An Important Matchup in a Conference of Parity
Oct 09, 2026 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
This is more new terrain for Kansas State as the Collin Klein gets underway in the Little Apple.
K-State comes off its first defeat and a bye week and now dives into its first Big 12 Conference home game against its first top-25 foe, as No. 22 Houston visits for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The matchup will feature two top-20 scoring offenses, two top-20 rushing offenses, and two quarterbacks that can hurt defenses with their throwing arm and legs.
K-State senior quarterback Avery Johnson, who will make the 31st start of his standout career, is eager for the challenge.
"They only have one loss to a highly-ranked Texas Tech team that's hard to beat," Johnson said. "We'll definitely have to come out and play some of our best football because they're going to come in here with some fire. We're ready to get after it, especially with a ranked opponent coming in here. We're excited for that."
K-State's last performance — a 31-26 loss in its Big 12 opener at Cincinnati — seems a month ago, as the Wildcats, 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12, afterward assessed themselves, made corrections, and healed some injuries over the bye week for the eight-week grind that awaits them.
Meanwhile, Houston, 4-1 and 1-1, spent last Saturday pulling off one of the biggest comeback wins in the FBS this season, as the Cougars battled from a 17-0 deficit to pull off a 27-17 victory over UCF in Houston.
"K-State prides themselves on not beating themselves," Houston head coach Willie Fritz said. "It's the same thing we do, too. We went opposite with how we normally play in the first half last week. We have to play like we did in the second half."
Houston is one of four teams from the Big 12 ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll, joining No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 12 Utah, and No. 18 Oklahoma State, while Arizona is receiving votes.
It's way early, but there appears to be plenty of parity in the Power 4 conference, and ample opportunity for K-State moving forward. K-State has won each of its last four Big 12 home openers with wins against Texas Tech (2022), UCF (2023 and 2025) and Oklahoma State (2024). K-State also has produced winning Big 12 records each of the last four seasons, its longest streak since doing so from 2011-14.
"There's a lot of parity, which we knew going into the season," Klein said. "Whoever is able to find a higher level of consistency than their competition is going to do well, because you have parity all over the place. It's about who can rise and who can better themselves consistently throughout the course of the season.
"Those are going to be the teams at the end of it that are going to be where you want to be."
Right now, K-State is home, which is a good place to be. K-State hosts Kansas one week from Saturday before back-to-back road games at Arizona State and at Colorado.
"I love The Bill. That's the best," K-State senior defensive tackle Travis Bates said. "I like away games, but home games are where it's at, man. It's going to be rocking, and K-State nation is going to show up. So, I'm excited."
K-State and Houston are tied 1-1 all-time in a series that began with the Wildcats posting a 41-0 shutout victory in 2023, handing the Cougars their first shutout loss in 291 games — 23 seasons. Houston returned the favor with a 24-19 win in Houston in a rain-soaked game in 2024.
Fritz is 18-12 in his third season at Houston, and he is 265-113-1 in 34 seasons as a head coach. Fritz is 2-0 against K-State, including a win over the Wildcats when Fritz was at Tulane in 2022.
"I've looked up to Coach Fritz for a long time having gotten into this profession and seeing his track record and how hard his teams play, how disciplined they are, the pressure they put on you schematically in all phases," Klein said. "It's going to be a really good test for us, and I respect the heck out of him and their program."
This could be a game where Johnson and Houston senior quarterback Conner Weigman, with their maturity and bevy of talents, put on a show in front of a sellout crowd in Manhattan.
Johnson, who has led K-State to 18 wins, the sixth most by a K-State quarterback since 1990, has thrown for 910 yards and seven touchdowns and two interceptions and his 66.17% completion percentage this season currently ranks second in K-State history. He also has 30 carries for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and his 9.7 yards per carry leads all FBS quarterbacks.
Johnson continues a senior campaign that puts him near the top of several K-State all-time lists, including second in touchdown responsibility (80), third in passing yards (6,486), third in completions (546), third in passing attempts (912), third in total offensive yards (8,155), third in rushing yards by a quarterback (1,669), fifth in completion percentage (59.87%) and rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (25).
"Avery's got great speed," Fritz said. "I think he has one of the highest GPS times in the country. We played him a couple years back here, and he was hard to corral and keep in the pocket. He's also a great drop back pass guy. That's a lethal combination when a guy can run also as a quarterback. He's one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 12."
Houston ranks 44th in the FBS in scoring defense (19.8), 54th in total defense (327.0), eighth in rushing defense (65.4) and 123rd in passing defense (261.6).
Led by Weigman, the Cougars rank 17th nationally in scoring offense (41.0), 20th in total offense (483.2), 19th in rushing offense (229.4) and 49th in passing offense (253.8).
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Weigman has completed 67.4% of his passes for 1,186 yards with 11 touchdowns and one interception this season. He is the team's third-leading rusher with 42 carries for 156 yards and six touchdowns.
Weigman, who is 22-7 as a starter, enjoyed a breakout junior season where he was one of four FBS quarterbacks with 25 touchdown passes and 10 rushing touchdowns. His 36 touchdown passes ranked seventh nationally. He had game-winning drives against Oregon State, Arizona, UCF and Baylor and faced double-digit deficits in three of those games. His 309 passing yards against West Virginia tied for third most by a Houston quarterback in a Big 12 game and his 121 rushing yards at Baylor were a single-game record in Big 12 games.
Prior to Houston, Weigman started 15 games in three seasons at Texas A&M, completing 60% of his passes for 2,694 yards with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He tied Johnny Manziel with five touchdowns in regulation against New Mexico in 2023. As a 2022 ESPN Freshman All-American, he became one of 12 FBS players since 1956 with eight touchdown passes and no interceptions in a season.
Does the K-State defense have a challenge on Saturday? Klein knows all-too well. Klein coached Weigman when both were at Texas A&M.
"I've been so proud and happy for his success," Klein said. "How he leads that team is very impressive. His ability and their ability to win close games and find ways to be on the right side of those, he and they did that collectively the past two years and that doesn't happen without great leadership and competitive nature. He's played really efficient and has protected the football and has kept drives alive and threatens people with his legs.
"He's doing a heck of a job."
There are trends and there are stats, but it's difficult to remember something quite like this: Houston ranks No. 1 in the FBS with a third-down conversion rate of 65.6% (40-of-61) and K-State ranks No. 2 nationally with a third-down conversion rate of 65.0% (39-of-60) this season. No other FBS teams are even close in third-down efficiency and success.
Additionally, the red zone battle should be interesting to watch, as Houston is 71st in red zone offense, scoring on 86.2% of its trips, while K-State's red zone defense ranks 19th at 71.4%.
Both teams rank high in time of possession. K-State is 12th in the FBS with an average time of possession of 33:46, while Houston's 24th-ranked average is 33:00.
"You look across college football right now, and it's who takes care of the football, who executes, who wins the line of scrimmage, and who stays on the field on third down," Klein said. "That's going to be a clash in this game, and which defense can get the other opposing offense off schedule on first and second down and push the third-and-longs to get them off the field, and who's able to sustain drives and finish them. It's going to be a test."
K-State players appear determined to take care of their house on Saturday and get back on the right track in this early league season.
K-State senior Tanner Morley, who made his first start as a Wildcat at left guard against Cincinnati, senses a spark among the Wildcats since the bye week.
"The loss definitely motivated us, giving us a lot of passion and fire under us to perform and get better every single day," Morley said. "We learned a lot. When you lose, it sparks something. You have to get it done. We can't wait to show them who we are and prove who we can be.
"We have a lot of things to prove."
K-State fifth-year senior tight end Garrett Oakley, who had career highs with seven catches for 80 yards at Cincinnati, remembers the battles against the Cougars.
He's eager to help the Wildcats make things right and electrify the crowd at Bill Snyder Family Stadium with a collective performance that could springboard the Wildcats as they move forward in the league season.
"We're making sure we're ready for Saturday to put on a show for the fans," Oakley said. "We want to prove ourselves right, that we're the team that we are, and the team we know we can be as well. Losing is definitely not fun. It hurts. We're bringing some fire back.
"The boys have definitely been in attack mode this week."
This is more new terrain for Kansas State as the Collin Klein gets underway in the Little Apple.
K-State comes off its first defeat and a bye week and now dives into its first Big 12 Conference home game against its first top-25 foe, as No. 22 Houston visits for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The matchup will feature two top-20 scoring offenses, two top-20 rushing offenses, and two quarterbacks that can hurt defenses with their throwing arm and legs.
K-State senior quarterback Avery Johnson, who will make the 31st start of his standout career, is eager for the challenge.
"They only have one loss to a highly-ranked Texas Tech team that's hard to beat," Johnson said. "We'll definitely have to come out and play some of our best football because they're going to come in here with some fire. We're ready to get after it, especially with a ranked opponent coming in here. We're excited for that."
K-State's last performance — a 31-26 loss in its Big 12 opener at Cincinnati — seems a month ago, as the Wildcats, 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12, afterward assessed themselves, made corrections, and healed some injuries over the bye week for the eight-week grind that awaits them.
Meanwhile, Houston, 4-1 and 1-1, spent last Saturday pulling off one of the biggest comeback wins in the FBS this season, as the Cougars battled from a 17-0 deficit to pull off a 27-17 victory over UCF in Houston.
"K-State prides themselves on not beating themselves," Houston head coach Willie Fritz said. "It's the same thing we do, too. We went opposite with how we normally play in the first half last week. We have to play like we did in the second half."
Houston is one of four teams from the Big 12 ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll, joining No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 12 Utah, and No. 18 Oklahoma State, while Arizona is receiving votes.
It's way early, but there appears to be plenty of parity in the Power 4 conference, and ample opportunity for K-State moving forward. K-State has won each of its last four Big 12 home openers with wins against Texas Tech (2022), UCF (2023 and 2025) and Oklahoma State (2024). K-State also has produced winning Big 12 records each of the last four seasons, its longest streak since doing so from 2011-14.
"There's a lot of parity, which we knew going into the season," Klein said. "Whoever is able to find a higher level of consistency than their competition is going to do well, because you have parity all over the place. It's about who can rise and who can better themselves consistently throughout the course of the season.
"Those are going to be the teams at the end of it that are going to be where you want to be."
Right now, K-State is home, which is a good place to be. K-State hosts Kansas one week from Saturday before back-to-back road games at Arizona State and at Colorado.
"I love The Bill. That's the best," K-State senior defensive tackle Travis Bates said. "I like away games, but home games are where it's at, man. It's going to be rocking, and K-State nation is going to show up. So, I'm excited."
K-State and Houston are tied 1-1 all-time in a series that began with the Wildcats posting a 41-0 shutout victory in 2023, handing the Cougars their first shutout loss in 291 games — 23 seasons. Houston returned the favor with a 24-19 win in Houston in a rain-soaked game in 2024.
Fritz is 18-12 in his third season at Houston, and he is 265-113-1 in 34 seasons as a head coach. Fritz is 2-0 against K-State, including a win over the Wildcats when Fritz was at Tulane in 2022.
"I've looked up to Coach Fritz for a long time having gotten into this profession and seeing his track record and how hard his teams play, how disciplined they are, the pressure they put on you schematically in all phases," Klein said. "It's going to be a really good test for us, and I respect the heck out of him and their program."
This could be a game where Johnson and Houston senior quarterback Conner Weigman, with their maturity and bevy of talents, put on a show in front of a sellout crowd in Manhattan.
Johnson, who has led K-State to 18 wins, the sixth most by a K-State quarterback since 1990, has thrown for 910 yards and seven touchdowns and two interceptions and his 66.17% completion percentage this season currently ranks second in K-State history. He also has 30 carries for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and his 9.7 yards per carry leads all FBS quarterbacks.
Johnson continues a senior campaign that puts him near the top of several K-State all-time lists, including second in touchdown responsibility (80), third in passing yards (6,486), third in completions (546), third in passing attempts (912), third in total offensive yards (8,155), third in rushing yards by a quarterback (1,669), fifth in completion percentage (59.87%) and rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (25).
"Avery's got great speed," Fritz said. "I think he has one of the highest GPS times in the country. We played him a couple years back here, and he was hard to corral and keep in the pocket. He's also a great drop back pass guy. That's a lethal combination when a guy can run also as a quarterback. He's one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 12."
Houston ranks 44th in the FBS in scoring defense (19.8), 54th in total defense (327.0), eighth in rushing defense (65.4) and 123rd in passing defense (261.6).
Led by Weigman, the Cougars rank 17th nationally in scoring offense (41.0), 20th in total offense (483.2), 19th in rushing offense (229.4) and 49th in passing offense (253.8).
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Weigman has completed 67.4% of his passes for 1,186 yards with 11 touchdowns and one interception this season. He is the team's third-leading rusher with 42 carries for 156 yards and six touchdowns.
Weigman, who is 22-7 as a starter, enjoyed a breakout junior season where he was one of four FBS quarterbacks with 25 touchdown passes and 10 rushing touchdowns. His 36 touchdown passes ranked seventh nationally. He had game-winning drives against Oregon State, Arizona, UCF and Baylor and faced double-digit deficits in three of those games. His 309 passing yards against West Virginia tied for third most by a Houston quarterback in a Big 12 game and his 121 rushing yards at Baylor were a single-game record in Big 12 games.
Prior to Houston, Weigman started 15 games in three seasons at Texas A&M, completing 60% of his passes for 2,694 yards with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He tied Johnny Manziel with five touchdowns in regulation against New Mexico in 2023. As a 2022 ESPN Freshman All-American, he became one of 12 FBS players since 1956 with eight touchdown passes and no interceptions in a season.
Does the K-State defense have a challenge on Saturday? Klein knows all-too well. Klein coached Weigman when both were at Texas A&M.
"I've been so proud and happy for his success," Klein said. "How he leads that team is very impressive. His ability and their ability to win close games and find ways to be on the right side of those, he and they did that collectively the past two years and that doesn't happen without great leadership and competitive nature. He's played really efficient and has protected the football and has kept drives alive and threatens people with his legs.
"He's doing a heck of a job."
There are trends and there are stats, but it's difficult to remember something quite like this: Houston ranks No. 1 in the FBS with a third-down conversion rate of 65.6% (40-of-61) and K-State ranks No. 2 nationally with a third-down conversion rate of 65.0% (39-of-60) this season. No other FBS teams are even close in third-down efficiency and success.
Additionally, the red zone battle should be interesting to watch, as Houston is 71st in red zone offense, scoring on 86.2% of its trips, while K-State's red zone defense ranks 19th at 71.4%.
Both teams rank high in time of possession. K-State is 12th in the FBS with an average time of possession of 33:46, while Houston's 24th-ranked average is 33:00.
"You look across college football right now, and it's who takes care of the football, who executes, who wins the line of scrimmage, and who stays on the field on third down," Klein said. "That's going to be a clash in this game, and which defense can get the other opposing offense off schedule on first and second down and push the third-and-longs to get them off the field, and who's able to sustain drives and finish them. It's going to be a test."
K-State players appear determined to take care of their house on Saturday and get back on the right track in this early league season.
K-State senior Tanner Morley, who made his first start as a Wildcat at left guard against Cincinnati, senses a spark among the Wildcats since the bye week.
"The loss definitely motivated us, giving us a lot of passion and fire under us to perform and get better every single day," Morley said. "We learned a lot. When you lose, it sparks something. You have to get it done. We can't wait to show them who we are and prove who we can be.
"We have a lot of things to prove."
K-State fifth-year senior tight end Garrett Oakley, who had career highs with seven catches for 80 yards at Cincinnati, remembers the battles against the Cougars.
He's eager to help the Wildcats make things right and electrify the crowd at Bill Snyder Family Stadium with a collective performance that could springboard the Wildcats as they move forward in the league season.
"We're making sure we're ready for Saturday to put on a show for the fans," Oakley said. "We want to prove ourselves right, that we're the team that we are, and the team we know we can be as well. Losing is definitely not fun. It hurts. We're bringing some fire back.
"The boys have definitely been in attack mode this week."
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