Episode 78: The Oklahoman's Ryan Aber

Kansas State will try to continue its improbable two-game winning streak in Norman Saturday morning, so The Oklahoman’s Ryan Aber graciously joined Bracket Cat and I to discuss the matchup in this week’s podcast. He gave us an honest assessment of all the concerns with this year’s OU team and why it almost certainly already missed its chance to live up to expectations, from an injury-depleted defense and offensive line to a lack of firepower needed to make up for all the great players lost season.

Make no mistake, though, these Sooners are still very good, and Ryan believes they could keep getting better with playmakers like tailback Samaje Perine and Dede Westbrook returning to full health. Looking even further into the future, Ryan thinks OU could be poised for a resurgence thanks to some strong recruiting classes, and we even talked a little about expansion.

So have a listen, and don’t forget you can check out Ryan’s work at The Oklahoman’s website and follow him on Twitter at @ryaber.

Episode 77: Seth Jungman of Staking the Plains

We brought back Derek Smith and turned to the founder of Texas Tech blog Staking the Plains to try and learn more about why the Red Raiders consistently undermine one of the nation’s best offenses with one of its worst defenses. This year is certainly no different, and Seth offers some reasonable theories for the conundrum, but there are no easy solutions. He’s also worried the offense could take a step back without quarterback Pat Mahomes, who looks like a long shot at best to play on Saturday in Manhattan.

Despite the annual frustrations, Seth tells us why Kliff Kingsbury deserves some more time and doesn’t really fit the perception of hip, young coach bursting with swag. It’s not as if he’s on the verge of a breakthrough in his fourth season, but there’s still some evidence to believe it could happen eventually in Lubbock.

Finally, we made some predictions. They were not made with a lot of confidence. Don’t forget to check out Seth’s work at Staking the Plains, as well as this fantastic game poster one of his friends made for the site. You can also follow him on Twitter at @SethC_J.

Episode 76: The Smoking Musket's David Smith

We also talked a little about Holgo’s future and those of you who have listened to our podcasts with David before won’t be surprised to learn we got a bit off topic at times. Other subjects included David’s hatred of all things Virginia Tech, wondering what the hell Baylor is thinking, Bruce Weber, and even a brief mention of hockey. David also promised moonshine to any K-State fans brave enough to visit The Smoking Musket tailgate this Saturday (I can recommend this from experience) so if you want to take him up on that offer, just let us know in the comments. Don’t forget to check out the work of David and others, including their podcast, over at The Smoking Musket. You can also follow them on Twitter at @SmokingMusket or follow David at @smithfire13.

Episode 75: Nick Leckey

Esteemed editor emeritus TB joined the podcast this week for the opportunity to talk with Nick Leckey, one of the most accomplished Kansas State players both at the college level and in the NFL. After a six-year career he's living in Kansas City and keeping close tabs on his alma mater, who he believes could win at least 10 games this season. Sure, Nick has some concerns, largely with the offense and special teams, after the loss at Stanford, but he's optimistic this team could grow into a contender with the Big 12 looking as down as it's been in quite some time.

We also spoke more generally about Bill Snyder's offensive philosophies, and why K-State's refusal to follow everyone else by running an uptempo spread offense pays dividends but also causes some frustration. Be sure to keep listening to hear a couple of stories about Drew Brees chiding Nick and finally, his thoughts on whether a Bill Snyder retirement is looming.

Editor’s note: For the first 7 minutes or so of this podcast you’ll hear some extra feedback while Nick is talking because there was a stack of papers under my laptop. I took them out and it gets better, I promise.

Episode 74: Junction City Daily Union sports editor Derek Smith

If you thought we weren’t going to give you a season preview podcast, well, we’ve got a surprise for you. While everyone is still healthy and before Stanford puts a dent in our hopes and dreams, we talked to our old buddy Derek Smith, the sports editor at the Junction City Daily Union. I’d like to think we took a long, rational look at Kansas State’s team and how this season might play out.

Stick around to the end and you’ll even hear some predictions on how the rest of the Big 12 will shake out this season. But in case you don’t get there, please be aware we are accepting requests for podcast guests over the next 3 weeks when the opponents are either nonexistent or so bad it’s not worth dedicating an entire podcast to them.

Episode 73: Rule of Tree's Jack Blanchat

At long last, we're just three days away from the season opener at Stanford. Most of you probably know explosive running back Christian McCaffrey, but to learn more about the Cardinal we brought on Rule of Tree managing editor Jack Blanchat. He told Bracket Cat and I all about how Ryan Burns won the starting QB job, why Kansas State might be able to run against this front seven led by defensive end Solomon Thomas, and what could happen if the 'Cats don't keep a close eye on senior wide receiver Michael Rector.

We also learned Stanford fans spoke openly of dropping down from Division I football in the not-too-distant past. But Jim Harbaugh came in to save the day and David Shaw has kept it going, providing exactly what the Cardinal needed. Stick around towards the end of this podcast to hear Bracket's take on why Stanford's situation reminds him of Kansas State in some ways and a prediction on Bill Snyder's future. We also spent some time analyzing the 'Cats personnel, although you'll also want to check back for a season preview podcast later this week.

You can read much more about Stanford from Jack and others at Rule of Tree, and be sure to follow him on Twitter at @jackblanchat.

Episode 72: Kansas State soccer coach Mike Dibbini

The podcast is finally back from hiatus, and before we get into football, we wanted to talk about the newest program at Kansas State. Soccer coach Mike Dibbini graciously called in to tell us about his team, which kicked off its season last weekend by scoring its first goal in a 3-1 loss at St. Louis and earning its first point with a 0-0 draw at SIU Edwardsville. My little sister and three-time Big 12 soccer champion at Oklahoma State Ellen Glasgow also joined us to talk about what this means for soccer players in Kansas, and coach Dibbini told us about his plans for growing the program.

K-State plays its home opener Sept. 16 vs. Northern Iowa during "Wildcat Weekend" and standing room only tickets are still available. Football starts its home slate the next day against Florida Atlantic, and tickets to the following Saturday's game against Missouri State will earn you $3 tickets to soccer games against Oral Roberts on Friday and South Dakota on Sunday. If you haven't already, you can get involved now by joining the Founders Club at either the $50, $100 or $1,000 membership level. The 'Cats will head north this weekend to play at Oakland (Mich.) on Friday at 6 p.m. and at Central Michigan on Sunday at noon.

You can keep up with the team on Twitter at @KStateSOC and follow @CoachDibbini for more updates.