#16 K-State opens its regular season and Big 12 title defense with the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks at 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 2nd.

There is a lot of hype around this team and for good reason. With starting senior quarterback Will Howard back and all five offensive linemen returning with the additions of sophomore Iowa transfer wide receiver and super senior Florida State transfer Treshaun Ward, the offense is going to score a lot of points.

For a more in-depth look at K-State’s personnel, be sure to check out our offense and defense previews.

K-State fans should expect a lot of Howard in their season opener with SEMO’s pass defense being below average at the FCS level.

In 2022, the Redhawks allowed an average of 254 yards per game over the air. However, they do have super senior safety Lawrence Johnson returning after a First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference caliber season. He finished the year with 76 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 4.0 sacks, 9 pass breakups and an interception.

Another player on the Redhawks defense to keep an eye on is junior linebacker Bryce Norman, who had 108 tackles and 7 QBH and was also on the All-OVC First Team.

This will be our first look at K-State’s revamped wide receiver room with super senior Phillip Brooks being the team’s lone returner.

Johnson and sophomore RJ Garcia II round out the starting receivers. This will also be the first time we get to see some of the younger wideouts such as Xavier Loyd, Jadon Jackson and Tre Spivey among others.

As for K-State’s front seven, they will take on super senior running back Geno Hess, who ran for 1,691 yards and 21 touchdowns last fall.

The secondary will be tasked with containing senior wide receiver Ryan Flournoy. He had 50 catches for 984 yards and seven touchdowns. Both skill players were on the First Team All-OVC.

Their quarterback, junior Paxton DeLaurent, returns as well after a standout season. He finished his sophomore season with 2,684 yards, 19 touchdowns and only six interceptions in ten games. DeLaurent missed two games due to a foot injury.

Southeast Missouri State enters the game ranked #11 in the FCS Coaches Poll after going 9-2 in the regular season and winning the Ohio Valley Conference. Their season came to an end with a first-round exit in the FCS playoffs to Montana.

This information isn’t to scare any K-State fans out there. It should be noted that they opened their season against a sorry Iowa State team that finished 4-8 and got blown out 42-10.

The mediocre Cyclone quarterback Hunter Dekkers looked like a Heisman candidate after their outing against the Redhawks. He went 25-for-31 with 293 yards, throwing four touchdowns and an interception.

Iowa State’s running back Jirehl Brock also averaged 6.5 yards per carry with 16 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown.

Both aforementioned Iowa State players are suspended amidst a gambling investigation linking them to betting on games they played in.

Another reason not to be too worried about SEMO is the fact that K-State has been perfect against FCS opponents since 2014. This will be the first time the Cats play a member of the OVC since they romped Tennessee Tech in 2009 with former wide receiver and special teams All-American Brandon Banks taking two kickoffs to the house.

The Wildcats have a few injuries they are monitoring for their season opener on the defense. Nose guard Uso Seumalo and linebacker Daniel Green are nursing short-term injuries they sustained in fall camp. Green was listed on the team’s depth chart, but Seumalo was not. However, defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman has declared them both as game-time decisions. As for offensive lineman Christian Duffie, he has been ruled out for game one.

One last thing to note going into the season is the K-State special teams’ situation. After being blessed with Ty Zentner being perfect in field goals and extra points and an above-average punter a year ago, they go back to Marysville Bulldog alum Jack Blumer at punter entering his sixth year at K-State.

They also go back to Chris Tennant kicking field goals and kickoffs. He won the job last year but lost it after a sub-par performance in the first half of the season. K-State fans will hope that he’s a little sharper this year.

Prediction: K-State 52, SEMO 17

Our pregame coverage will begin at 4 p.m. on 92.1 FM KMZA and 103.9 FM KNZA with kickoff at 6 p.m.