A Closer Look at the 2023 Football Schedule

It's been 32 days since Big 12 Champion Kansas State ended its season at 10-4 and with its highest final ranking in the AP Top 25 Poll since 2014, and it's just 215 days and counting before the Wildcats open their 2023 season in Manhattan.

You can feel the excitement already as heads toward his fifth season as K-State head coach.

K-State will return quarterback and nearly its entire starting offense from a group that enjoyed one of its best seasons in school history. That includes its entire starting offensive line and All-American . Wide receiver embarks upon his sixth season as one of the most dangerous playmakers in the Big 12 Conference, along with First Team All-Big 12 tight end . The Wildcats will return linebacker along with many other key pieces on a defense that gave up its fewest points since 2003, and a multitude of players return for the Wildcats' stellar special teams. The Wildcats also bring in talented transfers, including 5-foot-10, 192-pound running back Treshaun Ward (Florida State), wide receiver Keagan Johnson (Iowa), defensive tackle Jevon Banks (Mississippi State) and defensive back Marques Sigle (North Dakota State). Quarterback Avery Johnson headlines 26 incoming freshman who make up arguably the Wildcats' best recruiting class in 20 years.

A few things about the Wildcats' 2023 schedule, which was released on Tuesday, quickly come to mind. K-State actually opens the Big 12 season at home when it meets UCF for the first time as conference members on September 23. The Wildcats' first league road game at Oklahoma State on Friday, October 6, will mark their first weekday game since 2016. K-State then turns around and plays the entire state of Texas — at Texas Tech, TCU, Houston, at Texas, and Baylor — between October 14 and November 11. The matchup against TCU on October 21 in Manhattan should be thrilling for players and fans and it will be a rematch from the Big 12 title game. K-State's final road game? That'll be at Kansas on November 18. The Wildcats close out their regular season on Senior Day against Iowa State on November 25.

K-State will not play Oklahoma or West Virginia in 2023 and will wait at least one year to face new conference members BYU and Cincinnati.

ESPN says K-State came out a "winner" on its 2023 schedule: "Kansas State seemed to get its respect, kicking off the league schedule at home for the first time since 2017 with a game against UCF on Sept. 23. The Wildcats will also host Houston, meaning they won't be traveling to any of the new teams' stadiums this season."

The 2023 Big 12 Championship Game has been set for December 1 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

A look at K-State's opponents in 2023:

September 2: Southeast Missouri

All systems go for K-State in what should be an electric Bill Snyder Family Stadium as the defending Big 12 Champions take the field for the first time. K-State has never faced Southeast Missouri. The Redhawks enjoyed a magical season that saw them go 9-3 overall and undefeated at 5-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play in 2022. The Redhawks advanced to the NCAA FCS Playoffs for a third time in five years and posted their fourth nine-win season in program history. Southeast Missouri suffered a 42-10 loss in the 2022 season opener at Iowa State and fell at Missouri 59-28 in 2021.

September 9: Troy

Coming off Sun Belt and Cure Bowl championships, Troy finished ranked in the final AP Top 25 for the first time in program history at No. 19 in 2022. The Trojans posted a 12-2 record under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall and own the nation's second-longest active winning streak at 11 heading into 2023. Troy held all 14 of its opponents under their season scoring average and finished 19 in total defense. Troy, which opens the season against Stephen F. Austin, could be riding a 12-game winning streak when it faces the Wildcats in Manhattan.

September 16: at Missouri

The first meeting between the former Big 12 schools resulted in a 40-12 thumping over the Tigers last season in Manhattan, as Klieman improved to 4-0 against non-conference Power 5 opponents. Missouri didn't score its first touchdown until an untimed final play from the 1-yard line. The Tigers finished last season 6-7 with a 27-17 loss to Wake Forest in the Gasparilla Bowl. Eliah Drinkwitz heads into his fourth season with a 16-19 record. The Tigers closed out the regular season winning four of their last six and were the only team to play No. 1 Georgia to a one-score game (a 26-22 loss).

September 23: UCF

UCF began touting its new membership in the Big 12 last season with Big 12 signage and fans chants at football games. Now the Knights embark upon their first Big 12 game facing the defending league champions in what is expected to be a highly-amped crowd at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. UCF made its program-record seventh consecutive bowl appearance last season — a 30-13 loss to Duke in the Military Bowl — en route to a 9-5 record under head coach Gus Malzahn. K-State loyalists likely remember first and only time these schools met. The Wildcats beat the Knights, 17-10, on September 25, 2010, but the eerily strange cloud formation that hovered over Bill Snyder Family Stadium stole the show.

October 6 (Friday): at Oklahoma State

being paraded around Bill Snyder Family Stadium following a 48-0 win over No. 9 Oklahoma State last season remains a lasting image for the Wildcats, who made the Cowboys become the first top-10 team to suffer a 40-point shutout loss since 1968. Visions of Skylar Thompson throwing darts to Byron Pringle the last time these two teams met in an evening game in Stillwater come to mind, as the Wildcats gear up for a Friday night date against the Cowboys. Although Oklahoma State ended last season by posting a winning season for the 17 straight year, the Cowboys managed a 7-6 record, including a 4-5 mark in Big 12 play. They finished out a disappointing campaign with a 24-17 loss to Wisconsin in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

October 14: at Texas Tech

In only his first season, head coach Joey McGuire led Texas Tech to one of its more memorable seasons in recent history with wins over Texas and Oklahoma and the most Big 12 victories since 2009. Texas Tech finished 7-5 overall and 5-4 in league play, and throttled Ole Miss, 42-25, in the Texas Bowl. K-State has had Texas Tech's number. The Wildcats' 37-28 win over the Red Raider last season marked their 11 victory in the last 12 series games. The Wildcats two top playmakers in last year's win —  (171 rushing yards, 3 TDs) and (170) — are gone.

October 21: TCU

This one speaks for itself. It'll be mightily hard to top the 2022 Big 12 Championship Game classic — the 31-28 overtime victory against the third-ranked Horned Frogs — but the coaches, players and fans might forever remember the epic clash in Arlington. threw for 424 yards and four touchdowns and one interception in two meetings against the Horned Frogs last season. K-State has won four of the last five in the series and hasn't lost at home to TCU since 2017.



This will mark the first time K-State and Houston will meet on the gridiron. Dana Holgorsen is 27-20 heading into his fifth season with the Cougars but has history with the Big 12 — he led West Virginia for eight seasons. Houston finished its 8-5 season with a 23-16 win over Louisiana in the Independence Bowl. An interesting fact: Houston's 15 bowl appearances since 2005 leads the state of Texas. K-State getting both new conference members UCF and Houston at home could bode well for the Wildcats. It'll be interesting to see how Houston is doing at the quarterback position once this game rolls around. The Cougars lost standout quarterback Clayton Tune after the season. The senior led The American Conference with 101 touchdown passes.



This could be one of K-State's final chances to beat Texas, and odds suggest the Wildcats will make this one count. It would be great lasting statement in what could be the final time the schools meet in a while. K-State will seek its first win over Texas since 2016 while it'll also look to pull out a victory in Austin for the first time since led the Wildcats to a 17-13 victory on November 6, 2010. K-State administered a stirring 21-point comeback last season only to fall excruciatingly short, 34-27. As soon as the 2023 schedule came out you could feel the anticipation for this one.



Baylor will be eager to rebuild after an uncharacteristic 6-7 record in 2022. The Bears possess one of the best minds in college football in Dave Aranda, yet fell short in too many close games. K-State's 31-3 win in Waco last season marked the first of four consecutive losses for the Bears to end the season, capped by a 30-15 loss to Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. Last season, came off the sideline to throw for 196 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats snapped a four-game skid in the series and captured their first win at McLane Stadium since 2016. Now the Wildcats will look for their first win in Manhattan since 2017.



Yessirr. K-State rides a series-record streak of 14 straight victories into Lawrence, where it hasn't lost since 2008. There is nothing like seeing the Governor's Cup Trophy in the Vanier Family Football Complex and the Wildcats plan to keep it that way. In what had been touted as one of the more highly-anticipated Sunflower Showdowns in years, K-State rolled to a 47-27 win in Manhattan last season, stamping its ticket to the Big 12 title game. This game is certain to carry a mix of emotions as well, as Lance Leipold took KU from a 2-10 record in 2021 to a 6-7 record last season, has established a culture, and is eager to make this a more competitive rivalry.



Last season saw K-State gut it out in a blue-collar 10-9 victory over the Cyclones in Ames, handing them just their fourth loss in their last 30 homes games. It was a horribly disappointing season for head coach Matt Campbell as the Cyclones finished 4-8 with six of the losses coming by one score. It was Campbell's worst season since going 3-9 in his first campaign in Ames in 2016. Since 2008, K-State is 10-1 against Iowa State in one-score games.