Houston Cougars vs. Kansas State Wildcats

Quick read:

We are backing Kansas State to take the win because they have the only quarterback in this game who isn't treating the pocket like a revolving door. Houston looks like a team still figuring out if they want to be a football team or a volleyball club with a sideline, and K-State’s offense is finally finding its rhythm. This isn't a blowout prediction, but it is a prediction that the Wildcats will out-nerve the Cougars when the clock hits the fourth quarter.

Avery Johnson has been doing a solid job managing the time in the pocket, which is a polite way of saying he’s not getting sacked like a Thanksgiving turkey. Meanwhile, the defensive line is starting to generate pressure that actually matters, not just the kind that makes a linebacker grab his own helmet in confusion. Houston’s offensive line has been more porous than a colander, and K-State is about to exploit that gap with the kind of patience that only comes from watching your own tape for the hundredth time.

The only real risk here is if the weather turns into a sideways rainstorm that turns the field into a mud pit, which would let Houston’s running game have a weird little shine. But barring a meteorological miracle, this is a game where the team that plays four quarters of actual football wins, and that’s Kansas State.