Louisiana @ Kansas State preview
Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 12, 2009 ) Kansas State 15, UL Lafayette 17
Kansas State will look to recover from a stunning defeat in its season opener when it takes on visiting Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday. The Wildcats are coming off a 24-21 loss at home to two-time defending FCS champion North Dakota State, one of the biggest shockers of college football's opening week. The defending Big 12 champions are hoping to have an easier time against the Ragin' Cajuns, who lost 34-14 to Arkansas in their first game.
For Kansas State, the focus will be on the running game - both offensively and defensively. The Wildcats gained only 41 yards on 23 attempts against the Bison, while the defense allowed 215 yards on 43 carries. The battle in the trenches doesn't appear to be as fierce this week as Louisiana-Lafayette allowed 292 yards on the ground against the Razorbacks while averaging 2.7 yards per carry on offense.
TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1. LINE: Kansas State -10.
ABOUT LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (0-1): Junior quarterback Terrance Broadway is in his second season starting under center and will need to play better than he did against Arkansas if the Cajuns are going to pull of the upset. A 65.4-percent passer last season, the contender for the Davey O'Brien and Manning awards was 15-of-28 against the Razorbacks for 171 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He was also bottled up on the ground (minus-1 yard on 13 attempts) after running for 769 yards last season.
ABOUT KANSAS STATE (0-1): The Wildcats get a second chance to claim their first win at newly renovated Bill Snyder Family Stadium, which had a dedication ceremony before the opener. Junior quarterback Jake Waters played pretty well (21-of-29, 280 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions) in his first start, but the offense struggled to find the rhythm it had under Heisman Trophy finalist Collin Klein and it showed in the running game. One point of emphasis this week will be improving on third down, where Kansas State converted on only two of its 10 attempts in the opener.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Kansas State's loss to the Bison snapped a string of 20 consecutive wins in season openers.
2. Senior LB Justin Anderson, who led Louisiana-Lafayette with 105 tackles last season, had a career-high 14 against Arkansas - ninth-most in the country in Week 1.
3. Waters' 280 yards were the most by a Wildcat in a home opener in 25 years (Dan Manucci, 343 in 1978).
PREDICTION: Kansas State 28, Louisiana-Lafayette 17