K-State Wildcats vs. Iowa State Cyclones: Score prediction, betting line, TV, time

THE DETAILS

Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, Iowa

TV: ESPNU

Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City, KKGQ (92.3 FM) in WIchita

The line: Kansas State by 2 with an over/under points total of 45

Prediction

This might be Kansas State’s most difficult game yet this season.

Forget for a moment that the Cyclones have lost consecutive games. Their first defeat came by seven against preseason Big 12 favorite Baylor. The second came by three on the road against Kansas, a game in which they out-gained the Jayhawks by 100 yards and only lost because their kicker missed three field goals.

Those narrow defeats have stained Iowa State’s record, but they will only make things more difficult for K-State when the Wildcats head to Jack Trice Stadium at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The Cyclones are desperate. They are playing at home. They won’t be holding anything back.

That makes this a difficult spot for the Wildcats.

K-State enters this game as a slim favorite. If Adrian Martinez rushes for more than 100 yards in his third-straight game, Deuce Vaughn continues to move the chains and the defense creates turnovers then the Wildcats will probably prevail.

But that won’t be easy. Iowa State plays a much different style than the past two teams the Wildcats ran all over. The Cyclones like to play at a much slower pace and win with defense. They lead the Big 12 in points allowed per game (14.4), rushing yards allowed per game (83) and passing yards allowed per game (172.4).

They also just held KU quarterback Jalon Daniels to nine rushing yards on eight carries. If any team in the Big 12 can slow Martinez, this is it.

K-State may need to throw the ball more often than it has recently in this game, which could also be a challenge considering the Wildcats are only averaging 5.7 yards per pass.

On the flip side, Iowa State is nothing special on offense. But Xavier Hutchinson does lead the Big 12 with 504 receiving yards and five touchdowns. They might pull out some tricks for K-State’s defense.

The Wildcats have a big advantage on special teams. If this turns out to be a low-scoring game, as projected, that could be enough to swing the game K-State’s way.

Then again, K-State lost its only low-scoring game earlier this season 17-10 against Tulane.

All things considered, I give the slightest of edges to the Cyclones.

Iowa State 24, Kansas State 23.

Last game prediction: Kansas State 38, Texas Tech 35

2022 record on picks: 3-2.

2022 record vs. spread: 2-3.

2022 record vs. O/U points total: 3-2.