K-State Schedule Preview, Nov. 2: 'Trap Game' Arrives For Wildcats At Houston
After a grueling three-game stretch, Kansas State football team plays a classic trap game for its ninth opponent.
The Wildcats travel to TDECU Stadium to face the Houston Cougars Nov. 2.
The common definition of a trap game is when a highly-ranked team plays a game against a weaker opponent everyone expects them to win.
Unless, Houston makes a dramatic turnaround this season, which is possible, the Cougars are not a threat to challenge the elite in the Big 12. They are coming off a 4-8 season and they have a new coach.
The new coach, Willie Fritz, adds intrigue to the matchup. He’s coming off a highly successful stint at Tulane. His Green Wave team came to Manhattan in 2022 and won 17-10.
Fritz is from Kansas, played at Pittsburg State and knows all about K-State.
X’s and O’s mean something, but all good coaches need players. The Cougars are definitely in the rebuilding mode.
In the first-ever meeting last season, the Wildcats won 41-0 in Manhattan. In the game, backup quarterback Avery Johnson saw action as a true freshman, completing five of six passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. DJ Giddens averaged 7.4 yards per carry, rushing 13 times for 96 yards.
“We challenged our guys early in the week of having that chip on our shoulder and having that edge and having that mentality every week,” K-State head coach Chris Klieman said on the school’s athletic website after the game last season. “We didn't want to be a rollercoaster team. We wanted to improve and continue to get better.”
Klieman will probably need to give the same kind of speech again this season, especially if K-State gets through games at Colorado, at West Virginia and at home against Kansas, unscathed.
David Boyce is a contributing writer to K-State On SI. He can be reached at davidboyce95@gmail.com.
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DAVID BOYCE