Kansas State @ UTSA preview
Alamodome
Kansas State won its season opener but lost its starting quarterback. And with sophomore Jesse Ertz “out for quite some time” according to coach Bill Snyder with an apparent knee injury, former walk-on Joe Hubener will make his first start as a quarterback – at any level – Saturday when the Wildcats take on host UTSA.
Ertz limped off the field two plays into the Wildcats’ 34-0 win over South Dakota on Saturday, and Hubener, a 6-5, 211-pound junior, stepped in solidly, going 9-of-18 for 147 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 38 yards. Snyder said Hubener played well under the circumstances last week but knows Hubener, a former prep wide receiver and defensive back, will be facing a little more pressure this time around. “A lot of people view that position (quarterback) as somewhat unique,” Synder said at his Tuesday news conference. “I do not disagree with that perception, but that is not our approach. Our approach is he is one out of 11 out there. His chores are a little more complex and difficult than someone else, but by the same token, everybody has plenty on their plate out there. He is one of them.”
TV: Noon ET, Fox Sports 1. LINE: Kansas State -17
ABOUT KANSAS STATE (1-0): The Wildcats jump-started 2015 with Morgan Burns’ 100-yard scoring runback on the opening kickoff Saturday, and the defense took it from there, limiting the visiting Coyotes from the FCS to only 61 rushing yards on 36 attempts en route to the program’s first season-opening shutout since 1999. Kansas State used a committee approach on the ground, with Justin Silmon (six rushes for 51 yards) and Charles Jones (nine for 39) leading the way, and fullback Winston Dimel (eight for 29) punching in a pair of short TD runs. The Wildcats are young with 22 freshmen and sophomores seeing action in the opener, but there’s plenty of experience and cohesion on sideline with the 75-year-old Snyder, a 2015 College Football Hall of Fame inductee, overseeing the same nine-man coaching staff for the third straight season.
ABOUT UTSA (0-1): Speaking of young, coach Larry Coker’s Roadunners of Conference USA are the most inexperienced bunch in the FBS with only six returning starters from last season’s 4-8 squad. The four-year-old program, however, didn’t exactly wilt in the desert last Thursday, outgaining 22nd-ranked Arizona 525-392 in a 42-32 road loss, but was undone by three turnovers, two missed field goals and a missed extra point and 10 penalties for 114 yards, including a block-in-the-back call that wiped out a 102-yard kickoff return from Brett Winnegan. Redshirt freshman quarterback Blake Bogenschutz was particularly impressive, shaking off a pick-six on his first pass to finish 25-of-43 for 332 yards and a pair of TD tosses.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Kansas State has lost its last seven indoor games – dating to a 1993 win at Minnesota – including a 40-35 Alamo Bowl loss to UCLA last December in San Antonio.
2. Also dating back to the win over the Gophers, the Wildcats have won nine of their last 11 non-conference road games under Snyder.
3. UTSA’s brutal non-conference slate is comprised of four contests against 2014 bowl teams (Arizona, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Colorado State) who won a combined 36 games last season.
PREDICTION: Kansas State 30, UTSA 16