The wait is almost over for K-State fans as the Wildcats prepare for
their home opener against Florida Atlantic this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Following a 13-26 loss at No. 8 Stanford in their season opener, players and coaches have since had the opportunity to take advantage of an early bye week.
The Wildcats’ offense managed to amass 335 total yards with 243 coming through the air. K-State ran 24 more plays than the Cardinal and also managed to win the battle for time of possession, however, the Wildcats were unable to reach the endzone until the 2:20 mark of the game’s final quarter.
Sophomore running back Justin Silmon, who rushed for 26 yards on seven carries at Stanford, says he noticed a handful of missed opportunities while re-watching his performance.
“That’s the thing about game film, it’s not that fun to look at because you see what you could have done,” said Silmon. “We’ve seen that we have some opportunities to do some big things, so that was exciting to look and see how much we can improve.”
Despite scoring just one touchdown against Stanford, the offense feels it has all the tools necessary to put points on the board.
“We’ve just got to keep pushing,” Silmon said. “I feel like we’re going to have some breakthroughs and I feel like we’ve got the guys to do it. We’ve just got to keep working.”
Defensively the Wildcats showed promise, holding Stanford to 30 points on 300 yards of total offense. Players know there is still room for improvement, especially this early in the season, and with an extra week of preparation the defense says they regained their focus with a bit of introspection.
“Last week coach Snyder had us focus on ourselves,” said senior strong safety Dante Barnett. “It was just about us becoming a better team during that week and this week we are mainly focusing on FAU. It’s different, but I feel like we used it to the best of our abilities.”
Now, for the first time since 2001, the first kick-off inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium will take place in mid September, but all that waiting has only added to the excitement.
“No one knows how it is how it is to play in our stadium and that feeling that you have is like no other,” Barnett said. “We just can’t wait to play.”