Missouri vs. Kansas State Week 2 Staff Predictions

The staff of Mizzou Sports Talk provides their predictions for Saturday's game, a renewal of an old Big Eight/Big 12 rivalry.

© Jay Biggerstaff, USA TODAY

Missouri renews its former conference rivalry with Kansas State when the two teams meet in Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday morning in the second game of the season for both teams.

Missouri (1-0) is coming off a strong 52-24 win over Louisiana Tech — and a bit more rest. The Tigers played on Thursday of last week, while the Wildcats (1-0) played on Saturday. They shut out South Dakota, 34-0.

Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz believes his Tigers have much to improve on offensive, even though they poured on the points against LA Tech. He was clearly happy with how the Tigers handled the Bulldogs defensively.

These two schools have known each other for a long time. The pair were part of the old Big Eight Conference, and when the league merged with remnants from the Southwest Conference, they even ended up in the same division. But, Missouri left for the SEC a decade ago. Still, the two teams have played each other 97 times, with Missouri up 60-32-5 in the overall series, and 29-15-2 in Manhattan. But, Kansas State won their last matchup, and at one point the Wildcats had a 13-game winning streak from 1993-2005.

Here are the predictions of the staff of Mizzou Sports Talk for Saturday's game.

 Logan Collier, Staff Writer: Mizzou played well in the opener, but Deuce Vaughn will be too much for the Tigers defense on the road. Kansas State 42, Missouri 31

Zach Dimmitt, Staff Writer: Kansas State ended last season with a dominant 42-20 win over another SEC Tigers team. What the Wildcats did to LSU might’ve been expected given the state of the program in Baton Rouge, but Kansas State’s underrated defense could bring the same edge against a Mizzou team that struggled to find any sort of consistency against Power 5 competition last season. Still, the Tigers head into this road game with plenty of momentum after their 52-24 season-opening win over Louisiana Tech. But Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn and the Wildcat offense will be too much for Mizzou in what should be an entertaining game. Kansas State 31, Missouri 27

Matthew Postins, Staff Writer: Look, K-State running back Deuce Vaughn is SO GOOD he just needs one tendency of one defender to take it to the house. Mizzou will learn that fast, but it will be too late. Kansas State 37, Missouri 21

Cole Thompson, Staff Writer: The Wildcats have one of the best duos in terms of rushing offense with Deuce Vaughn and Adrian Martinez. Missouri had one of the worst run defenses in the country last year and did little to improve it. Kansas State 38, Missouri 28

Connor Zimmerlee, Staff Writer: Kansas State is a dark horse Big 12 contender to some, but Missouri pulls off an early-season upset win. Missouri 31, Kansas State 28

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.