Jimmy Coffman
Friday, October 23rd, 2026
PreGameDay: Arizona State
KANSAS CITY – For the first time since Bill Snyder’s inaugural season as head coach, K-State travels to Tempe, Arizona looking to add a win to Collin Klein’s inaugural season as head coach.
Kansas State has spent the last week riding the high of keeping the Governor’s Cup in their trophy case after a 35-24 win over KU. In that week long span, Avery Johnson has popped onto the injury report as questionable and the Cats have debuted new uniforms that dawn a purple helmet for the first time since 1988.
A superstitious person may see new uniforms and immediately chalk up the weekend to a loss. Admittedly, the patterns for K-State are historically troubling. For one, K-State’s last trip to Tempe came in 1989 with a first year head coach by the name of Bill Snyder, who decided to don a new logo on the helmet known as the powercat. That game ended in a 31-0 loss for the Cats.
In 2026, K-State’s first trip to Tempe since that 31-0 loss comes with a first year head coach donning new uniforms on the road. Of course, Klein’s trip is a conference game and the program is much improved from that first game with Snyder, but I wouldn’t walk under a ladder for safe keeping.
K-State is historically 1-6 against ASU, with five of those losses coming on the road. But the Cats have only played one game against the Sun Devils since 2002, meaning all but two of those losses came before Snyder even stepped foot in Manhattan. K-State HC Collin Klein has the opportunity to collect another first for the Cats, but it won’t be easy against a tough Sun Devil squad.
Defense
Arizona State’s defense has had some rocky performances since facing power four competition. In four games, Arizona State’s defense has allowed 45+ points in three of them with two of those going past 50. The only power conference school to not score more than 45 points; the Kansas Jayhawks. The only common opponent between the two schools is also the only conference win this season for the two schools.
ASU has problems on multiple levels defensively, with the run defense being just about as poor as K-State’s and the secondary allowing over 215 yards per game, ranking 79th in FBS. Linebacker Owen Long is one of the few bright spots on this team, ranking 29th in solo tackles across the nation. Though Long had a strong season, the rest of the defense is not very notable.
The main component with this Sun Devil squad is the run defense; even with Avery Johnson’s availability being unknown, Jacob Knuth has the capability to run when needed. Joe Jackson and Rodney Fields are both coming off of great games and the offense got going against a better run defense in KU almost immediately. If the Cats succeed on the ground, the hosting Devils could be in for a long afternoon.
Offense
Offensively, ASU has been a mess since week 2. Though flashes are there, the Sun Devils haven’t scored more than 25 points on a power four school and their very one dimensional. The Sun Devils have had a problem running the ball, ranking 88th in the nation in rushing offense. Their leading ball carrier, Kyson Brown, only has 329 yards on the season with 60 carries.
The Sun Devils simply choose not to run the ball, relying a lot more on their passing offense. When it comes to the pass, ASU is pretty good through the air, being the first top 25 rated passing offense the Cats have faced all season. Though there is a lot of potency in the pass game, ASU has run into a QB conundrum after benching starter Cutter Boley for his backup in Mikey Keene. Keene is coming off of a strong performance, throwing for 256 yards and two touchdowns against Texas Tech, but now the question lies in who they put out against the Cats. Do they stick with the hot hand or do they try and give Boley another chance.
No matter who starts for ASU, they will have a tough time trying to stay safe in the pocket. The Sun Devil offensive line has allowed 15 sacks in six games, allowing 2.5 sacks per game this season. K-State’s pass rush has struggled to attack the quarterback for a couple of weeks, but they might get a few chances against this shaky pass protection.
In conclusion, K-State’s second road game of the season is set to be the perfect test for the Cats. They’re coming into a new environment against a team that struggles to run the ball, stop the run defensively and can air the ball out. That could be a good concoction for the run defense to have a good day and the offense to play to their strengths.
Either way, the uniform curse is officially in play for Coach Klein’s first game with purple helmets. This opportunity wouldn’t only be Klein’s first road win as head coach, but he could avenge Bill Snyder for his loss the last time the Cats were in Tempe.