LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas State will look to keep its foot on the neck of instate rival Kansas when they meet in another installment of the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday in Lawrence. The 25th-ranked Wildcats, who are riding high following an upset of No. 9 Oklahoma, have won 10 consecutive games in the series and five straight at Memorial Stadium - the home of the Jayhawks.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1. LINE: Kansas State -6.5
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The Wildcats ran over the Sooners to the tune of 213 yards and six touchdowns and will look to to the same to the Jayhawks, who rank near the bottom of the Big 12 and the FBS in rushing defense. "It's a big game with the Governor's Cup and those things, but we can't get caught up in those things," Kansas State coach Chris Klieman told the media. "We have to get caught up with making sure that we come up with great game plans and that the guys understand the details of the plan." The six rushing touchdowns give the Wildcats 20 on the season, including seven by quarterback Skylar Thompson, matching their total from last season. The offense under coordinator Brent Dearmon shined once again for the Jayhawks as Carter Stanley threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns, but it took a massive blunder by Texas Tech for Kansas to escape with a 37-34 victory on a last-second field goal by Liam Jones.
ABOUT KANSAS STATE (5-2, 2-2 Big 12)
James Gilbert hasn’t garnered the attention of backs such as Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor and Clemson’s Travis Etienne, but the senior has enjoyed a productive career for the Wildcats. The 5-9, 198-pound native of Indianapolis ranks seventh in the FBS among active players in career rushing yards (3,364) and rushing touchdown (35) and has an outside shot at recording his second 1,000-yard season. Gilbert averaged 79.7 rushing yards per game over the first seven contests and would need to push that number to 88.4 to reach 1,000 during the regular season.
ABOUT KANSAS (3-5, 1-4 Big 12)
Stephon Robinson has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of Dearmon taking over the play-calling for the Jayhawks as the junior has amassed 13 receptions for 253 yards and four touchdowns in the last two games. The Los Angeles native has 18 catches for 384 yards and and FBS-leading six touchdown catches over the last three games. Leading receiver Andrew Parchment, who produced three 100-yard games in the season’s first four contests, broke a string of three straight games with fewer than 100 receiving yards with 109 and his sixth score in the victory over Texas Tech.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Kansas State is No. 2 in the FBS in third down defense (25.3 percent conversion rate) and tied for 10th in fewest first downs allowed (116).
2. Kansas has dropped 35 straight games against ranked opponents, including three in a row against ranked Kansas State squads, since beating No. 15 Georgia Tech in 2010.
3. Stanley has 19 touchdown passes on the season - the fourth most in school history behind Todd Reesing, who produced the three highest single season totals (33, 32, 22) for the Jayhawks.
PREDICTION: Kansas State 44, Kansas 27