Kansas State Wildcats 2009 Football Betting Preview

With the College Football 2009 Season just around the corner, we are providing season previews for all 120 Division I-A college football teams to give you the betting edge. Follow the best College Football Handicappers as they analyze their teams in this 2009 season preview. Be sure to bookmark SportsbookBuzz.com your source for Sportsbook Reviews. Use our comprehensive and insider info to bet successfully on the College Football in our recommend sportsbooks.View the rest of our 2009 NCAA Football Season Previews here.

Kansas State 2008 Record: (5-7, 2-6)
Kansas State 2008 Bowl: none
Kansas State Coach: Bill Snyder (136-68-1 at Kansas State, 136-68-1 overall)
Kansas State Offensive Coordinator: Bill Snyder
Kansas State Defensive Coordinator: Chris Cosh and Vic Koenning
Kansas State Returning Stats Leaders:

• Rushing: Lamark Brown, RB, 412 yards
• Passing: Carson Coffman, QB, 282 yards
• Receiving: Brandon Banks, WR, 1,049 yards
• Tackles: Joshua Moore, CB, 76
• Sacks: Brandon Harold, DE, 3.0
• Interceptions: Joshua Moore, CB, 3

Notable Kansas State Returning Players: DT Daniel Calvin, S Chris Carney, LB Eric Childs, S Tysyn Hartman, S Courtney Herndon, LB Alex Hrebec, TE Jeron Mastrud, LB Ulla Pomele, WR Aubrey Quarles

Kansas State Key Losses: C Jordan Bedore, DE Ian Campbell, CB Ray Cheatham, QB Josh Freeman, WR Deon Murphy, WR Ernie Pierce, K Brooks Rossman, G Gerard Spexarth, LB Reggie Walker

Welcome back, Bill Snyder. The patriarch of the Kansas State renaissance is coming out of retirement to try and return the Wildcats to national prominence. He’s going to have a tough time however, as KSU is embroiled in a financial scandal off the field and is bereft of elite talent on it after finishing 5-7 for the 2nd consecutive season in 2008. After three years of mediocrity under former coach Ron Prince, the Wildcats have a lot of holes that Snyder will have trouble filling immediately. On top of that, he’s nearly seventy years old, so how much time is actually there for him to rebuild this once proud program?

The Wildcats’ problem has certainly not been their offense the past two seasons. Led by quarterback Josh Freeman, the Cats averaged 35 points per game in each of the last two seasons! Unfortunately, Freeman turned pro a year early and was a 1 st round draft pick in April, so KSU has a gaping void under center. That’s not good news as Freeman accounted for over 70 percent of the team’s total offense last year! Generally when a team has to replace a star quarterback, they lean on the running game early and often. Unfortunately for KSU, their top returning rusher, junior LaMark Brown, barely broke 400 yards last year and has since been moved to wide receiver. That leaves the running game in the hands of sophomore Logan Dodd, who was solid as a freshman backup. I’m not very high on the line either despite three returning starters, the best of which is senior tackle Nick Stringer, who was an honorable mention All-Big XII selection last year.

Luckily, it isn’t all gloom and doom on offense as senior wide receiver Brandon Banks, who caught 67 passes for over 1,000 yards and 9 touchdowns last year, is back for his second and final season after transferring in from a junior college last fall. He was the Big XII Newcomer of the Year in 2008 and is a good example of the commitment KSU has to the junior colleges in the state of Kansas. Many of Snyder’s best players came to KSU after going the JUCO route and he will be looking to find a few more diamonds in the rough like Banks this fall. However, even with the potential of JUCO help, I’m not very bullish on the Kansas State offense and I hope they have a good punter. Without Freeman, who accounted for 34 touchdowns last season, I see some big steps back for Kansas State on the scoreboard.

Like I said before, the defense was largely to blame for the Wildcats’ losing records in each of the past two seasons. However, their defense might be their saving grace this fall. Eight starters are back from last year’s unit, which tied with Iowa State as the league’s 2nd worst! However, I think that KSU has the potential to field a solid defense in 2009. Up front, three starters are back, led by sophomore end Brandon Harold, who was a Freshman All-American last season. Along with three seniors, I expect Harold to be a key part of a much improved run defense after the Cats were beaten badly on the ground last season. Another reason for optimism is that both starting linebacker spots will be filled by returning starters after KSU switched to a 4-2-5 when Snyder took over. All three starters from last year’s 4-3 system are back and I expect the Wildcats to receive especially solid play from sophomore Alex Hrebec, who was 2nd on last year’s team with 68 tackles. Expect a much improved Kansas State run defense.

The secondary also could be strong this season as three starters return. The best player on the entire defense is junior cornerback Josh Moore, who led the team in tackles and interceptions last fall and was one of the conference leaders in passes defended. He will be the pillar around which the secondary will be built. I expect that Kansas State will be much stronger against the pass this fall. Overall, expect an improved defense in 2009 for Coach Snyder.

The schedule will be an interesting mix, as the only BCS opponent in the non-conference season is UCLA as the Wildcats head to the Rose Bowl in September. A trip to Louisiana is a possible pitfall the week before but KSU looks to have a very tenable slate outside of the Big XII. In conference, KSU only has three true road games as they face ISU in Kansas City. Unfortunately, their road trips are to Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Nebraska, so playing well at home will be a must if the Wildcats aspire to play in the postseason.

The first season of the second era in Bill Snyder’s coaching career at Kansas State will be very interesting to watch unfold. Watching K-State the last two seasons kept giving me the nagging feeling that we they were just missing something necessary to field a winning team. For example, two years ago they beat Texas but lost to Iowa State and Fresno State when either game would have clinched a bowl berth! Last fall, they lost two games to teams that finished with losing records and that cost them a postseason berth despite a high octane offense! I think that K-State’s underachievement can be attributed to a lack of focus and I expect Snyder’s legendary deft touch to help guide the Wildcats to a more level season. This year, the offense won’t be high octane but the defense should be much improved. On top of that, their conference schedule definitely will give them a chance at a strong showing. Overall, I think that Snyder has inherited a less talented team than the last two editions but I think he has a good chance at guiding the Wildcats to a bowl game, especially if they beat UCLA in September. Just don’t expect any more than six or seven wins in 2009.

Kansas State Big Games: Sept. 19th @ UCLA, Oct. 3rd vs. ISU (Kansas City), Oct. 10th @ Texas Tech, Oct. 24th vs. Colorado, Nov. 7th vs. Kansas, Nov. 14th vs. Mizzou, Nov. 21 st @ Nebraska

Kansas State’s Strength:

Coach Snyder is an innovative offensive coach and the unit returns a ton of talent. There is a slew of talent at receiver, most notably Brandon Banks. Banks tallied 1,049 receiving yards in 2008, but Aubrey Quarles is also an intriguing option. Tight end Jeron Mastrud is a solid pass catcher and he will be the quarterback’s safety valve. The story is the same at the running back position. Lamark Brown led the team with a mere 412 yards per game, but he is a former wide receiver who can turn into a dynamic and unpredictable playmaker. Logan Dold and Keithen Valentine also saw quality playing time last season and both are capable of emerging as quality rushers now that they have more experience under their belt. The offensive line lost a few starters, but they do return four players who started at least three games last year. The unit has room to improve and they could very well do just that with the help of tackle Nick Stringer.

Kansas State’s Weakness:

All the pieces are there for KSU to have a dynamic offense…except one. Who is the quarterback? Josh Freeman left early and ended up as a first round pick in the NFL Draft. Next in line is Carson Coffman who completed 61.0 percent of his passes last year in mop-up duty. But despite having the most experience, the job is not Coffman’s quite yet. Junior college transfer Daniel Thomas is a dual-threat signal caller and he could be a better fit in the system if he can play well in the fall. The defense lacks a pass rusher now that Ian Campbell is gone and players like Brandon Harold have to at least get some pressure on the opposing quarterback. The secondary has some talent, most notably corner Joshua Moore, but he needs to get help from the rest of the defense or KSU will come up on the short end of some high scoring games.

Our Prediction for the 2009 Wildcats:

If the quarterback situation works itself out, this could be a pretty good team. The defense has some decent playmakers in linebackers Alex Hrebec, Eric Childs and Ulla Pomele and the defense could be pretty good if the front four can get into the backfield. Yet, this is the Big 12 and Kansas State will have to win games with its offense and that will all come down to the play of the quarterback.

Kansas State Betting Odds

Will Kansas State go to a Bowl Game this year? Or, will their season be lackluster? Either way, you can still enjoy Kansas State Football Betting at our feature sportsbooks. Kansas State & College Football Betting is serious business; where you can make a ton of loot placing informed, smart Kansas State bets. Check out these highly reliable, trustworthy, online sportsbooks.

Join BetUs.com Today and Bet on Kansas State and receive a 50% Sportsbook Bonus!

NCAA Football Handicapping Picks

Check out our weekly Sports Handicapping Picks from the world’s best handicappers. Trust our handicapping experts offering premium and free NCAA Football Picks and packages daily. Also stay up to date with weekly College Football Matchups, and buy some picks to win some BIG cash this football season at our recommended sportsbooks.