Baylor @ Kansas State preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 6, 2014 ) Kansas State 27, Baylor 38

Baylor will begin life without Seth Russell when it visits Kansas State on Thursday. The Bears lost Russell to a season-ending neck injury in a win over Iowa State on Oct. 24 and started out a disappointing No. 6 when the first College Football Playoff rankings were revealed on Tuesday night.

Russell, who is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing surgery, was responsible for 29 passing touchdowns and six rushing scores for the nation’s highest-scoring offense and will be replaced by freshman Jarrett Stidham. “I’d be totally shocked if he’s not very composed, very competitive, very intelligent, and very on cue with everything he does Thursday for our football team,” Baylor head coach Art Briles told reporters of Stidham. The Wildcats are trying to avoid a fifth straight loss and were outscored 78-9 in the last two games against Oklahoma and Texas. “You know a lot of us, myself included, have not really been here before,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder told reporters of the losing streak. “So, it is a matter of having the answers of how to overcome the complexity and the difficulty of what has taken place.”

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1. LINE: Baylor -17

ABOUT BAYLOR (7-0, 4-0 Big 12): Stidham has been strong in limited duty, completing 24-of-28 passes for 331 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. His lone pass attempt in relief of Russell against Iowa State went for a 12-yard TD in a 45-27 triumph. “You go by what you’ve seen and what you feel, and what you’ve been subjected to,” Briles told reporters. “That’s what we’ve noticed since being around him. He’s got an old soul, don’t look at him as that ‘F’ word (freshman), because he’s not. He’s a ready quarterback, and that’s the way we look at it.”

ABOUT KANSAS STATE (3-4, 0-4): The Wildcats made a switch at quarterback in the first game of the season and are still trying to figure out a way to coax some more points out of the offense with Joe Hubener leading the way. The junior is just 30-of-78 passing for a total of 378 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions in the last four games. “I think we are making positive steps, and I think we just need to put it together,” Hubener told reporters. “We have shown success in the passing game in some of the early games, and we just have to get that back.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. Baylor has taken three straight in the series.

2. Wildcats RB Charles Jones recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game with 122 at Texas on Oct. 24.

3. Bears WR Corey Coleman leads the nation with 18 receiving TDs.

PREDICTION: Baylor 58, Kansas State 30