Cats Host Cowboys on Homecoming in Manhattan

Kansas State returns to Manhattan on Saturday looking to snap a three-game losing skid as the Wildcats host Oklahoma State in the annual observance of Homecoming. The game will kick at 11 a.m., at Bill Snyder Family Stadium and will be shown nationally on ESPNU with Kevin Brown (play-by-play) and Andre Ware (analyst) on the call. The game can be heard across the 39-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst) and Matt Walters (sidelines) calling the action. The game will also be on Sirius channel 119, XM Channel 199 in addition to the TuneIn app. Live stats are available at k-statesports.com, and Twitter updates (@KStateFB) will also be a part of the coverage.

A LOOK AT K-STATE
• K-State fell to 2-4 on the year following a 37-34 heartbreaker at Baylor in a game that saw the Wildcat offense rush for a season-best 319 yards.
• K-State has played both Skylar Thompson and Alex Delton this season, with Thompson earning starts in five. Thompson played the entirety of last week's game at Baylor, throwing for 149 yards and a score and running for one.
• The running game is solidified by the Wildcats' leading rusher a year ago, Alex Barnes, who is third in the Big 12 at 101.2 yards per game. He ran for a career-best 250 yards at Baylor, the fifth-most in a game in school history, while recording three touchdowns on the day.
• Wide receiver Isaiah Zuber has tallied his first two career 100-yard receiving games this year, going for 144 yards against UTSA and 133 at West Virginia. He also caught the game-winning touchdown pass late in the game against South Dakota and returned a punt 85 yards for a score against the Coyotes.
• Defensively, K-State recorded four sacks, eight tackles for loss and two interceptions on the day in last week's loss to Baylor.
• K-State has held three of its last four opponents without a rushing score.
• Senior safety Eli Walker (41) and junior linebacker Da'Quan Patton (37) lead the team with 78 combined tackles, while Reggie Walker has a team-best 4.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.
• Eli Walker, who has 31 tackles over the last three games, is 19th nationally in solo tackles per game (5.8), while Reggie Walker is second in the Big 12 in sacks.
• Senior defensive back Duke Shelley is fifth on the team with 27 tackles and has nine passes defended, the latter tying for third in the Big 12 and 14th nationally.

A LOOK AT OKLAHOMA STATE
• Oklahoma State heads into the game with a 4-2 overall record following a 48-42 loss to Iowa State at home.
• The Cowboys are averaging 44.0 points per game through six games and 523.3 yards of total offense with 309.8 of those coming through the air.
• Quarterback Taylor Cornelius has thrown for 1,830 yards and 16 touchdowns with Tylan Wallace and Tyron Johnson combining for 52 catches and seven touchdowns. Justice Hill is second in the Big 12 in rushing, averaging 107.2 yards per game with seven scores.
• On defense, the Cowboys are led by Justin Phillips' 42 tackles and Jordan Brailford's 9.0 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES
• Oklahoma State leads the all-time series, 25-39, but the series is tied, 7-7, since the Big 12 began in 1996.
• Games between the Wildcats and Cowboys have been hotly contested as of late with eight of the last 11 games being decided by a touchdown or less.
• The Wildcats earned a 45-40 win over the 10th-ranked Cowboys in Stillwater last season, the first win at OSU since 1999.
• In that game, Skylar Thompson threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns, while he ran for another.
• The last time in Manhattan, Oklahoma State earned a 43-37 victory in 2016. The Wildcats held a 37-28 lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Cowboys scored 15 unanswered points, including a touchdown and a two-point conversion with under two minutes left.

SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS
• Kansas State is in rare company in college football as the Wildcats rank in the top 20 in wins among FBS programs over the last 23 seasons.
• Since 1995, K-State has picked up 193 victories, which ranks 19th in the nation.
• The only current Big 12 teams to rank higher are Oklahoma (3rd; 224), Texas (12th; 208) and TCU (t15th; 199).

ONE OF THE BIG 12'S BEST
• K-State is one of only four teams in the Big 12 to reach 100 league wins since the league's inception in 1996.
• The Wildcats also rank third in the conference in winning percentage since round-robin play began in 2011. They sit at .621 (41-25), trailing only Oklahoma (.803; 53-13) and Oklahoma State (.682; 45-21).
• During that stretch, the Wildcats are 22-11 (.667) at home in Big 12 play and 19-14 (.576) on the road.
• K-State, picked sixth by the league's media in the Big 12 preseason poll, has finished in the top four of the conference in five of the last seven years.

THE HALL OF FAMER
• The architect of the "greatest turnaround in the history of college football," Bill Snyder is in his 27th season at K-State.
• Snyder is just the fourth person in the history of college football to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as an active coach when he was enshrined in 2015.
• Snyder, who has 212 wins, is one of just six coaches to reach the 200-win mark and coach at only one school.
• Holding 173 more victories than any other coach in K-State history, Snyder ranks first in the FBS in wins among coaches at their current schools and second in total wins among active coaches (FBS schools only).
• Snyder has 123 conference wins to stand as one of four coaches with 100 Big 8/12 victories (Tom Osborne [153], Bob Stoops [121], Barry Switzer [100]).

TWICE AS NICE
• Bill Snyder is one of two FBS coaches all time to have two different tenures at one school and record at least 70 wins each time after winning 136 games from 1989-2005 and 76 games since 2009.
• Snyder joins Vanderbilt's Dan McGugin, who had 95 wins from 1904-17 and 102 wins from 1919-34.
• There are only 11 teams in the FBS that have had the same head coach since 2009. Of those, only Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, Mike Gundy and Snyder have won at least six games every year over the nine-year span.

DRAWING FIRST BLOOD
• Since 1990, K-State is 166-34 (.830) when scoring first.
• K-State is 20-5 in that department over the last four seasons, including a 5-3 mark in 2017.
• Under Bill Snyder, K-State is 153-27 (.850) when scoring first.

LEADING AT THE HALF
• Under Bill Snyder, the Wildcats are 180-12 (.938) when leading at halftime, including a 61-5 (.924) mark in Snyder's second tenure, which began in 2009.
• The Wildcats finished the 2017 campaign with a 7-1 record when leading at the half.
• The lone blemish last season was against No. 9 Oklahoma when the Wildcats led, 21-10, at halftime before the Sooners scored a touchdown with seven seconds left in the game to win, 42-35.

CATS TOPS IN NON-OFFENSIVE TDs
• K-State is the nation's best in non-offensive touchdowns over the last 19 seasons with 112 since 1999, eight more than the next closest team and one of only two to top 100.
• Entering 2018, the Wildcats averaged 5.8 non-offensive scores per year since 1999, while the yearly average for the other 105 teams to play FBS football since then is 3.3.
• Kansas State has at least five non-offensive touchdowns in six of the last seven years, which includes three last year by 2018 returners. Two of them came from Kendall Adams, who had both a pick-six and a fumble-return touchdown against Charlotte, while Duke Shelley returned an interception for a score at Texas Tech.
• The first non-offensive touchdown for the Wildcats this year was an 85-yard punt return score by Isaiah Zuber in the season opener against South Dakota.
• Since 1990, the Wildcats are 62-17 when scoring on special teams and 20-1 when scoring on special teams and defense, including an 18-0 mark under Bill Snyder.

NON-OFFENSIVE TD RECORDS
• Under head coach Bill Snyder, K-State is 76-21 (.784) when scoring a non-offensive touchdown, while the Cats are 57-14 (.803) since 1999 in that department.
• Since Snyder returned to the sideline in 2009, K-State is 32-7 (.821) in this same category.

FLAGGED
• Despite rallying for a 27-24 win against South Dakota, the Wildcats were flagged 13 times for 129 yards, most of which came on key plays.
• The 13 penalties were the most for a Bill Snyder team since the 2005 Nebraska game (14) and the 129 yards were the most since having 136 vs. Kent State in 2011.
• The Cats rebounded with just six total penalties in games against Mississippi State (2) and UTSA (4) and zero against Texas.

SOME ODDITIES
• Kansas State was not flagged against Texas, marking just the second time under Bill Snyder they were not penalized. The Wildcats were also not flagged against Auburn in 2014 as they lost both of those contests.
• Additionally, the Wildcats did not commit a turnover against the Longhorns, marking the first time under Snyder that K-State did not commit a penalty or turnover in the same game.
• The next week against Baylor, Alex Barnes rushed for 250 yards. It was just the second time in school history a player ran for at least 200 yards in a loss. The first was at Iowa State in 1986 when Tony Jordan had 218 yards.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
GROUND ATTACK
• K-State has leaned on its rushing game the past two years, including the 2017 season when the Wildcats tied for third in school history in rushing yards per carry (4.98) and finished seventh with 2,584 total rushing yards.
• The Wildcats were especially tough to stop the final three games of the year – all wins – as K-State averaged 223.3 rushing yards per game.
• The stretch was capped by a 344-yard rushing output in the Cactus Bowl victory over UCLA, the most rushing yards ever by K-State in a bowl game.
• Dating back to the 2016, K-State has hit the 200-yard mark on the ground in 17 of its last 28 games, including running for 256 against South Dakota and 319 at Baylor.

PROTECTING THE FOOTBALL
• K-State has been one of the nation's best in limiting turnovers the last two years as the Wildcats are the only team to rank in the top 10 nationally in fewest turnovers lost in both 2016 and 2017.
• The Wildcats tied for fifth in 2016 with 12 turnovers lost, while they tied for eighth a year ago with 13.
• K-State's 25 total turnovers in 2016 and 2017 is its fewest in a two-year stretch since at least 1955-56.
• Ironically, the Cats were minus-4 in the turnover battle in the opener but still won, marking the first time since 2011 to win a game with four-plus more turnovers than its opponent (10-7 win over Eastern Kentucky).
• K-State is minus-3 on the year through six games.

LONG DRIVES
• In the era of quick-strike offenses in college football, K-State was a team that liked to possess the ball as 39 of the Wildcats' 64 scoring drives in 2016 were seven plays or longer.
• That figure included 19 scoring drives of 10 or more plays, and 19 scoring drives that lasted at least five minutes.
• The Wildcats became more of a quick-strike offense in 2017 as 21 of their 45 touchdown drives were four plays or less (46.7-percent), while 36 drives (80.0-percent) were four minutes or shorter.
• So far this season, K-State has 14 scoring drives that were seven or more plays – eight of which were 10-plus.

SKYLAR UNDER CENTER
• Sophomore Skylar Thompson has started five of the six games this year and nine of the last 10 overall.
• Thompson threw for a career-high 213 passing yards with two scores in a week-three win over UTSA.
• His passer rating of 208.3 against the Roadrunners was the second highest of his career (minimum 13 attempts). His career high was 284.55 last year at Oklahoma State, when he had a previous career high of 204 yards.
• Thompson has become a more efficient runner in his second year on the field, averaging 37.5 yards per game (33.4 yds/gm in 2017) with three touchdowns, the latter mark equaling his total from last year.
• His total includes a career-long touchdown run of 52 yards last week at Baylor.

CAREER DAY
• Junior running back Alex Barnes had one of the best rushing games in school history when he went for 250 yards and three touchdowns at Baylor.
• His 250 yards were the fifth most in school history and the most by a Wildcat since Daniel Thomas went for 269 yards at North Texas in 2010.
• Even more impressive, the total was the most by a Wildcat in a Big 12 game since Darren Sproles put together a 273-yard rushing effort against Missouri in 2003.
• Barnes' rushing touchdowns spanned 55, 34 and 48 yards, as he became the first Wildcat with 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns of at least 34 yards in a game.

MOVIN' ON UP
• Alex Barnes, who ranks second in the Big 12 with 607 rushing yards and leads the conference with 379 yards in league play, continues to move up the K-State career rushing yardage list.
• Barnes now has 1,868 career rushing yards to rank 13th in school history.
• A product of Pittsburg, Kansas, Barnes is 113 yards away entering the top 10.

SCHOEN A DEEP THREAT
• Wide receiver Dalton Schoen has become a deep threat for the Wildcats over the last two years as he is averaging 19.5 yards on his 39 career catches.
• The junior ranks seventh nationally among active players in average since 2017 (min. 35 catches), while he is third in school history among players with at least 35 catches.
• Schoen's five career touchdown receptions are just as impressive as they span an average of 45.8 yards.

ZUBER WITH TWO MILESTONES
• Junior wide receiver Isaiah Zuber has reached a pair of career milestones this season.
• At West Virginia, Zuber became the 31st player in school history with 1,000 career yards, a mark that now stands at 1,091.
• His effort against the Mountaineers included a career high 10 catches, the most by a Wildcat since Tyler Lockett (13) and Curry Sexton (10) in the 2015 Alamo Bowl following the 2014 season.
• Then, against Texas, Zuber topped the 100-catch mark for a career, becoming the 16th player in school history to hit the mark.
• Zuber enters this week's game with 111 career receptions, needing 12 catches to reach the top 10.

LEADER ON THE FIELD, IN THE COMMUNITY
• Dalton Risner has been a leader on the field for the Wildcats, being named a captain each of the last three years.
• Risner is just the fifth player in program history to be named a captain three times, joined by Brooks Barta (1990-92), Mark Simoneau (1997-99), Collin Klein (2010-12) and B.J. Finney (2012-14).
• A Preseason All-American by multiple outlets entering the season, Risner has started 44 career games, the fourth most by a Wildcat offensive lineman since 1989.
• The leadership by Risner does end on the field as he was named to the AFCA Good Works Team and is also a candidate for the Wuerffel Trophy.

DEFENSIVE NOTES
TOUGH AGAINST THE RUN
• The Wildcats, who ranked 13th nationally in 2017 by allowing only 117.7 yards per game on the ground, are one of only four teams to rank in the top 15 nationally in run defense each of the last two years, joining Alabama, Wisconsin and Ohio.
• K-State surrendered less than 100 rushing yards six times last year, including two against ranked foes (No. 6 TCU – 98 yards; No. 10 Oklahoma State – 85 yards).
• The Wildcats topped the season by surrendering only 69 yards on 25 carries (2.8 yds/rush) in the Cactus Bowl win over UCLA.
• K-State allowed only 77 yards in the opener against South Dakota, but Mississippi State rushed for 384 – the most surrendered by the Wildcats since 2010 – followed by 143 yards by UTSA and 108 by West Virginia. Texas followed with 111 yards.

PICKING THEM APART
• The Wildcats have notched at least one interception in 40 of the last 56 games, and K-State has averaged just under one interception per game dating back to the beginning of last season.
• Four of the Cats' six interceptions this season have been career firsts and were all against ranked opponents. Defensive end Wyatt Hubert tallied one against No. 18 Mississippi State, while defensive backs AJ Parker, Johnathan Durham and Jahron McPherson each had one at No. 12 West Virginia.
• The Wildcats three interceptions against the Mountaineers were the most in a game since picking off three at Baylor in 2016.
• Defensive backs Duke Shelley and Kendall Adams each notched their sixth career interception against Baylor. Adams (Charlotte) and Shelley (Texas Tech) had both of K-State's interception-return touchdowns a year ago.

SHELLEY LEADS THE BACKFIELD
• Senior Duke Shelley is back for his final campaign after being a primary starter at cornerback the last three years.
• Shelley, who burned his redshirt five games into his true freshman season of 2015, has 36 career passes defended, which includes six interceptions.
• His 36 passes defended are tied for the fifth most among active players and rank eighth in school history.
• Of Shelley's six career picks, two have been returned for touchdowns to tie for fourth in K-State history and first among active Big 12 players.

WALK THIS WAY
• Junior Reggie Walker has taken his game to another level over the last few weeks as he has 3.5 combined sacks against Texas and Baylor.
• Walker, who enters the week ranked second in the league with 4.5 sacks, tied his career high with 2.0 sacks against Texas and 1.5 sacks last week at Baylor.
• A 2017 Honorable Mention All-Big 12 pick, Walker was named the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year after totaling 11.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.

DISHON DIGS IN
• Junior defensive tackle Trey Dishon is taking on a bigger role this year with the loss of fellow interior lineman and three-time First Team All-Big 12 performer Will Geary.
• Dishon does have the benefit of experience, however, starting all 31 of his career games played, including all 13 a year ago en route to Honorable Mention All-Big 12 accolades.
• The Horton, Kansas, product came up with his first sack of the year and fifth of his career at Baylor.

MITTIE MAKES AN IMPACT
• Starting the last five games next to Dishon has been junior graduate transfer Jordan Mittie, who had a season-best four tackles, his first sack as a Wildcat and a fumble recovery at West Virginia.
• An All-Sun Belt player last year at Texas State, Mittie tallied the fifth sack of his career and his first full sack since last October against Louisiana.
• Mittie's transfer to K-State shouldn't have come as a surprise as his father, Jeff, is entering his fifth season as the K-State women's basketball head coach in 2018-19.

HUGHES COMING UP HUGE
• Entering the Texas game with five career tackles in nine games, linebacker Justin Hughes has answered the bell the last two contests.
• Hughes recorded a then-career high six tackles and a tackle for loss against Texas. Then, in his first-career start at Baylor, the Tucker, Georgia, product recorded 11 tackles and forced a fumble.

THREE-STRAIGHT HIGHS
• Manning one of the safety spots each of the last four games, Eli Walker has flown around the field as he leads the team in tackles (41) and ranks second in tackles for loss (3.0).
• He totaled a career-high eight tackles at West Virginia before topping that mark against both Texas (11) and Baylor (12).
• A product of Long Beach, California, Walker enters play this week ranked 19th nationally and third in the Big 12 in solo tackles per game (5.8).

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
SOLID SPECIAL TEAMS
• Kansas State has annually had one of the best special teams units in the nation, and 2017 was no different.
• K-State ranked in the top 25 nationally in kickoff-return defense (2nd), punt returns (10th) and kickoff returns (14th).
• For the collective special teams efforts, coordinator Sean Snyder was named the 2017 Special Teams Coach of the Year by Phil Steele.
• The Cats boasted four All-Big 12 players on special teams in place kicker Matthew McCrane (first team), returner D.J. Reed (first team), punter Nick Walsh (second team) and Byron Pringle (honorable mention) picking up honors.
• Additionally, Reed was a Second Team All-American as he became Snyder's fifth All-American in just seven years coordinating the special teams.

ANNUALLY ONE OF THE BEST
• The Wildcats' recent special teams success isn't a flash in the pan as they have been one of the best collective units over the last two decades.
• Since 1996, K-State ranks first in the nation in kickoff-return touchdowns (28), first in punt-return average (13.1 [min. 100 attempts]), first in kickoff-return average (23.6), tied for first in punt-return touchdowns (28 tied with Miami), and fifth in field goal percentage (75.9 [min. 400 att]).

SCORING IN THE THIRD PHASE
• Kansas State has been far and away the best team among FBS programs over the last decade when it comes to scoring via a kickoff or punt return.
• The Wildcats have a combined 48 kickoff- and punt-return touchdowns since 2005, 19 more than any other FBS school over the last 13 seasons.
• K-State averaged 3.6 return touchdowns per year over the last 13 seasons entering 2018. The yearly average for the other 116 teams to play FBS football since 2005 is 1.1.

DEFENSE IN THE THIRD PHASE
• On the flip side, K-State has been just as consistent in terms of kickoff and punt coverage.
• The Cats have not allowed a kickoff-return touchdown in the last 68 games as the last was against Louisiana on Sept. 7, 2013. During that stretch, K-State has defended against 265 kickoff returns.
• K-State surrendered only 16.6 yards on kickoff returns in 2017, its best mark since 2000.
• The Wildcats had a streak of 54 games and 70 attempts of not allowing a punt-return score snapped when Texas recorded a 90-yard return for a score.

KICKOFF-RETURN STREAKS
• Kansas State is currently riding a pair of streaks in terms of kickoff returns as the Wildcats have returned a kick for a touchdown in each of the last 13 seasons – the longest streak in the nation by five years.
• Since head coach Bill Snyder's return in 2009, K-State has returned 19 kickoffs for touchdowns as opposed to only four in his first tenure, which lasted 17 years.
• Kansas State also is the only Power 5 team in the country to finish in the top 15 in kickoff-return average each of the last three seasons.
• Additionally, D.J. Reed earned First Team All-Big 12 honors, marking the 12th-straight year a Wildcat received all-conference honors for the discipline.
• Of the 29 First Team All-Big 12 returners in conference history, 12 (41.3-percent) have come from K-State to lead the league. The next closest team is Colorado, which had four.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Kendall Adams

Alex Barnes

Alex Delton

Trey Dishon

Johnathan Durham

Will Geary

Wyatt Hubert

Justin Hughes

Matthew McCrane

Jahron McPherson

Jordan Mittie

AJ Parker

Da'Quan Patton

Byron Pringle

D.J. Reed

Dalton Risner

Dalton Schoen

Duke Shelley

Skylar Thompson

Eli Walker

Reggie Walker

Nick Walsh

Isaiah Zuber

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