Kansas State football: 2017 season preview, predictions
2017 schedule
| WEEK | DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
| 1 | Sept. 2 | vs. Central Arkansas | Manhattan, Kan. |
| 2 | Sept. 9 | vs. Charlotte | Manhattan, Kan. |
| 3 | Sept. 16 | at Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. |
| 4 | Sept. 23 | BYE WEEK | |
| 5 | Sept. 30 | vs. Baylor | Manhattan, Kan. |
| 6 | Oct. 7 | at Texas | Austin, Texas |
| 7 | Oct. 14 | vs. TCU | Manhattan, Kan. |
| 8 | Oct. 21 | vs. Oklahoma | Manhattan, Kan. |
| 9 | Oct. 28 | at Kansas | Lawrence, Kan. |
| 10 | Nov. 4 | at Texas Tech | Lubbock, Texas |
| 11 | Nov. 11 | vs. West Virginia | Manhattan, Kan. |
| 12 | Nov. 18 | at Oklahoma St. | Stillwater, Okla. |
| 13 | Nov. 25 | vs. Iowa St. | Manhattan, Kan. |
The first month of Kansas State’s schedule includes three non-conference opponents, plus a bye week. Kansas State is 26-1 in home openers and Charlotte is the easiest game of the season. Vanderbilt is without question the toughest non-conference game. The Wildcats probably hold a slight edge, although it could go either way.
Following the bye week, Kansas State opens Big 12 play at home against Baylor. October is the most challenging stretch on the schedule. The Wildcats travel to Austin to play the Longhorns, then face Texas Christian and Oklahoma at home. The month ends mercifully with the woeful Kansas Jayhawks. The road contest at Texas and home game against defending Big 12 champ Oklahoma are two of the toughest games of the season.
The final month of the regular season includes a second consecutive road game, this one at Texas Tech, followed by a home game against West Virginia, then a road contest in Stillwater against Oklahoma State and concludes with a home game against Iowa State. Kansas State won six of its final seven games last season. The lone loss in that stretch was against Oklahoma State. This season includes another tough contest against the Cowboys.
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Prediction: 9-3, 6-3 Big 12
Kansas State is an underrated program, and Bill Snyder is criminally underrated as a coach. Snyder took a cellar dweller program and turned them into a perennial conference contender, yet most of the attention goes to the bigger programs and Snyder is perfectly okay with this. He continues to surpass expectations year after year.
Kansas State is a legitimate contender in the Big 12 this year after finishing fourth last season. A year ago, Kansas State had four close wins and two close losses. The only true blowout was against Oklahoma. It seems unlikely the team can surpass the Sooners. Texas and Oklahoma State will be challenging, too. Another fourth-place finish in the conference, as well as a double-digit win season seems more likely than the team running away with the conference.