Kansas State will host Iowa State on Saturday night with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 PM EST on ESPN2. The Cyclones opened as 4 point favorites and have been bet up to as high as -6.5 as of Thursday. The total is 50.5.
This Big 12 matchup has the potential to be a highly entertaining affair with two fundamentally sound football teams.
Kansas State is 3-2 overall but unfortunately 0-2 in conference play. That gives them a pretty big, just about impossible hole to dig themselves out of in terms of making any noise in the conference. There’s 7 games to go and the only one you can pencil into the win column is their game against Kansas.
Iowa State is also 3-2 overall but 1-1 in the Big 12. That puts them in a little better position than their opponents this week, but having already played Kansas, there’s no easy games remaining.
Head to Head History
11/21/2020 Kansas State 0 +11.0 at Iowa State 45 11/30/2019 Iowa State 17 - 5.0 at Kansas State 27 11/24/2018 Kansas State 38 +13.0 at Iowa State 42 11/25/2017 Iowa State 19 + 2.5 at Kansas State 20 10/29/2016 Kansas State 31 - 6.5 at Iowa State 26 11/21/2015 Iowa State 35 + 6.0 at Kansas State 38 9/ 6/2014 Kansas State 32 -12.0 at Iowa State 28 11/ 2/2013 Iowa State 7 +17.0 at Kansas State 41 10/13/2012 Kansas State 27 - 6.5 at Iowa State 21 12/ 3/2011 Iowa State 23 +11.0 at Kansas State 30 9/18/2010 Iowa State 20 + 3.5 ~@ Kansas State 27 10/ 3/2009 Iowa State 23 - 2.5 ~@ Kansas State 24 11/22/2008 Iowa State 30 + 9.5 at Kansas State 38 11/ 3/2007 Kansas State 20 -15.0 at Iowa State 31 10/28/2006 Iowa State 10 + 5.5 at Kansas State 31 11/ 5/2005 Kansas State 17 + 7.5 at Iowa State 45 11/20/2004 Iowa State 37 +11.5 at Kansas State 23 11/ 8/2003 Kansas State 45 -18.0 at Iowa State 0 11/ 9/2002 Iowa State 7 + 9.5 at Kansas State 58 11/ 3/2001 Kansas State 42 - 4.5 at Iowa State 3 11/ 4/2000 Iowa State 10 +19.0 at Kansas State 56 9/25/1999 Kansas State 35 -15.5 at Iowa State 28 10/24/1998 Iowa State 7 +34.0 at Kansas State 52 11/22/1997 Kansas State 28 -26.0 at Iowa State 3 11/23/1996 Iowa State 20 +20.5 at Kansas State 35 11/11/1995 Kansas State 49 -16.0 at Iowa State 7 11/ 5/1994 Iowa State 20 +26.5 at Kansas State 38 11/ 6/1993 Kansas State 23 - 7.0 at Iowa State 27 11/ 5/1992 Iowa State 13 + 0.0 at Kansas State 22 11/ 9/1991 Kansas State 37 - 4.0 at Iowa State 7 11/ 3/1990 Iowa State 14 - 6.5 at Kansas State 28
There’s no shortage of close games in this series. A quick look at the history above shows us that most games over the past 7 years or so have come down to the wire with each team winning their share. That’s what makes last years 45-0 blow out by Iowa State stand out like a sore thumb.
Revenge Can Be Powerful
We talk about revenge all the time in our write ups. That’s because revenge plays a role in college football like no other sport, period. Revenge doesn’t work in the NFL. It doesn’t work in the NBA or college football. Hockey, perhaps.
But take a look at any college football series that’s evenly matched over the years and then find a blowout game. Then take a look at what happened the season following that blow out. You’ll find a very high winning percentage for the teams that were blown out the previous year.
Such is the setup in this spot it and it’s backed by some numbers that suggest that if Kansas State doesn’t gain revenge, they might still get the cover.
Most of our numbers have this as a field goal game or LESS. We do have a couple of sets of numbers that have Iowa State by 6. But remember, numbers can’t factor in emotion.
Give us a fundamentally sound football team that can run the ball and stop the run (both do this well), at home, on national television, with a score to settle and with numbers to back up the play and we’ll fire every time. We’ll do so knowing we’ll win at least 55 times out of 100.
Here’s to hoping this is one of those 55 wins…