State faces tough test in trip to No. 8 Stanford
Combine that with Stanford’s tendency to snooze a little in season openers and I think the Wildcats will come out looking more like the team that’s racked up at least eight wins in four of the last five seasons instead of the one coming off a 6-7 year. “It’s unlikely that he’s going to play unless there’s a drastic change in the next couple of days”, Shaw said.
Kansas State opens up against No. 8 Stanford on Friday night, a marquee matchup against the Rose Bowl champions and star Christian McCaffrey on national TV kicking off the slate of weekend games.
A year ago I alluded to a possible 2011 like season for the 2015 team after Jesse Ertz was named the starter. “I have great respect for Stanford and we all know where they are in the rankings, certainly well deserved”.
WILD CAFF: McCaffrey did it all previous year, rushing for 2,019 yards, adding a team-high 45 catches for 645 yards and being a dynamic returner. McCaffrey is adding another role this season after short-yardage ace Remound Wright graduated after running for 24 TDs on 217 carries the past two seasons. Ryan Burns will struggle some behind an offensive line that looks very average and gets pushed around some early by the Wildcats front seven.
“He can do anything on the field, so you just have to be aware and be up for the challenge”, safety Dante Barnett said. The Wildcats are bringing back nine starters from a defense that was one of the shakier units Snyder has coached but should be much improved given that everybody is healthy to go along with plenty of depth and experience. We still don’t know if Ertz can throw the ball, but the throws he made during the spring game were impressive. RT A.T. Hall, C Jesse Burkett and LG David Bright fill the other three spots. With 3,864 all-purpose yards last season, McCaffrey shattered the 27-year-old NCAA single-season record of 3,250, set by Oklahoma State legend Barry Sanders.
“My expectation is for him to run the offense”, Shaw said. “No matter what game you put on, he hits the quarterback”.
The Big 12 late past year said its teams would be required to play at least one non-conference game each season against a team from one of the other Power Five leagues (ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 or SEC) or Notre Dame, though the requirement didn’t affect existing non-conference game contracts at the time. He’ll be backed up by Joe Hubener, a dual threat who pushed Ertz throughout fall camp after filling in for him while he was injured. Strong said both will play against Notre Dame.
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