An Intense Battle on Deck in Cincy

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Collin Klein, who was the quarterback to lead Kansas State to its last 4-0 start in 2012, will try to duplicate the feat for the Wildcats — this time as their head coach — as they visit Cincinnati for their Big 12 Conference opener at 6:00 p.m. Saturday at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

K-State, 3-0, and Cincinnati, 3-0, are among six remaining unbeaten Big 12 teams, alongside No. 9 BYU, No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 15 Utah and West Virginia.

Klein and K-State put together a memorable season when they began at 4-0 in 2012. Klein, the 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist, helped the Wildcats to win 10 consecutive games en route to a school record-tying 11 victories.

The Big 12 has some new teams — and more teams — since those days, but …

"It's going to be extremely competitive," Klein said. "The margins are thin, and whatever teams do the little things well and consistently are going to win a lot of games just because the margins are so thin. That's across the board, not just in the Big 12."

It's been so-far, so-good for K-State, which capped a perfect non-conference season with a 31-20 win over Tulane at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The Wildcats are one of four FBS programs to average at least 45 points per game and allow 10 points per game or less, joining Ohio State, Indiana and Utah.

K-State is No. 14 in scoring offense (43.5), and No. 11 in scoring defense (10.0) with victories over Nicholls (71-3), Washington State (34-7) and Tulane (31-20).

Although K-State is 14-16 in conference openers in the Big 12 era and 12-18 in its initial Big 12 road game of the season, trends mean little to a squad with a new roster and seemingly plenty of fuel for the road leading toward the Big 12 Championship Game on December 4.

"With our intensity, every game is a championship game," said K-State senior left guard Tanner Morley, who transferred from Colorado State. "For us, every game we're very, very much getting prepared immediately. I don't think the Big 12 changes the level of intensity that we have. It puts more of a chip on our shoulder because we know what we want to accomplish."

It wasn't too long ago that Cincinnati began with a 4-0 record and enjoyed a storybook season. Cincinnati rolled to a 13-0 record before losing to Alabama in a 2021 College Football Playoff semifinal game.

But last Saturday, Cincinnati needed its greatest second-half comeback in 30 years to post a 35-31 win over Miami (Ohio). The Bearcats trailed 28-7 in the third quarter before powering past the Redhawks.

"This will be a great matchup to watch," said Satterfield, who is 18-22 in his fourth year at Cincinnati. "The normal fans, they like to watch all the skill guys, but this game, it will be the defensive line versus the offensive line. That's going to be incredible to see.

"Kansas State has been known for having really good lines on both sides of the ball for years, going back many, many years ago. That's how you win a lot of football games. That matchup is going to be something that, if we can live up to what we're supposed to be able to do up front, can have a huge impact in this game."

K-State senior quarterback Avery Johnson is completing 70% of his passes, has thrown six touchdowns to two interceptions and hasn't been sacked in the 2026 season, while he became the first player in school history to amass 200 passing yards and 150 rushing yards in a game. He leads K-State with 253 rushing yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns while averaging 10.5 yards per rushing attempt.

Against Tulane, Johnson dazzled with 12 rushes for 152 yards and two touchdowns to average 12.7 yards per carry.

Satterfield remembers how Johnson torched the Bearcats with a 10-carry, 72-yard, 1-touchdown effort in the Wildcats' 41-15 win over the Bearcats on November 24, 2024 in Manhattan.

"Once he hits the sideline, he's fast fast, like, he's a different speed," Satterfield said. "There are quarterbacks who can move and run, and he's a little bit better. He has the speed. We have to contain the perimeter runs, which they hurt us with in 2024, and now he's still getting outside and making big-time runs."

Johnson and running backs Rodney Fields Jr., Joe Jackson and Jay Harris head up a rushing attack that ranks No. 9 in the FBS in averaging 269.3 yards per game.

Cincinnati under first-year defensive coordinator Nate Woody, ranks 75^th in total defense (346.3), 109^th in passing defense (241.3) and 43^rd in rushing defense (105.0).

"They have a solid defensive line, and their linebackers are pretty good, but we have to keep working and run them into the ground," K-State junior left guard Charlie Adams said. "The crowd, the atmosphere, it's intense, but I signed up for this."

An intense battle is expected to unfold in the trenches. The Bearcats possess one of the best offensive lines in the FBS, while the Wildcats are making noise behind a talented defensive line of their own.

Fifth-year senior JC French IV, a Georgia Southern transfer, won the starting job at Cincinnati and is second in the Big 12 with a 76.5% completion percentage, and he is one of four FBS quarterbacks to pass for at least five touchdowns and rush for at least four touchdowns. He threw five touchdowns and no interceptions during the non-conference season.

French guides an offense that ranks 20^th in scoring offense (43.7) and 24^th in total offense (491.7). The Bearcats are balanced in passing yards (222.0) and rushing yards (269.7) with a rushing attack that ranks No. 8 in the FBS. Cincinnati is No. 2 in the FBS with 13 rushing touchdowns and is the only Power 4 team with three different players who have recorded at least 140 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in a game this season.

However, the Cincinnati offensive line shares the headlines. Senior offensive left guard Evan Tengesdahl was a preseason All-American and offensive tackle Judea Milon is tied for No. 7 nationally with an 89.6 PFF pass blocking grade, surrendering no pressures, no hits and no sacks in 105 pass-blocking snaps. Cincinnati recorded 47 pancake/knockdown blocks in its season opener against Boston College. Cincinnati was named Big 12 Offensive Line of the Week by the league office after Week 1.

"They're a big outside-zone team, and they have long bodies that are athletic," Klein said. "It's going to be very important to shrink that space. They're trying to get you stretched out and widened out and open those gaps up. We have to fill space well and create good edges and run to the football in all three levels to get that ball down and not let any bleeding yards. They're very good at it, and they have an identity with it, and they have good athletes up front. It's going to be a really good test for our defensive front."

K-State's defense under first-year coordinator Jordan Peterson is only allowing 182.7 total yards per game, which ranks No. 2 in the FBS. K-State ranks No. 1 in allowing 86.7 passing yards, No. 3 with 30 tackles for loss, No. 6 with 11 quarterback sacks, and No. 11 in allowing 10.0 points per contest.

After recording 12 tackles for loss and six sacks against Tulane, K-State earned Big 12 Defensive Line of the Week honors by the league office on Monday. Five different players recorded at least half a sack, led by 2.0 sacks from Jayden Bryant and 1.5 sacks by Darien Whitaker Jr. Fellow defensive end Wendell Gregory post 3.0 tackles for a loss for a second-straight week, becoming the first Wildcat with at least 3.0 tackles for loss in consecutive games since Chris Johnson had 7.0 against Kansas and 3.0 against Oklahoma in 2000.

"It starts with the defensive line," Satterfield said. "They have two edge rushers who are outstanding. They had six sacks last week and a bunch of tackles for loss. It's a smothering defense, aggressive, fast flow. They shut everybody down the first three weeks. You look at the stats, and it's hard to beat being No. 1. They have the No. 1 pass defense in the country and that says it all, but they're also giving up less than 100 rushing yards a game, too."

This will mark road trip No. 1 for the Klein era at K-State, and this will mark Klein's first football game at Cincinnati, which calls its nighttime games "Nippert at Night" inside a stadium that holds more than 38,000 fans. The Bearcats are 40-16 in "Nippert at Night" games since 2006.

"Our guys are excited," Klein said. "We're starting conference play in a hostile environment at night on the road, and that gets your competitive juices firing in a great way. They've had a good prep, and I'm excited to see them compete. Absolutely there's more in the tank. I told them from the jump that this process and journey that we're on. Yeah, we're trying to win every game that we play, but it's about the process of becoming the best that we possibly can be through these opportunities. I've been proud of how they've approached it.

"This is another step in that journey."

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Charlie Adams

Jayden Bryant

Rodney Fields Jr.

Wendell Gregory

Jay Harris

Joe Jackson

Avery Johnson

Tanner Morley

Darien Whitaker

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