Episode 62: WRNL's KnowDan

Iowa State and Kansas State have a lot in common this season. Losing records, an inability to hold onto a second-half lead against Oklahoma State, and some nearly inexplicable offensive playcalling, among other things. KnowDan from the great Wide Right Natty Lite heard plenty of familiar complaints in a frustrated rant from our own BracketCat, which even included the suggestion that if the rest of November goes poorly, John Currie might suggest to Bill Snyder the time has come to hand over the reins once again.

The situation is a little different in Ames, where KnowDan says only a ridiculous contract would keep Paul Rhoads at the helm after a third straight dismal season and even that might not be enough. These Cyclones have some talent, including a talented wide receiving corps KnowDan says must be taken seriously. He also noted K-State should be able to run to the outside on the Iowa State defense, which probably means it won't be attempted. You know, because they'll be expecting that.

Really, this podcast just features a lot of mutual commiserating until we get to the basketball section at the end, so be prepared for somewhat of a damper on your day. Sorry. Hopefully you'll still enjoy it in some way, and thanks for listening. Be sure to follow KnowDan on Twitter at @WRNLKnowDan and as a programming note, we might not have a podcast during Thanksgiving week. Stay tuned, and we'll definitely be back to preview the season finale against West Virginia.

Episode 61: Matt Wilson

It's always a blast when we talk with Our Daily Bears part-time contributor Matt Wilson, and this week was no exception. Along with KSUEmaw, we rehashed the loss against Baylor without getting into any fights, then moved on to this Saturday's game at Texas Tech. Matt believes Kansas State can win, though admittedly Lubbock can be a scary place to play. For the record, we did not give Dudebro credit for a victory over TCU in 2013, his only Big 12 win against teams other than Kansas, Iowa State and West Virginia.

While Matt showed he's fully capable of dropping knowledge and sharing valuable insight, the best reason for you to listen to this podcast is probably to enjoy his wit and pure sports hate when it comes to things like TCU and the College Football Playoff committee. You can also learn why he's terrified of Baylor's game at Oklahoma State, what he liked about Duke Shelley, and how we all feel about McDonald's and Taco Bell.

As always, be sure to go read stuff from all the great folks at Our Daily Bears and follow Matt on Twitter @mattisbear.

Episode 60: The Wichita Eagle/KC Star's Kellis Robinett

Doom and gloom is inevitable following an 0-4 start in Big 12 play destined to become 0-5 following a home game against the No. 2 team in the country this Thursday night. But the Wichita Eagle/KC Star's Kellis Robinett reminds us while the way we got here might be surprising and incredibly disappointing, the record really isn't even when you consider the roster Kansas State had at the beginning of the year. In fact, he predicted an 0-5 start, but that doesn't mean the 'Cats can't still finish the season strong and make a bowl game.

Kellis also agreed it's premature to talk about Bill Snyder's potential retirement anytime soon, even if the playcalling this season has been suspect at times. The bigger problem is the personnel, particularly in the passing game, and Kellis believes Alex Delton could be an acceptable answer at quarterback. We also touched on what might keep Baylor from a total rout and had a brief discussion about Kansas State basketball at the end of the podcast.

If you enjoy Kellis's valuable insights into the program, you can find more at the websites of either The Wichita Eagle or The Kansas City Star. You can also follow him on Twitter @kellisrobinett.

Note: Just to clear up any confusion, please be aware this podcast was recorded last Wednesday, which is significantly further in advance than usual. Fortunately, not a lot has changed, but there are some references to news that broke early last week, and Iowa State looks like it may be a more formidable foe than expected.

Episode 59: The Mercury's Joel Jellison

These are dark times for Kansas State football, so rather than spend some more time rehashing all the Wildcats' problems, we brought on our friend Joel Jellison to talk about basketball. He broke down what little we know about all the K-State newcomers and what roles they might play for a team doing everything it can to keep last season in the past.

We also talked about new roles for returners Wesley Iwundu and Justin Edwards, as well as what we can expect from D.J. Johnson when he finally gets back on the court. The exhibition schedule begins Friday against Emporia State at Bramlage Coliseum, and Joel says many obstacles await in a difficult nonconference schedule. Ideally, the 'Cats will stay together and be much better by the time they get to conference play, where Joel says they'll find a Big 12 just as good, if not better than a year ago.

Be sure to check out Joel's work at The Mercury's website and if you're not already following him on Twitter, you can fix that by finding him @joel_jellison.

Episode 58: Barking Carnival's nobis60

After all the hand-wringing and possibly a little crying that went on last weekend, we tried to laugh a little and mostly stay focused on the next Saturday rather than the previous one in this week's podcast. Fortunately, nobis60 from Barking Carnival made it easy, providing Bracket Cat and I with some humor as well as valuable insight on how Texas' offense might attack the 'Cats, why the Longhorns' defense has made such drastic improvements, and much more.

We also compared Ron Prince to Steve Patterson, entertained the idea of putting Collin Klein on the field, and laughed at the special teams ineptitude of Michigan and the Indianapolis Colts this past weekend. Have a listen and don't forget to check out the great work at Barking Carnival, including Scipio Tex's smart preview of Kansas State and the "Hump Day Nooner" with Jon Morse.

Episode 57: The Oklahoman's Jason Kersey

OU beat writer Jason Kersey of The Oklahoman was just as confused as everyone else last Saturday when Texas stunned Oklahoma 24-17 at the Cotton Bowl. Even though the Sooners haven't lost back-to-back regular season games since 1999, Jason tells us Bracket and I on this week's podcast that this team might not have that same resiliency, and even Bob Stoops' power over his former mentor may be waning after two losses in three years, both in Norman.

A struggling offensive line and a shaky defense lacking in individual talent appear to be the biggest weaknesses for OU, who Jason said could be in danger of another 4-5 loss season if things don't change. That's all a little jarring for the folks in Norman, so the calls for Stoops to leave keep getting a little louder. How close he actually is to retirement is up for debate, and Jason offers us some thoughts on Stoops' future.

Be sure to give Jason a friendly hello if you see him in Manhattan this weekend. You can read his work at The Oklahoman and feel free to follow him on Twitter at @jasonkersey. He also has his own podcast, called The Non-Fiction Writers available on iTunes. His most recent guest was noted Kansas State beat writer Kellis Robinett of the KC Star and Wichita Eagle.

Episode 56: CoachMelissa of Frogs O'War

Some TCU bloggers might have just spent a podcast laughing in our faces and boasting about all the reasons why the Horned Frogs' offense is likely to crush the Wildcats for the second straight year. But fortunately, our guest coachmelissa from SB Nation site Frogs O'War took a levelheaded approach and even expressed some concern about going into Manhattan to face the genius of Bill Snyder. Of course, she also acknowledged TCU has an obscene amount of weapons to more than cover for an injury-depleted defense that just might be getting better anyway.

We also talked about Trevone Boykin's Heisman chances, TCU's national championship hopes, and why Melissa and her fellow fans are starting to feel right at home in the Big 12. Hopefully we'll all get to hang out for a while. Just don't put her in the same room with any Baylor fans. Feel free to give her a follow on Twitter at @TheCoachMelissa.