Staring Down The Musket At...The Kansas State Wildcats

Jon from Bring On The Cats was kind enough to answer some questions about the 'Eers and Snydercats. Let's get started, shall we?

Matt: Could you give us a quick run down of the first month of your season? Any strengths or weaknesses showing themselves so far?

Jon: It's really hard to say, since the first three games were the exact reverse of Bill Snyder's usual scheduling practices. The defense looked great against Stanford, of course, and has continued that dominance against much less daunting competition. The offense was really shaky in the opener, but has come together quite nicely... but is that because they're gelling, or because the competiton has gotten softer every week?

I'd like to say we'll find out this week but from what I've gleaned regarding West Virginia's defense, the Mountaineers may be playing right into K-State's strength. We'll have to see.

Matt: This feels redundant because it almost seems like being on Kansas State makes you per se underrated, but who are some under the radar playmakers for you guys on both sides of the ball?

Jon: I suppose that all depends on who you consider ON the radar. I'll make some assumptions there. Keep an eye out for WR Isaiah Zuber on offense, who's quietly been pretty interesting so far. On defense, LB Charmeachealle Moore has sort of lingered in Elijah Lee's shadow, but they're actually a pretty devastating one-two punch. In the secondary, Donnie Starks has very quietly done a lot of great work the last year or so.

Matt: One of WVU's major strengths so far has been pass protection, giving Skyler Howard time to find open receivers? How has K-State's pass rush looked so far?

Jon: It's interesting. I did a radio hit and got asked the same thing. The Cats are averaging three sacks a game, and that's with a pass rush concept which is really more designed to just force the quarterback to waste a down rather than over-pursuing in hopes of a big loss. The main concern you should probably have is that there were silver pants cluttering up Stanford's backfield the entire game a month ago.

Matt: Gotta ask this one, what's your expansion take?

Jon: Ah, man, I just don't care anymore. I am now convinced that Oklahoma and Texas are both setting us all up for failure anyway. Of course, all this whining about it becoming harder to recruit if we invite Houston isn't helping matters. Give me Houston and Cincinnati and the two Florida schools and be done with it.

Matt: Finally, how does this one shake out?

Jon: I'm actually optimistic. From what I've seen, it looks like Holgorsen is running a pass game K-State can actually defend with their bizarre cushion scheme, there doesn't look to be much of an edge rushing game, and on the other side of the ball Jesse Ertz should have time to throw. With a stable of running backs who are all capable of keeping the offense on schedule, that could be damaging. And although I really like Dana, he just seems to always get outcoached by Bill Snyder. It'll be interesting, but the Cats should come out on top.

Matt: BONUS: Best Hogwarts headmaster: Dumbledore, Snape, Bill Snyder?

Jon: This is a trick question, because Bill Snyder is Voldemort. So it's obviously Dumbledore.