A Cold, Physical Game on Tap for Saturday

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Kansas State coaches and players say they aren't thinking about the possibilities that could land them in the Big 12 Championship Game for a second straight year.

The No. 19 Wildcats know they can only focus on one thing.

Winning "Farmageddon."

Unlike last Saturday's win at Kansas to claim the Governor's Cup Trophy, there will be no hardware to hoist after K-State, 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big 12, lines up against Iowa State, 6-5 and 5-3, in Saturday's 7 p.m. kickoff (FOX) at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

But there will be bragging rights at stake as the teams meet for the 107^th time in a series that has been continually played since 1917. K-State trails in the series by a margin of 52-50-4.

"Our rivalry with KU is special, too, but people forget about this one," quarterback Will Howard said. "We've been playing each other forever. I know how much this means to the fans."

A total of 24 K-State players will be recognized on Senior Night prior to the final game of the regular season. Iowa State comes off a 26-16 home loss to No. 7 Texas, but it seeks four straight road wins for the first time in school history.

The Cyclones' victories at Cincinnati (30-10), at Baylor (30-18) and at BYU (45-13) gave them their first three-game road winning streak since 1978.

"It's our Senior Day and a chance to honor our seniors," said K-State head coach Chris Klieman, a native of Waterloo, Iowa. "It's going to be emotional. I know our guys are going to be fired up and ready to play. I know Iowa State is going to be fired up and ready to play. It's a great rivalry and a great game."

K-State has won 12 of the last 15 battles by a 403-378 margin, and last season's 10-9 victory marked the lowest-scoring game in the series since a 7-7 tie in Ames in 1984.

"You're talking to a guy that likes tradition," Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said. "You love to play in these types of environments and these games and the respect you have for the opponent because you know what they are and what they stand for.

"To go win games like that, that's huge."

K-State is chasing double-digit wins for a second straight year, something the program last accomplished in 2011 and 2012. Iowa State, which began the season with a 2-3 record after a 50-20 loss at then-No. 14 Oklahoma, has continually improved and seeks a better spot in the bowl pecking order.

The Wildcats are 6-0 at home and have won those games by a combined score of 272-72. They are looking for their seventh undefeated home season in school history and the first since 2012.

"I'm definitely knowledgeable of that," wide receiver Phillip Brooks said. "Coach has talked to us a little bit about that. Obviously, you want to win every game. Our main focus is to be 1-0 against every team. We're focused on beating Iowa State. We're focused on the task at hand."

Iowa State is focused as well. Its in-season turnaround has allowed it to reach bowl eligibility for the sixth time in seven seasons. Prior to Campbell leading the program, Iowa State had made 12 bowl appearances in 124 seasons.

"Up to this point, the growth of this team has been transformational," Campbell said. "It'll all be defined by how we finish. There are still eight incredible quarters for this football team to finish what it started but the one thing this group has done literally is it's grown and gotten better. That's really hard to do this day in age in college football."

The forecast for inclement weather has been a topic throughout the week, as temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s with a chance of snow accumulation in Manhattan.

"It looks like it's going to be a fun weather day Saturday, a late-November game here at The Bill," Klieman said. "It'll be a lot of fun."

K-State last played in a game that featured snow accumulation on November 11, 2000, during the waning moments of a 29-28 win over No. 4 Nebraska that clinched a Big 12 North Division championship for the Wildcats.

"We practice the wet-ball drill," Howard said. "We'll be ready for whatever."

Howard has thrown 13 touchdowns and three interceptions at home this season and his 47 career touchdown passes are the most in school history. He has a plethora of capable pass catchers featuring Brooks (50 receptions, 563 yards and 5 TDs) and tight end Ben Sinnott (39 catches, 540 yards and 5 TDs), who is the school's first-ever semifinalist for the John Mackey Award.

While running back DJ Giddens is a threat out of the backfield, wide receivers Keagan Johnson (20 catches, 191 yards and 2 TDs), Jaden Jackson (17 catches, 244 yards and 2 TDs) and true freshman Jayce Brown (17 catches, 316 yards and 2 TDs) have taken turns making big plays for the Wildcats.

If weather proves to affect the passing game, the Wildcats have the luxury of a veteran offensive line and a potent rushing attack that averages 198.8 yards per contest, ranking 16^th nationally. Giddens, a sophomore, is 39 yards from 1,000 rushing yards and averages 5.9 yards per carry with eight touchdowns. Treshaun Ward has 595 rushing yards and six scores.

K-State has proven largely effective offensively this season in averaging 37.9 points (13^th nationally) and 441.5 yards per game (23^rd nationally) under second-year offensive coordinator Collin Klein.

"We've jumped out to early leads, and we want to hopefully do that this game and continue the momentum we have at home and use the crowd to our advantage, because it truly is an advantage," Howard said.

The Wildcats will be tested against an Iowa State defense that has produced 15 interceptions, which ranks fourth nationally.

Meanwhile, Iowa State is led by quarterback Rocco Becht, who has tossed a touchdown in 10 of his 11 starts and owns the school freshman records with 2,444 passing yards and 17 touchdowns — marks previously held by current San Francisco 49ers starter Brock Purdy.

Iowa State wide receiver Jaylin Noel has become a triple threat for the Cyclones. He ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 5.7 receptions per game while averaging 40.4 yards on five kickoff returns and averaging 8.5 yards on 14 punt returns.

The Cyclones have been inconsistent in running the football and their 118.3 rushing yards per game rank 106th nationally. After rushing 37 times for 234 yards and four touchdowns at BYU, the Cyclones managed just nine rushing yards on 21 attempts one week later against Texas last Saturday.

"It's going to be physical," Iowa State offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhasse told reporters earlier this week. "The guys that are able to step up and make plays in the moments are going to have the best chance to lead their team to victory, and you feel like going into this one it's going to be no different than it has been since I've been here.

"(K-State) has an identity. They know themselves well. At the end of the year, they're a team that grows and gets better."

K-State will look to impose its identity on Saturday.

"(Iowa State) is probably the most similar team to us," center Hayden Gillum said. "It's always just a hard-fought battle. It always seems like it's a cold game, which it is looking like it's going to be. I think we match up really well. They're hard-nosed. Their defense plays really well, and they're disciplined, gap savvy and tackle really well. They do a lot of things that we pride ourselves on. It's always like that."

Which lends itself to the remarkable closeness of scores between the rivals.

"It's been right down to the end," Campbell said. "It's a physical football game. Usually, the team that really plays with the most detail in the game wins the football game. It's probably why for me and for us it's such another great challenge. Can you be that team for four quarters? Especially on this road in this game, this is one of the great places to play in college football.

"I think their gameday environment is electric and obviously the tradition they've created there makes it that way and makes it a real challenge to play there."

Kansas State University Athletics

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Phillip Brooks

Jayce Brown

DJ Giddens

Hayden Gillum

Will Howard

Keagan Johnson

Ben Sinnott

Treshaun Ward

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