Spring Football Preview: Kansas State

The Cowboys and Wildcats are old rivals, but there will be plenty of new faces featured in this year’s matchup in the Little Apple.

Oklahoma State heads to Manhattan for its penultimate road game of the season to face a K-State team that’s also looking to rebuild. But instead of going outside the program and turning over most of their roster (like OSU did), the Wildcats brought back a former K-State hero to run their program and are going to depend heavily on some returning playmakers.

Let’s see how this matchup looks through spring shades. Be sure to check out our previous previews: Noncon | WVU | UCF | Houston | Colorado | Iowa State

Week 9: Kansas State | Nov. 7 | Manhattan, Kansas

Series history: 43-26

The Cowboys had won three of four against the Wildcats going into this dreadful last two-year stretch. Like all Big 12 teams, the Kansas State won each of its games against OSU in 2024 and 2025.

Last meeting: If it wasn’t for moral victories last year, the Cowboys would’ve had no victories at all.

OSU fell to Kansas State 14-6 in mid-November. It was the Cowboys’ ninth straight loss but also its closest deficit since the Tulsa game in Week 3. The Pokes’ lame-duck defense showed marked improvement, holding the Wildcats to their lowest scoring output of the season. Still, another L was another L.

K-State in 2025: The Cats ended Chris Kleiman’s final year going 6-6, declining their bowl invitation due in part to coaching transition, roster turnover and injuries. It was the first time they’d missed the postseason since Klieman’s second year in the shortened 2020 season (when they finished 4-6), and only the second time since 2009.

K-State in 2026: Kansas State brass brought back their golden child in former offensive coordinator and All-American QB Collin Klein. He spent the last two seasons as Texas A&M’s OC and QBs coach, a position he last held in Manhattan in 2023. This is his first head coaching post.

As far as incoming talent, the Wildcats land right in the middle in both portal and traditional recruiting rankings. They have 26 incoming portal additions with only one of them above a three-star according to 247Sports.

But they do return the steadying presence of third-year starting quarterback Avery Johnson, and Klein is no stranger to converting lower-star guys into on-field playmakers. Over his career, Johnson seems to fare better when he plays to his dual-threat strengths. Wildcats everywhere hope Klein is the coach that can get the best out of him.

Of note: Cowboy fans will see a few familiar faces in Wendell Gregory, Rodney Fields Jr. and Jacobi Oliphant, who all transferred to the Wildcats from OSU this offseason.