#5 Auburn at #20 Kansas State Preview and Predictions

Aug 30, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; Kansas State Wildcats mascot Willie Wildcat leads the football team onto the field before the start of a game against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Interesting Facts:

• Auburn, ranked 5th in the polls, is the highest-ranked team to visit Kansas State since 1969, when the Wildcats hosted #2 Penn State. The Nittany Lions won the game, 17-14, and went on to finish the season 11-0.
• Auburn has played Kansas State three times, winning all three (45-32 in 1978, 26-18 in 1979 and 23-13 in 2007).
• Auburn’s largest margin of victory in three games against Kansas State actually came in their lone trip to Manhattan, when they beat the Wildcats 45-32.
• Auburn and Kansas State have been impressive second-half teams, combining to outscore opponents in the final two quarters 84-9. Auburn has outscored opponents 45-3 in the second half while Kansas State has outscored opponents 39-6.
• Auburn hasn’t won a non-conference road game since 1997, a 28-17 win at Virginia on a Thursday night. Since then, the Tigers have struggled in road non-conference games, going 0-5 with losses to Syracuse, USC, Georgia Tech, West Virginia and Clemson.
• Kansas State is 7-15 all-time against traditional SEC teams (excluding former conference rivals Texas A&M and Missouri). The Wildcats are 0-3 against Auburn, 3-2 against Arkansas, 0-2 against Florida, 1-3 against Kentucky, 0-1 against LSU, 1-1 against Mississippi State, 1-2 against South Carolina, 1-0 against Tennessee and 0-1 against Vanderbilt.