Local Analyst Recommends Treading Lightly When Betting Kansas State vs. Cincinnati
Kansas State enters its home finale against Cincinnati with much to play for.
Despite falling out of the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night, it remains in contention for the Big 12 title game if it can win out and get help from the rest of the conference in the final two weeks of the regular season.
The Wildcats enter Saturday's contest as 7.5-point favorites. According to Kellis Robinett of Kansas.com, however, potential bettors should think twice before placing a wager in favor of the home team.
Although coach Chris Klieman shot down rumors of retirement Monday, Robinett hasn't seen enough to justify picking the Wildcats to cover the spread. Kansas State has lost its last two games, including dropping a 24-14 game to Arizona State last week after having nearly two weeks to prepare.
Robinett's reasoning is simple – the Wildcats' morale is beginning to fade. It's a far cry from last month's version, which saw Kansas State rally to win games against Colorado and Kansas. The offense hasn't clicked either. Quarterback Avery Johnson has struggled to extend drives, having thrown a combined four interceptions in his last two games.
Klieman plans to stick with Johnson at quarterback, pointing to his confidence level in learning from his in-game mistakes, making smarter throws while doing so.
The Wildcats trail in the all-time series against the Bearcats 4-2 but have won the last two head-to-head meetings in 1995 and 1996.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati needs one win in its final two games to become bowl-eligible. It has been 58 years since the Bearcats upended Kansas State, doing so 28-14 in Cincinnati.
Kickoff begins at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Zain Bando is a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at zainbando99@gmail.comand on Instagram/'X' @zainbando99.
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