Kansas State just couldn’t get this thing going.
It had every chance to take over the Big 12 and make this all about its shot at taking the conference title, but it lost to Houston and Arizona State in back-to-back weeks to screw it all up.
There’s still a shot at a ten-win season with a win here, then at Iowa State, then in a bowl.
Cincinnati has been stuck on five wins since mid-October, pulling of a now-great looking win over Arizona State before dropping three straight. Now it needs to win one of its last two games - TCU finishes things off - to be bowl eligible.
Nov 16, 2024; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson (2) fakes a handoff to running back Dylan Edwards (3) during the first quarter against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium.
© Scott Sewell-Imagn Images
Cincinnati vs Kansas State: How to Watch and Game Preview
Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024
Game Time: 8:00 pm ET
How To Watch: ESPN2
Venue: Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS
Teams: Kansas State (7-3), Cincinnati (5-5)
CFN Bluesky | CFN X | CFN FB
- Week 13 Schedule, Predictions
Why Cincinnati Will Win
(Forgive the utter horror of this line, but there’s no other way to properly make this fit.)
Cincinnati’s consistency is its inconsistency, but that’s a positive.
(Again, dreadfully sorry. I’ll try to be better.)
On both sides of the ball this team really hasn’t played the same style of game twice.
However, it’s been adaptable on the fly - for the most part. it found a balance in the win over Arizona State.
The passing game worked in the shootout loss to Texas Tech, and the running game was wonderful in the loss to Iowa State, and …
Why is this a positive?
Other than penalty yards - UC is 1-4 when getting nailed with over 40 yards of sins - there’s no one way to figure out how to take this team down.
It’s been close SO many times - sort of like Kansas over the last two weeks, the Bearcats are overdue for a big break, but …
Why Kansas State Will Win
Kansas State has been ultra-consistent.
There’s a reason for the three losses. It might be simplified, but turnovers matter.
No, the offense wasn’t good enough in the loss to Houston, and now, the defense wasn’t strong enough in the loss to Arizona State, and yeah, there were forces beyond all reason and control in the loss to BYU. But those were the three losses, and those were the three times Kansas State turned it over multiple times.
Turnovers are a problem for everyone, but for this K-State team they just throw things off.
Fortunately for the Wildcats, Cincinnati doesn’t take the ball away with just three over the last four games and without multiple takeaways in since mid-October.
Cincinnati vs Kansas State: Who Will Win?
About that thing about Cincinnati needing a break and some luck, it has to make its own, and it’s not good at doing that.
You know what Kansas State will do, but can Cincinnati sell out a bit more - the pass rush isn’t bad - to force the takeaways needed to pull this off?
No. The Wildcats will be terrific in their final home game with the ground game taking over in the second half to control the tempo.
Cincinnati vs Kansas State Prediction, Betting Lines
Prediction: Kansas State 31, Cincinnati 23
Line: Kansas State -8.5, o/u: 52.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Must See Rating: 3
