K-State Q&A: Can Cats win Big 12 football title? What’s next in conference realignment?

Believe it or not, football coaches and football players aren’t the only people who are repeatedly asked to answer the same type of questions at Big 12 media days.

It happens to reporters, too!

One I got quite a bit this week at AT&T Stadium: Why was Kansas State picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 poll when the Wildcats led the conference with six players on the preseason all-league team?

It is a good question. By that I mean there is no simple answer. Oklahoma only put one player on the preseason All-Big 12 team (the same number as Kansas) but media from across the conference picked the Sooners to once again challenge for a league championship. One person picked Iowa State to win the league despite losing all of its best players. Baylor is the preseason pick based almost entirely on the fact that the Bears are defending champs. Texas continues to get the benefit of the doubt after bringing in another stellar recruiting class.

And then there’s K-State, just sitting there at fifth.

Why? Who knows. I didn’t vote, so you can’t blame me. My guess is the experts have two big questions about the Wildcats — and until they are answered, K-State won’t be able to separate from the pack.

Question 1: How good is Adrian Martinez?

Most K-State fans are convinced he’s going to be awesome. I myself am cautiously optimistic that a change of scenery will bring out the best of him with the Wildcats. But he never won more than five games in a single season at Nebraska. He was a turnover machine there and cost the Cornhuskers dearly in close games. I know Big Red fans who think he’s mediocre at best. Maybe some experts aren’t sold on him yet.

If he’s good in a purple uniform, there’s no doubt that K-State will have a winning season. But if he doesn’t jump to the next level, fifth place (or worse) could most definitely be in play.

Question 2: How good is the secondary?

The Wildcats lost some darn good safeties last season. Russ Yeast is now in the NFL. Jahron McPherson was the quarterback of the defense. Reggie Stubblefield was the People’s Champ during his lone season in Manhattan. It’s fair to wonder how their replacements will perform.

Same deal as Martinez. There is reason for optimism. TJ Smith hits hard. Cincere Mason is back for another season. Sean Robinson and Kobe Savage should help somewhere in the secondary. If they’re all good, K-State’s defense will be shutting people down. If they’re bad, they could negate much of the talent K-State has in the front seven.

K-State will also be breaking in some new offensive lineman and rotating between two centers. The Wildcats have lots of potential, but they’re far from a finished product.

It takes more than six players to win a conference championship. Just something to consider as we wait for the season to begin.

Now it’s time for another K-State Q&A. Let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.

Not close.

It’s fair to assume Big 12 leaders let it be known through back channels that schools such as Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah and possibly Oregon/Washington would be welcome additions to their conference.

But no Pac-12 team was going to jump ship that quickly.

I think we are currently in the eye of the realignment storm. The remaining Pac-12 schools would all love a life boat to the Big Ten, but none of them seem likely to get one. Their next best option seems to be trying to forge ahead as a 10-team conference or to expand with nearby schools like Boise State and San Diego State.

Either plan would copy what the Big 12 has done in the past. Such a move would allow the Pac-12 to preserve its power-conference status, even after it falls further behind the big two. It would also keep its regional feel on the West Coast. Those aren’t bad things.

It’s certainly possible that the schools mentioned above won’t like the TV valuation the Pac-12 gets in the next month and they decide to flirt with the Big 12. But we aren’t there yet.

Think of it as a high school dance. Everyone who doesn’t show up with a date spends the first part of the night weighing their options. Pac-12 teams may have eyes for the Big 12 and vice versa, but they’re not going to hit the dance floor immediately.

I don’t think the ACC will be making conference realignment moves (coming or going) anytime soon.

Its only Hail Mary would be to add Notre Dame as a full member, but wouldn’t the Fighting Irish rather go to the Big Ten if they truly wanted to join a conference?

ACC schools signed over their media value to the conference with a strict grant of rights that runs all the way until 2036. That turned out to be a sweetheart deal for ESPN. You can find some people on Twitter who say such a contract is easily voidable. But if that’s truly the case then why haven’t Oklahoma and Texas bolted for the SEC yet?

The ACC grant of rights is the only thing keeping that conference together. But it’s all they really need to provide security, at least in the short term.

Hypothetically, though, I imagine the Big 12 would be very interested in Louisville and maybe Pittsburgh (travel partner for West Virginia) if teams like Clemson, Florida State, Miami and North Carolina bolted for other conferences.

E-MAIL QUESTION: What are the odds that the Big 12 loses a team to either the ACC or the Pac-12 during this round of conference realignment? I could see West Virginia leaving for the ACC in a heartbeat. - Andrew B.

For the reasons mentioned above, I don’t think the ACC will be raiding the Big 12 anytime soon. Even though West Virginia would be a good fit in that conference (can we trade WVU for Louisville?) it’s hard to see that move happening unless it’s to give the league even numbers after adding Notre Dame as a full member.

I suppose the Pac-12 could be a minor threat for a school like Oklahoma State or TCU. But the Pac-12 can no longer offer more money or prestige than the Big 12 without UCLA and USC. What advantage would any Big 12 team gain from moving West? The Pac-12 could have raided the Big 12 last year and decided against it. That was their chance.

BYU would actually be a good fit for the Pac-12, but the Cougars don’t add anything new to that conference.

Never say never, I guess, but I don’t see the Big 12 as prey this time around.

Nobody had a truly awful interview like Les Miles and Charlie Weis back in the day.

But I found Steve Sarkisian to be very boring. Would you guys believe he thinks quarterback is the most important position in football?

Brent Venables also talked way too long. I raised my hand to ask him a question, potentially about his playing days at K-State or his relationship with Bill Snyder. But his opening statement and answers took up so much time that we only got four questions in.

One of the people holding microphones for media at the news conference apologized and told me “you’re going to have to talk with this long-winded coach another time.”

I’m not sure who gave the best interview at Big 12 media days, but I was impressed by the way Daniel Green handled himself.

When he first arrived at K-State as a linebacker, he was not very fun to talk to. He was too nervous in the room and rarely said anything of note. That is no longer the case.

He is now a skilled public speaker. He wins the most improved award.

Some random nuggets I can pass along:

• Chris Klieman wants to rotate between Hadley Panzer and Hayden Gillum at center this season.

• Khalid Duke was recovering nicely from ACL surgery until he suffered a hamstring injury. So he’s still not totally healthy.

• Newcomers Will Honas and Kobe Savage should make an immediate impact on defense.

• There’s a good chance Andrew Leingang to take over at left tackle, which would allow Cooper Beebe to play guard.

• Adrian Martinez loves eating at both So Long Saloon and Taco Lucha.

• Eli Huggins said his favorite NIL deal has come from Wamego Country Club. Apparently that’s where you’ll find K-State football players on the links this summer.

You’re right.

It seemed far-fetched that Kansas State could land Avery Johnson, Dylan Edwards, Will Anciaux and Wesley Fair at this time last year, but the Wildcats got all of them.

Rewind to the final years of Bill Snyder and that thought would have been incomprehensible. Recruiting was so bad back then I doubt the Wildcats would have gotten any of them.

Recruiting is simply more of a priority now and Chris Klieman has a staff of coaches who emphasize it just as much as every other part of their jobs. Collin Klein taking over as offensive coordinator has given the Wildcats a bigger boost than I ever imagined. His name clearly resonates with recruits in this state.

Give credit to Taylor Braet, Thad Ward, Van Malone, Brian Anderson, Conor Riley, Joe Klanderman and everyone else too.

I asked Chris Klieman a form of this question on Wednesday and he said there was no reason in particular for the team’s rise in recruiting. But the Wildcats have been knocking it out of the park with official visits ever since COVID restrictions ended. Being on the job for four years seems to have allowed this group to finally hit its recruiting stride.

That kind of scheduling philosophy could help the conference. But you also have to remember that playing more conference games means playing fewer marquee nonconference games.

I feel like the occasional K-State game against Stanford and the occasional TCU game against Ohio State is every bit as valuable to a TV partner than an extra conference game.

Now, if you promised to play 11 conference games and the 12th game was always against a blueblood from another league, then you’re probably adding value. But no team would be willing to sign up for that. Who would Kansas beat, aside from Texas?

If the conference wanted to get creative in terms of adding new value, it could agree to play an exorbitant number of games on Thursdays and Fridays, as well as at strange times on Saturdays.

I feel like there is also value when a conference is willing to play some of its games behind a streaming pay wall, like Notre Dame moving some of its games off NBC to Peacock.

I’m a little surprised Jerome Tang voluntarily added an early road game against Cal to the schedule.

K-State backed out of a proposed neutral-court game with Wisconsin in large part because the Wildcats didn’t want that kind of challenge in Tang’s first season.

But I suppose Cal is quite a step down from Wisconsin. Tang probably thinks K-State can win that game.

That gives K-State X notable games for next season -- at Cal, at Butler, vs. Nebraska (at T-Mobile Center) and home contests with Florida and Wichita State.

The Wildcats should win their other nonconference home games, leaving them with five toss-up games. But even the name teams on their schedule aren’t all that good. It seems like a fine schedule for a rebuilding squad.

I have heard whispers that Kansas State officials have looked at a few options for new uniforms, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for them.

Chris Klieman has poured water on the idea of new uniforms several times in the past year. K-State had an abysmal record when it tried wearing new gear in his first season. Superstitions die hard. I think he would rather just focus on winning in old uniforms for now.