The K-State Wildcats (1-0) will meet a familiar foe on Saturday with former Big 12 and Big 8 member Missouri (1-0) coming to town. This will be the first meeting since 2011, which ended in the 20th ranked Cats beating the Tigers 24-17 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

That game is most known by the postgame handshake, or lack thereof, from Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel who showed no interest in one of Bill Snyder’s sincere talks at midfield. All Snyder could do was shrug it off which was certainly a sign to come for the direction of Missouri football.

So, is there still a rivalry between these two schools? If you have checked social media lately, you would definitely think so. These two passionate fanbases still cannot stand each other. Coach Klieman during his mid-week conference said that former players have been in contact with the current players on what this rivalry means to them, the school and its fans.

Looking ahead at Saturday’s matchup, we have to look back at the first game of the year, where K-State beat the South Dakota Coyotes by a final score of 34-0. However, it did feel a bit lack luster.

Despite getting a blowout, the passing game didn’t do much. Quarterback Adrian Martinez threw for just 53 yards on 11 completions with most of his passes being short dump-offs to a tight end or to whoever was in the backfield. Klieman said they intended to be vanilla on offense, but not until they were up big.

Martinez tried to hit Phillip Brooks on a deep route, and he put it right in his breadbasket, but the wide receiver couldn’t come down with the ball. It’s a little concerning that K-State played an entire half and were unable to complete at least one long passing play. Coach Klieman defended his quarterback saying he commanded the field well.

The Cats will look to be more aggressive against a Missouri defense that was able to intercept Louisiana Tech quarterback Matthew Downing three times, all of which coming in the first 18 minutes of the game. The Tigers struggled stopping their backup Parker McNeil who threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cyrus Allen.

Missouri’s passing defense overall was solid, but they showed that they give up an occasional big play which can be detrimental in a big game like this Saturday, especially with a hostile crowd of 54,000-plus.

K-State imposed their will on the ground as expected with 297 total rushing yards and four touchdowns. Malik Knowles, Deuce Vaughn, Adrain Martinez and DJ Giddens, all made it to paydirt last weekend with Deuce tallying up 128 scrimmage yards.

Missouri didn’t have to defend the run much with the Tigers leading almost the whole game, although the Bulldogs did keep it close in the first half.

Last season, Missouri allowed 227.8 rushing yards per game and 2.4 rushing touchdowns per game. If they show no signs of improvement from 2021, it will be a long afternoon in Manhattan for the Tigers.

K-State’s defense allowed 270 yards vs. South Dakota with 131 rushing yards and 139 passing yards. They turned the Coyotes over once with an interception by safety Cincere Mason, and they also forced three fumbles, but were unable to recover any of them.

On the flipside, the Missouri offense turned the ball over twice against Louisiana Tech with starting quarterback Brady Cook throwing an interception that should have been caught by his receiver, and the other being a fumble in the redzone by tight end Tyler Stephens.

Overall, Brady Cook looked solid in his 2022 debut for the Tigers going 18-for-27 with 201 yards, a touchdown and the interception. Coach Klieman mentioned that he is impressed with his game. He will have a tough test trying to thread the needle against K-State’s cornerbacks Ekow Boye-Doe and Julius Brents who are ready to take on Missouri’s talented receivers.

Of their talented wideouts, perhaps none has more raw talent and potential than freshman Luther Burden III. The Illinois native came out of high school as the 3rd ranked player in the entire 2022 class and the nation’s top receiver.

Burden had two touchdowns vs. La Tech in which both had him lined up in the backfield. The first was a quick dump-off pass from the 5-yard line, and the other being on a direct snap out of the Wildcat formation from the 1-yard line.

Another matchup to watch for this Saturday is K-State’s offensive line versus Missouri’s defensive line. It was during Wednesday’s press conference that right guard Taylor Poitier will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2022 season with a torn ACL.

The new depth chart for the Wildcats has Hadley Panzer starting at right guard this Saturday. Last week, he was listed as the backup to Poitier and the backup to center Hayden Gillum. Panzer is still the backup center this week even with him getting the start at right guard.

Coach Klieman talked Wednesday about the personnel that we will likely be seeing moving forward. He mentioned that Andrew Leingang (Liney) and Carver Willis will get more playing time.

He also talked about players like Sam Hect, a redshirt freshman from Shawnee, KS, and Dawson Delforge, a JUCO transfer from Wamego, KS, will be getting more reps in practice to get them some playing time in the future as well.

Tickets to the game were being resold for as much as $250, but seeing an old rivalry renewed is priceless. It’s going to be an emotional game for many in front of a jam-packed, electric Bill Snyder Family Stadium this Saturday.

Prediction: K-State 31, Missouri 16

Kickoff is at 11:00 a.m. and pregame will start at 9:00 a.m. on KNZA 103.9 FM and on KMZA 92.1 FM.