How to watch: Cincinnati Bearcats at Kansas State Wildcats

The last two games? Terrible. Embarrassing, even.

Can K-State reverse that trend and reach ten wins? We don’t know, but tonight will be the first step.

The game

The no longer ranked Kansas State Wildcats (7-3, 4-3 Big 12) host the Cincinnati Bearcats (5-5, 3-4 Big 12).

While there is a long history between the two schools on the hardwood, this is only the seventh meeting between the two schools in football. Cincinnati won the first four games, two pairs of home-and-homes in 1951-52 and 1965-66. But the Cats swept another home-and-home in 1995-96; the first of which was the thrilling last-second touchdown by the late Matt Miller to Kevin Lockett that secured a 23-21 victory in Cincinnati, the second a 31-0 blowout in Manhattan.

The Bearcats have had a frustrating season. Three of their five losses have been within a touchdown, including a painful one-point loss to Pitt in Week Two and a three-point loss to Texas Tech in October. Their wins have included K-State’s last two opponents: a hard-fought win over Arizona State in their best outing of the year, as well as a blowout win over Houston.

Scott Satterfield is in his second year at the helm in Cincinnati, having replaced Luke Fickell when he jumped ship to Wisconsin. Satterfield’s record in Cincinnati is just 8-14; he began his head coaching career with a 51-24 run at Appalachian State before going to Louisville and essentially being a .500 coach.

Quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2,453 yards, 16 touchdowns, five interceptions) could cause problems for the Wildcats, though he’s not as dangerous a threat to run as the last two signal callers K-State has faced, so the pressure can be more effective. That said, he is a bull at the goal line, having run in eight scores. Sorsby has two strong targets in wideout Xzavier Henderson (52 catches for 632 yards) and tight end Joe Royer (42 for 477). Running back Corey Kiner has 903 yards at 5.4 per carry. wear clips; he is adequately spelled by Evan Pryor, who rolls up eight yards a carry, 381 total yards.

The Bearcats put 27.4 points on the board per game, yielding 24.4 points; they gain 430 yards a game while giving up 386.

If K-State played well, this game would be a lock. But they are not, and it is not. There is a real danger of slipping to a third straight loss if the mistakes of the last two outings continue.

Kickoff

Saturday 23 November at 7:00 PM CT at Bill Snyder Family Stadium (50,000) in Manhattan, Kansas.

Tickets

Again, the game is officially sold out, although there are still some standing room tickets available. There are a lot of third-party tickets out there, and they’re cheap – as low as $5, and it’s not just a handful. The top end is “only” $129 and the median is only $20.

Weather

You don’t want to go to an early morning tailgate. It is still below 40°F as of 8:00 a.m. But temps will climb into the 50s by 11:00 and the afternoon will be in the low 60s. Expect 50° and overcast at kickoff, and it won’t get too much colder before heading home. Windchill will be in the high 40s.

Odds

K-State opened as -7.5 point favorites and according to our friends at DraftKings it’s now -8.5 with over at 54. Math says it’s a 31-23 win for K-State. The money line is -298 for K-State, +240 for the Bearcats. Oddshark’s computer doesn’t disagree much, projecting slightly more scoring in a 34-26 win for the Wildcats.

Television

ESPN2, with Brian Custer, Rod Gilmore and Lauren Sisler on the call.

Radio

As always, Wyatt Thompson, Stan Weber and Matt Walters will be on hand on the K-State Sports Network as well as via satellite on SiriusXM 160 or 198.

Internet streaming

The game will stream on ESPN app (cable/satellite subscription required). Audio available via kstatesports.com. Live statistics provided by StatBroadcast.

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