K-State Sells Out Multiple Games Before Football Season Begins

Kansas State officials have announced that all public tickets have sold out the Sept. 15 game against North Texas, marking the the second game that has been announced as a sellout. This is the first time since 1999 that the team has sold out multiple games before the start of the season, with the season opener against Missouri State also having been announced as a sellout.

From the release:

"Our fans continue to provide us forward momentum towards our goal of selling out all seven home games this season," Athletics Director John Currie said. "We are closing in on several additional sellouts and also encourage our fans to reserve their seats now for the Miami game on September 8, which will be among the nation's best matchups that day."

K-State finished the 2011 season 10-3 and earned a berth in the Cotton Bowl, losing to Arkansas 29-16. The team is entering the season ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25 and No. 21 in the USA Today Poll.

For more on the Kansas State Wildcats, be sure to visit Bring On The Cats. For all of your college football needs, head over to SB Nation's NCAA Football hub.

Kansas State Places 4 Players On Senior Bowl Watch List

On Thursday the Senior Bowl released its first ever watch list of players that could be considered for the all-star game. Among the players listed are four from the 2012 Kansas State Wildcats, including quarterback Collin Klein. Klein earned an honorable mention for the All-Big 12 team for his junior campaign in which he accounted for 40 total touchdowns and he will again be the signal caller for the Wildcats in his senior year.

Joining Klein on the list are linebacker Arthur Brown, cornerback Nigel Malone and fullback Braden Wilson. Both Brown and Malone were named to the watch list for the 2012 Nagurski Trophy, representing the nation's top defensive player, regardless of position.

The Senior Bowl is the most prestigious college football all-star game and features NFL coaches, scouts and talent evaluators all in attendance to speak with and watch the performance of some of college football's top senior talents prior to the NFL Draft.

For the latest news and analysis on Kansas State football, head over to Bring On The Cats and check SBNation Kansas City's Kansas State athletics hub.

Kansas State Football: TV Schedule Established For First 3 Games

The television networks and times have been set for broadcasting Kansas State football's first three games. The Wildcats, ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press preseason poll, will play all three of their opening contests in Manhattan at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

Kansas State opens the 2012 season against the Division I Football Championship Subdivision Missouri State Bears on Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. on K-StateHD.TV, the university's online-only network. FX will provide national television coverage of the Wildcats' Sept. 8, 11 a.m. game against the youthful, rebuilding Miami Hurricanes. On Sept. 15, when the Sun Belt's North Texas Eagles visit Manhattan, FSN will provide coverage for that 6 p.m. game.

For the latest news and analysis on Kansas State football, head over to Bring On The Cats and check SBNation Kansas City's Kansas State athletics hub.

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Kansas State Football: Secondary Provides Defensive Strength For Wildcats

2011 was an excellent season for the Kansas State Wildcats, despite losing in the Cotton Bowl to Arkansas. As Kansas State looks to build on that success in 2012, they'll lean heavily on their secondary, which figures to provide defensive strength for the Wildcats.

K-State returns both cornerbacks from a year ago in Nigel Malone and Allen Chapman.

"The good news is that we have them back," said Hayes, K-State's defensive coordinator and coach of the secondary. "The bad news is we just got them from City College of San Francisco, and now they have only one year left. Nigel really had a nice year last year, and Chapman grew as the season went on."

Kansas State also has youth in the secondary, which will serve as depth for 2012 -- and, consequently, translates into experience for 2013 and beyond.

Depth at the position will come from youngsters in redshirt freshman Morgan Burns (5-11, 195) from Wichita's Trinity Academy, plus Donny Starks (5-11, 180, Fr.) from Crosby, Texas, and Randall Evans (6-0, 190, So.) from Miami, Fla.

A deep and talented secondary can certainly translate into success, and can allow the defense to have more exotic blitz packages, knowing the secondary can do its job.

For the latest on Kansas State, head over to Bring On The Cats.

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Kansas State's Athletic Donations At All-Time High

Following one of the best football seasons in school history, the Kansas State Wildcats are getting a big boost in the monetary department as athletic donations are reaching near-record levels, K-State's official site reports:

Thanks to grass-roots support of Ahearn Fund members world-wide, a record $25.8 million was contributed to K-State Athletics in 2011-12, reflecting a jump of 45 percent from the previous year’s total of $17.8 million, while the number of K-Staters participating grew by 12 percent to an all-time high of 7,866 members. In just three years, outright contributions to the department have now doubled compared to fiscal year 2009’s $12.7 million mark.

K-State and its fans will be hoping for a repeat performance by the football team, currently ranked No. 16 in preseason polls. The other sports programs are also doing well for themselves with both men's and women's basketball looking like favorites to make a run in March.

For more on the Kansas State Wildcats, be sure to visit Bring On The Cats. For all of your college football needs, head over to SB Nation's NCAA Football hub.

How Many Wins Does K-State Need In 2012 To Make Season A Success?

By now the story regarding Kansas State football is likely familiar for everyone whether it be fans of the school, locals whose loyalties lie elsewhere and complete outsiders. The Wildcats had an unexpected double digit win regular season last year and return a plethora of starting players including a dark horse Heisman candidate at quarterback. The catch is they are once again are being looked at with some definite hesitation by those who predict wins and losses and many think they can’t duplicate last season’s success. So if just about the entire college football world is convinced that K-State will not equal or better their win total from last season what amount of victories are needed to make this year’s edition be considered a success by all parties? To determine the total amount of wins let’s break down the Wildcats schedule into three different categories: Likely Wins, Likely Losses & Toss-Up’s. Likely Wins: A glance at the schedule reveals as many as five contests where most people would say the Wildcats should win without too many issues. The most obvious games where everyone would be shocked at a loss are against Missouri State, North Texas and Kansas. Two other games which are likely to be more difficult than the previous three but still figure to be victories are against Texas Tech and Miami as each school is dealing with some different issues which figure to inhibit their success this season. Assuming the Wildcats do not come out and just fumble the ball away and play without any effort they should be able to get at least five wins in these games all of which are at home. Likely Losses: The bad news for K-State is they have almost as many games, four, that are probably considered losses on their schedule right now as they do probable wins. The four schools that the Wildcats will likely be underdogs against are Oklahoma, West Virginia, Baylor and TCU. Naturally every single one of these games will be on the road in tough environments to go in and get a win. The overall key to the Wildcats success last year was their ability to go on the road in the Big 12 and come out with wins but there was some luck involved in that. Two of the road games that the Wildcats won in 2011 were against losing teams in Texas Tech and Kansas while every road game this year figures to be against teams either in the Top 25 or darn close to it. If the Wildcats want to prove their mettle as a top team in the Big 12 they will need to find a way to win at the very minimum one of these games while taking care of business elsewhere. Toss Up’s: Since there are nine games listed in the two categories up above simple math will tell you that only three games are left as likely toss-ups which could swing the K-State season in different directions. Luckily for K-State, two of those games are at home against Texas and defending conference champion Oklahoma State along with a road game at Iowa State. Some might say the road game in Ames, IA should fall in the likely win category but the Cyclones always play the Wildcats tough and you can simply ask Mike Gundy how tough it is to win in Jack Trice Stadium. The two games against the Cowboys and Longhorns could very well be the biggest determining factors in how well the season is looked upon by fans and media alike. From the outside looking in it would seem that you would like the Wildcats chances in these two games as the Cowboys are breaking in a freshman quarterback while the Longhorns do not appear to be anywhere near set at the quarterback position. In addition the Wildcats seem to have some kind of mojo over the Longhorns which can’t exactly be explained and being how it is the last game of the season the Texas football team has shown in previous years they can quit on the season. The Wildcats need to find a way to win at least two of the three games and for a possible special season they need to win all three. Conclusion: It would seem that the Wildcats need to find a way to come out with a minimum seven wins and likely eight for the year to be looked upon fondly. There just are not too many years where a team like Kansas State returns so many players at key positions and simply put the Wildcats need to take advantage of it.

Kansas State Football: Justin Tuggle Moves From Quarterback To Linebacker

Position swaps in football aren't the rarest event, but moving from quarterback to linebacker like Kansas State's Justin Tuggle isn't something heard about all too often. However, in Tuggle's case, there are genetics to back up the move.

His father, Jessie Tuggle, played linebacker for 14 seasons with the Falcons and was named to the Pro Bowl five times, eventually earning himself a spot in the Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor.

So the move to linebacker for the younger Tuggle, listed on K-State's website as 6'3, 237 pounds, made sense after it became clear that he would most likely spend his senior year again backing up Collin Klein as the signal caller.

"I just want to get on the field. I know Collin (Klein) had a good year last year, so I didn't want to be the guy to back him up this year," Tuggle said at K-State's media day. "I wanted to actually do something my last year, so that's why I made the switch."

K-State will kickoff its season on Sept. 1 when it takes on Missouri State at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

For more on the Kansas State Wildcats, visit Bring On The Cats.

Kansas State Football 2012: Bill Snyder Stadium Construction Underway

Construction is underway for the West Stadium Center at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The renovation totals $75 million and will be completed in time for the start of the 2013 Kansas State football season.

The construction will add amenities for those attending games. New restrooms and concession stands will be added to the West Stadium Center along with a Hall of Honor and an enhanced ticket office.

Athletics Director John Currie was excited over the advancement of the stadium renovations.

“Seeing the progress being made at the stadium is not only exciting but reaffirms the commitment and support of Wildcat Nation in making this project a reality,” Currie said. “We appreciate the patience and understanding of our fans this season as construction continues throughout the fall, but the final product will be something special that all K-Staters will truly enjoy.”

The Wildcats will open the 2012 season September 1 at 6 p.m. against Missouri State.

For more on the Kansas State Wildcats, visit Bring On The Cats.

K-State Football 2012: Missouri State Contest Sold Out For Wildcats

Kansas State has sold out its Sept. 1 season opener, the school announced. A full 50,000-capacity Bill Snyder Family Stadium crowd will watch as the Wildcats take on Missouri State, which marks the fourth-straight sellout in season openers for the school.

Four straight sellouts in season openers is a marked achievement. While schools like Oregon are struggling to sell all tickets available to openers against FCS teams, Kansas State has managed to do so against UMass (2009), UCLA (2010), and Eastern Kentucky (2011).

The Wildcats are coming off their first 10-win season eight years, as Bill Snyder led his squad to a 10-3 record under junior quarterback Collin Klein. Despite Klein returning, K-State was recently picked to finish eighth in the 10-team Big 12. The opener welcomes the Missouri State bears to Manhattan, Kan., a team that finished just 2-9 in the FCS conference Missouri Valley last year.

Kansas State has won its last four season openers.

For more on the Kansas State Wildcats, visit Bring On The Cats.

2012 K-State Football Schedule: A Second Look At The Wildcats Season Ahead

The college football schedule for Kansas State for the 2012 season was announced all the way back in February. Have the inital thoughts regarding the schedule changed in the past few months?

College Football Rankings: Kansas State No. 16 In Sports Illustrated Preseason Poll

The Kansas State Wildcats are ranked No. 16 in Sports Illustrated's 2012 preseason Top 25. The Big 12 landed four other teams in SI's rankings, as well.

The Wildcats finished the 2011 season with a 10-3 record, placing them at No. 15 in the final AP rankings. They return 12 starters for 2012, including honorable mention All-Big 12 quarterback Collin Klein, who accounted for 40 total touchdowns. Explosive sophomore kick returner Tyler Lockett is also back, while first-team all-conference cornerback Nigel Malone will anchor the KSU defense.

SI listed senior tight end Travis Tannahill as its "Breakout Player" for KSU, while senior linebacker Arthur Brown earned "Player Spotlight" honors.

The Oklahoma Sooners are the highest-ranked Big 12 team, coming in at No. 5 in SI's poll. The West Virginia Mountaineers (No. 10), Texas Longhorns (No. 16) and TCU Horned Frogs (No. 21) round out the conference's five teams to make the cut.

Alabama is SI's top-ranked team, while USC, LSU and Oregon occupy the next three spots.

For more on the Kansas State Wildcats, be sure to visit Bring On The Cats. For all of your college football needs, head over to SB Nation's NCAA Football hub.

Tyler Lockett's Health Is Key To Kansas State's Football Success In 2012

Bill Snyder will have to bring out the best in his players. Collin Klein will have to carry the offense. But of any player who could make or break Kansas State's chances for success in 2012, it might just be Tyler Lockett as he attempts to come back from injury and make the on-field impact that everyone knows he is capable of. If K-State wants to repeat last season's 10 wins, Lockett will likely have to be a big part of that.

The 5-11 receiver from Tulsa might be small in stature, but he can put up big numbers if given the chance. In the return game, he's been a force for the Wildcats with 2 touchdowns last season. He also had 18 catches for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns. Unfortunately he missed the last few games last season and continues to deal with health concerns.

"Lockett missed the last part of 2011 with a lacerated kidney, but healed up in time for spring," writes David Ubben. "The problem? The Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year suffered another minor injury just before the spring game and had to sit out again. He's healthy, though, and ready to make the most of his sophomore season."

Lockett will have to be healthy for the Wildcats to take the Big 12 by storm again in 2012.

For more information on the Kansas State football program, check out Bring On The Cats.

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