Know Your Opponent | K-State plays its home opener against FCS opponent North Dakota

K-State 0-1

Last week, Kansas State opened the college football season in Ireland against conference opponent and rival Iowa State. The outcome wasn’t what K-State had hoped for, but with a lot of season left, the ‘Cats have a chance to get it corrected starting this week with North Dakota.

Running back Joe Jackson became the main back last week after Dylan Edwards left the game with an injury. Jackson can expect to see the ball plenty this week as well as K-State should dominate in the trenches. Whether or not Edwards is healthy for Saturday, Jackson should still get his opportunity to shine.

The safety unit for the Wildcats is young but talented with a strong rotation of guys coming in. Wesley Fair and Logan Bartley are two guys fighting for the same starting spot and both were mentioned by coaches to shine during fall camp. Look for Bartley and Fair to make an impact.

North Dakota 0-0

North Dakota welcomes in a new head coach Eric Schmidt as they look to take a step forward this season after finishing 8th in the MVFC last season. With some new faces and young players at key positions, North Dakota faces considerable uncertainty for the upcoming season.

Quarterback Jerry Kaminiski was named the starter for North Dakota as a redshirt sophomore. Kaminiski last season played in three games but had very limited plays, so the game on Saturday will be his first major college action. Handling the noise and environment will be a challenge for the young quarterback.

Newcomer running back Xavier Leigh and returning running back Gavin Ziebarth will be asked to handle a lot of the load for North Dakota. Both players ran for over 500 yards last season and have extensive experience playing football. With their offensive line being smaller than the Kansas State defensive line, the running backs will need to do some tough running to be effective.

Who to Watch: 

K-State: RB Joe Jackson, S Wesley Fair, S Logan Bartley

ND: QB Jerry Kaminski, RB Xavier Leigh, RB Gavin Ziebarth

Aug 30 @ 6 p.m. on ESPN+

Prediction: K-State 45-7

K-State stats to know from last game

TFL: .6

Sacks: 4

Rushing: 27 carries for 110 yards