MANHATTAN -Kansas State returns home on Saturday for its annual Homecoming matchup as the Texas Longhorns will visit Manhattan Saturday for a nationally-televised matchup. Saturday’s game, which kicks off at 11 a.m., will be televised on ESPN2 with Beth Mowins, Anthony Becht and Rocky Boiman calling the action. The contest can also be heard across the K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst) and Matt Walters (sidelines) on the call, as well as SiriusXM channel 137/198. Live stats are available at k-statesports.com, while Twitter updates (@ kstate_gameday, @KStateFB) will all be a part of the coverage. K-State, the only current Big 12 team with a winning record against the Longhorns since the Big 12 was formed, is expecting its 31st-straight sellout crowd on Saturday.

A LOOK AT K-STATE

K-State continues to rank among the best defenses in the league as it currently leads the Big 12 and ranks fourth nationally in rushing defense (90.3 ypg) and second in the league in total defense (343.5 ypg).
Eight players on defense have recorded 20 or more tackles, led by Elijah Lee’s 51 stops, while Jordan Willis currently leads the league in sacks (6.0) and TFLs (8.5).
K-State has held each of its first six opponents below their season average in points.
K-State scored in all three phases of the game two weeks ago vs. Texas Tech and is a perfect 18-0 under Bill Snyder when scoring on offense, defense and special teams.unnamed-4
K-State is a perfect 28-of-28 in red zone scores so far this season, and, dating back to last year, the Wildcats have been perfect on its last 53 red-zone attempts, which is currently the longest active streak among FBS schools.
K-State has not committed a turnover in two straight games, marking the first time since the Texas and OU games in 2014 of no turnovers in consecutive games.

A LOOK AT TEXAS

Texas enters Saturday’s game with the same records at K-State, 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12 following its 27-6 win against Iowa State.
The Longhorns boast the league’s top rusher in D’Onta Foreman, who is averaging 146.2 rushing yards per game. He also is the league’s top scorer at 9.6 points per game.
QB Shane Buechele has thrown for 1,500 yards and 13 scores while completing 64-percent of his passes.
On defense, Anthony Wheeler has totaled 47 stops, while Naashon Hughes has a team-best 3.5 sacks. Dylan Hughes has recorded the team’s two interceptions.
Texas also has the league’s top punter in Michael Dickson, averaging 47.9 yards per kick.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES

Kansas State and Texas will meet for the 18th time in series history, including the 13th time as Big 12 foes.
K-State holds a 9-7 advantage over UT, including an 8-4 mark as league opponents to stand as the only current Big 12 team with a winning record against Texas since the league was formed in 1996.
The home team has won each of the last four meetings, while K-State is looking to extend a four-game home winning streak over Texas as the last time UT was victorious in Manhattan was 2002 (17-14).

SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS

Kansas State is in rare company in college football as the Wildcats rank in the top 20 in wins among FBS programs over the last 21-plus seasons.
Since 1995, K-State has picked up 177 victories, which is ranks 19th in the nation.
The Cats are only two wins away from 16th and six victories away from the top 15.
Among current Big 12 teams, only Oklahoma (5th; 200), Texas (11th; 194) and TCU (15th; 183) rank higher.

THE CENTURY MARK

With its 44-38 win over Texas Tech, K-State became just the third Big 12 program to reach 100 league wins since the conference began in 1996.
The Wildcats joined this week’s opponent, Texas (116), and Oklahoma (123) in the century club.

300 AT ONE

K-State’s game against Texas Tech was the 300th game under the direction of head coach Bill Snyder.
Snyder became just the seventh person all-time to coach 300 games on one FBS school. Among the seven, six – Joe Paterno (Penn State), Bobby Bowden (Florida State), LaVell Edwards (BYU), Chris Ault (Nevada), Tom Osborne (Nebraska) and Snyder – are in the College Football Hall of Fame.

SNYDER IN ELITE COMPANY

Head coach Bill Snyder currently has 196 career victories, 157 more than any other coach in school history.
Snyder ranks first in the FBS in wins among active coaches at current schools, second in total victories among active coaches overall and 28th in all-time wins.
He is four wins away from becoming the 25th coach in FBS history with 200 career wins.
Snyder, who has 113 conference wins, is one of four coaches with 100 Big 8/12 victories (Tom Osborne [153], Bob Stoops [113], Barry Switzer [100]).

CLEAN IT UP

K-State led the Big 12 and ranked 16th nationally last year with only 39.3 penalty yards per game, while the Cats were second in the league with 4.38 penalties per game.
Penalties were more frequent early in the year, but the Wildcats cleaned up down the stretch. In the final eight games of the regular season, K-State had just 32 (4.0 per game) penalties to jump back to No. 1 in the Big 12.
With 13 underclassmen starters in the first six games of 2016, the Wildcats have been flagged more than usual as they are committing 6.8 penalties per game for an average of just under 50 yards.
K-State has ranked first or second in the conference in fewest penalty yards per game each of the previous five years. The Wildcats led the league in 2014, 2013 and 2011, while they ranked second in 2012 and 2010.
The Cats have work to do to get back into the top two in the conference as they currently rank third in the Big 12.

HOME SWEET HOME

Since 1990, K-State holds a 142-34-1 (.805) record when playing at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
That record includes a 70-5 (.933) mark in non-conference games and a 72-29-1 (.711) record in league games.
K-State is looking to bounce back from a 4-3 (.571) home record in 2015, its worst home winning percentage since also going 4-3 in 2008.
The Wildcats are currently riding a five-game home winning streak dating back to last year, their longest since a seven-game streak over the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

YOUTH IS SERVED

The season-opening depth chart featured 24 combined underclassmen (Fr. or So.; does not count special teams), including 17 on offense. It was the most on the initial depth chart of a year since at least 1988.
K-State started 11 underclassmen – including four freshmen – in the opener at No. 8/7 Stanford. It was the most for either category since at least 1997.
The previous high of underclassmen starting during that stretch was nine in 2005.
The four freshmen starters at Stanford marked the second-straight year the Wildcats started at least three freshmen in a season opener.
K-State had no more than two freshmen starters in a season opener in any of the previous 18 years, while the Wildcats had started a combined total of eight freshmen in season openers from 1998-2014.

DRAWING FIRST BLOOD

Since 1990, K-State is 157-30 (.840) when scoring first.
K-State, 2-1 this year when scoring first, will be looking to bounce back from a 3-2 record in 2015 when getting on the board first, defeating South Dakota, Louisiana Tech and Kansas, but losing to Oklahoma State and Arkansas.
In 2014, the Cats held a perfect 7-0 record when scoring the game’s first points.