#15 K-State plays their first true road game in almost ten months as they go on the road to take on an unranked Missouri team that they beat 40-12 a year ago.

In last year’s preview, I talked up Brady Cook as if his last name was Brady and his first name was Tom. Going into that game, he had played relatively well and looked pretty solid. However, with the wet weather conditions and the Tigers falling behind early, Cook had to play catch-up and forced some poor throws.

He went 15-for-27 for 128 yards and threw two picks and was benched for Jack Abraham, who went 0-for-3 with two more interceptions.

I hate to do buy into the Brady Cook hype again…but here we go.

Cook has a completion percentage of 77.5% in his first two games which is eighth best among all FBS quarterbacks and ranked second in the SEC only behind South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler.

He hasn’t had to throw it a ton because Missouri was in front for most of their first two games against South Dakota and Middle Tennessee, albeit they really struggled putting away the Blue Raiders last week with the final being 23-19. It was a trap game and they almost ended up dropping the game with MTSU near midfield with less than four minutes to go.

Cook has only attempted 40 passes this season, which is tied for fifth fewest among all Power 5 quarterbacks that have played two games, but he has the 17th-highest pass efficiency rating. Will Howard is 30th.

One thing that Howard does better is find the endzone. Howard is fifth in the country in points responsible for after getting a running, passing and receiving touchdown in Week 1, and getting three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns last week.

Getting back to the Tigers, fifth-year running back Cody Schrader is a name K-State fans should know before Saturday's contest.

The graduate back is averaging 111 rushing yards in his first two games with 5.4 yards per carry and one touchdown. In 2022, he had nine touchdowns with 744 yards after playing three years at seven-time Division II national champion powerhouse Truman State.

He had a touchdown against the Cats last year, but it was with :01 left and he only had six carries for 19 yards.

Another fifth-year back to watch for is Nathaniel Peat. He also struggled against the suffocating Cats’ D a year ago with 13 carries for an abysmal ten yards.

Peat this year has rushed for 113 yards so far with a touchdown at 51.5 yards per game.

In all, though, Missouri’s run game has been lack-luster. The Tigers averaged just 2.4 yards per carry against MTSU last week and are only averaging 3.8 ypc on the season.

It should be noted that Kansas State has the best rushing defense in the country through two games, allowing just 38 yards per game. The “lynch mob” (nickname for K-State’s defense) is only allowing 1.41 yards per carry which is also second in the country.

A big reason for this the Tigers’ subpar run game is their struggles on the offensive line. While their run-blocking isn’t great, their pass-protecting is even worse.

Cook was sacked four times last week against MTSU which puts the Tigers third worst among all FBS teams in sack rate.

An even more staggering statistic, Cook was sacked on 18% of his dropbacks last Saturday. Look for Nate Matlack, Khalid Duke and others to feast against a poor offensive front. Duke is currently tied for fifth in the nation with three sacks, and K-State is tied for fifth in the nation with 20 team tackles for loss. They’re also tied for ninth in sacks with eight.

Last year, everyone had their eyes on wide receiver Luther Burden III. The five-star recruit was the only reason people watched Missouri football early last year.

The hype seemed to be too much as he only had 375 yards and eight total touchdowns. Late last September, Burden III expressed his displeasure with his usage in the Mizzou offense through cryptic posts on Instagram. It was to the surprise of many that he ended up staying with Missouri, and it has paid off.

Burden III is already close to meeting his yardage total from last year with 213 yards and two total touchdowns.

It will be interesting to see who defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman decides to have guard Burden III. Jacob Parrish is in the top 20 in the country in pass breakups with three, and Will Lee III has showcased that he is a more-than-capable DB after getting an interception in Week 2.

Whatever they decide to do, they will have their hands full, and it should be one of the top matchups within the game.

The Tigers also added Oklahoma transfer Theo Wease to their wide receiver room. Although he hasn’t made a significant statistical impact in 2023 yet, he was a solid rotational piece in Norman.

Missouri’s defensive front is arguably their most impactful unit. The Tigers are tied for 14th in the nation in tackles for loss with 17.

Fifth-year linebacker Chuck Hicks is currently the team leader with 2.5 tackles for loss. Jackson State senior defensive end Nyles Gaddy has also made an immediate impact with a pair of sacks last week.

Their mainstay on the defensive front a year ago was Darius Robinson who enters his fifth year. He made the All-SEC Preseason Third Team.

Senior linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper also made the All-League Third Team and leads the team this season in quarterback hurries with three.

Missouri also has one of the best defensive backs in the conference in junior Kris Abrams-Draine. He was on the Second Team Preseason All-SEC. It’s unlikely he will be matching up with one K-State wideout all game.

Missouri is 3-12 against teams above .500 in the Eli Drinkwitz era. This is without a doubt the most important game of his coaching career. He is as mediocre as they come with an overall record of 19-19 with the Tigers.

However, he has gotten some significant recruiting wins including the #1 player in the Class of 2024 in Lee’s Summit North HS (MO) defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri.

Memorial Stadium in Columbia, MO will host a sold-out crowd for the first time since 2019, so the fans recognize the significance of this one too.

Prediction

K-State was able to shut down Luther Burden III a year ago and although I don’t think he will be held to just one catch for three yards, I don’t think he’ll have a big day either.

I expect K-State’s run game to struggle for a little bit but eventually the offensive line will break into the flow of the game and have their way with Mizzou’s defensive front.

Will Howard should have another solid performance if he doesn’t force too many throws to Abrams-Draine’s side of the field and just takes what the defense gives him.

Cook will be the toughest challenge for the K-State secondary to date and I think he will have some success occasionally. I’m expecting him to throw a lot because I don’t think Missouri will have a lead for a significant amount of time.

K-State is currently favored by 3.5, which I find intriguing. I, personally, find that to be way too low. It’s always worth noting Chris Klieman’s success against the spread. Since he took over the team in 2019, he’s 33-18-1 ATS which is tied for the third best in the FBS. The Over/Under is also at 47.5 which seems right about where I expect it to end up.

K-State 26, Missouri 17

My picks head-to-head: 2-0

My picks against the spread: 2-0

Our coverage begins at 9:00 a.m. on 92.1 FM KMZA and 103.9 FM KNZA from the K-State Sports Network.