Tennessee-Martin at No. 18 Kansas State, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
BetMGM College Football Odds: No line.
Series record: First meeting.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Kansas State is coming off a nine-win season capped by a victory in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, where QB Avery Johnson replaced Will Howard and showed star potential. Johnson is the starter now after Howard’s transfer to Ohio State, and he has running back D.J. Giddens and Colorado transfer Dylan Edwards alongside him in an explosive backfield. The Wildcats’ defense returns eight starters, including five of its six tacklers from last season. Tennessee-Martin is coming off three consecutive conference titles, including the inaugural Big South-OVC championship last season.
KEY MATCHUP
Johnson against the Tennessee-Martin defense. The sophomore could be the fastest QB in college football, and his ability to beat teams with his legs was in evidence last season at Texas Tech, when he ran for five touchdowns. But he also has a strong arm and the Wildcats are hopeful of more big-play strikes from the offense this season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tennessee-Martin: QB Kinkead Dent threw for 2,295 yards and 25 touchdowns last season after winning an open competition for the starting job. He has a capable backup in Kentucky transfer Kaiya Sheron.
Kansas State: DJ Gidden ran for 1,226 yards and 10 touchdowns last season while catching 29 passes for 323 yards and three scores. He finished the season with at least 100 yards rushing in four consecutive games. His powerful running style is offset by the speed of Colorado transfer Dylan Edwards.
FACTS & FIGURES
Tennessee-Martin averaged 439.8 yards per game last season, seventh-best in the FCS. Its defense returns five starters. … Skyhawks SS Oshae Baker had 49 tackles and 11 passes defended last season, and he is on the watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award given to the FCS defensive player of the year. … Johnson will be the second-youngest player to start at QB for Kansas State since at least 1990. He will be 19 years, 9 months, 29 days old. … Kansas State scored TDs on 78.46% of its redzone chances last season, trailing only Oregon State for best at the FBS level. … The Wildcats have won at least eight games each of the past three years. … Kansas State is playing only four opponents from last year’s schedule. … Offensive line coach Conor Riley has been promoted to co-offensive coordinator after Collin Klein left for the same job at Texas A&M. The Wildcats hired Matt Wells to serve as the other co-offensive coordinator.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
