Last weekend was a little rough, but in the end your Kansas State Wildcats emerged victorious, heading back to Manhattan at 2-0 on the young season with a win over a good Tulane team under their belts, but plenty to work on in the short week leading up to today’s game.

And the Wildcats have something to keep them focused on that work this week, as the #20 Arizona Wildcats are in town today looking to keep their own unbeaten streak alive in the early season. The blue and red Wildcats have also opened 2-0 on the season, starting with a 61-39 win over New Mexico, followed by a 22-10 win over FCS Northern Arizona., with both games coming in Tuscon, AZ. Zona’s season opener against the Lobos was close at halftime, with the home team holding a slight 27-24 advantage, before Arizona pulled away in the 3rd quarter. In game 2, the visiting Lumberjacks had the Wildcats on the ropes early, taking a 10-6 lead into halftime. But Arizona was able to pull it together after halftime to pull out the win.

So what we learned about the desert Wildcats so far is…not much really. The Lobos are 0-2 on the season, including a loss to Montana State. And a close win over a pretty average FCS team is nothing to write home about. But K-State fans know all to well that early season results like that can be misleading, and Arizona still has good athletes, like QB Noah Fifita and WR Tetairoa McMillan, and a first-year head coach that was successful in his run leading San Jose State from 2017-2023. On the other side of things, this will be the desert cats first trip away from home this season, and they’re headed into one of the most raucous environments in college football.

Oh, by the way, despite K-State and Arizona now being conference mates, today’s game is not a Big 12 game. It still counts, officially, as a non-conference game between the two since it was scheduled prior to Arizona joining the Big 12. Also, despite playing seven previous times (Arizona holds a 5-1-1 advantage), this will be the first game played in Manhattan, KS. The last time these two teams played on the gridiron was 1978, when Tony Mason’s Arizona squad beat Jim Dickey’s Cats 31-0.

But here in 2024 this is a game that, on-paper-, K-State should win, and win big. This is not a team K-State is going to look past, and it’s the kind of non-conference opponent that fans have been clamoring for and should make for a great environment. Plus, it’s Harley Day, which always adds to the pre-game energy.

We’ve got an 7:00pm CT kickoff on this beautiful Friday night for today’s game from Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and you can catch the action on FOX (or online via FoxSports.com) but you might have to turn the audio down because we’ve got Tim Brawndo Brando (Play-by-Play), Devin Gardner (Analyst), and Josh Sims (Sidelines) on the call.

If you don’t have FOX or can’t access the stream (or just can’t stand to listen to Brando & Gardner), the game can be heard across the 28-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst), and Matt Walters (sidelines) calling the action. The game will also be on SiriusXM Satellite Radio Ch. 84, and available online at K-Statesports.com. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateFB) will also be a part of the coverage.

Go Cats!