in the 70s.
“So, our size and strength of our football team was something that we focused on. Now that we’ve kind of hit our summer goals from that perspective, I’m excited to see it translate to football.”
Actually, K-State can’t take this game lightly. If the Wildcats have the type of season many are projecting, they can’t afford to lose to a team they should beat.
By this point in the season, players will be a little banged up. A game in which some of the players can rest in the fourth quarter would definitely be helpful for the Wildcats.
David Boyce is a contributing writer to K-State On SI. He can be reached at davidboyce95@gmail.com.
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Source link : https://www.si.com/college/kstate/k-state-schedule-preview-nov-16-arizona-state-should-be-an-easy-opponent-01j2vqbpgg6c
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Publish date : 2024-07-15 13:48:01
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