CFB Futures – 2024 Kansas State Wildcats Win Total Odds

Even when they were good under Bill Snyder consistently winning double digits games, the Kansas State Wildcats played second fiddle to Texas and Oklahoma in the Big 12 Conference. With those programs chasing the college football pot of gold in the SEC, now’s the time for the ‘Cats to become the big cheese in the new-look league. After nearly two decades of lackluster play following Snyder’s retirement, the Cats won at least eight games in four of the past five seasons under Chris Klieman and appear destined for another winning campaign following the defection of two powerhouse programs. Oddsmakers like the Cats pegging them with a win total of 9.5 at BetMGM but they haven’t won more than nine regular season games since 2012.

Regular Season Wins for the Kansas State Wildcats

Over 9.5 ( +115 )

Under 9.5 ( -140 )

It was a season of what ifs and what might’ve been for the Wildcats in 2023. They finished the regular season at 8-4, but easily could’ve had two or more victories on their record. Two of their losses were by a field goal to Big 12 champion Texas and 11-win Missouri. They also lost by eight to conference runner-up Oklahoma State and by seven to a good Iowa State squad. That came a year after Klieman led the team to nine regular seasons win and an upset of undefeated TCU in the 2022 Big 12 Championship game. 

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Roster

One big question entering 2024 is can the Wildcats maintain their offensive efficiency from a season ago. They amassed a bunch of yards and points behind an experienced offensive line and the leadership of QB Will Howard. K-State ranked 10th nationally in scoring and 23rd in total offense. Now here comes the hard part. All five starters up front and Howard departed the program leaving promising but inexperienced Avery Johnson as the new signal-caller.

Johnson’s lone start came against NC State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl throwing for 178 yards and two touchdowns with an additional 71 yards and a score on the ground in the 28-19 win. In eight games he threw for 479 yards with five TDs and zero interceptions while running for 296 yards and seven TDs. Johnson is a budding star and improved accuracy on his throws will make him a super star. He completed just 56.1 percent of his passes. You expect improvement in that area now that he has control of the offense.

With Johnson’s elusiveness and D.J. Giddens back for another season, the ground game will be the bread and butter. Giddens might be the best back in the Big 12 after a campaign that saw him rush for 1,226 yards and compile 1,549 scrimmage yards and 13 total touchdowns. Colorado’s leading rusher Dylan Edwards is a nice complement. What could hurt is the lack of experience up front, but we’ve seen the Cats put together solid offensive lines in the past and there’s enough experience without the starts to believe the group will be good.

Defensively the team was solid last season finishing second in the Big 12 in points allowed and third in total defense. Several returning starters at linebacker and in the secondary gives hope that this group can be just as good and maybe better. Austin Moore is a next level LB posting 63 tackles and 12.5 TFLs a season ago. The secondary is good with plenty of snaps under their belts. Safeties Marques Sigle and V.J. Payne, and CB Jacob Parrish all starred last year for the Big 12’s third-best pass defense.

Schedule

We can say for every remaining Big 12 squad that the schedule lightened up with departure of Texas and OU. For the programs battling at the top of the conference standings it’s especially true. This year’s schedule has the makings of being less difficult after road trips to Texas, Missouri and OK State in 2023. It’s hard to pinpoint any game where the Cats will be the underdog. The Week 5 clash with OK State is in Manhattan as is the rivalry game with Kansas. The Cats also host Arizona State and Cincinnati. Non-conference are against UT-Martin, Tulane and Arizona (this season) with all in the winnable category.

Prediction

Betting on 10 wins with an inexperienced QB is risky. There’s no doubt Johnson has the skills to be great, but actually doing it on the field is a different story. And the coaches are putting all their eggs in his basket. There has to be some semblance of a passing game in order to make the run work, and there’s no doubt the Cats will run the football and play solid defense. I’m just not convinced they are a 10-win team, though.

Check out the latest college football odds at BetMGM