Kansas State Football 2026 Schedule: Full Breakdown and Season Outlook
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Kansas State doesn’t have a trip to Ireland on the 2026 football schedule.
Last year, it lost in Dublin to Iowa State in heartbreaking fashion to kick things off, and it never recovered. Under new head coach Collin Klein, the Wildcats have the right schedule to get back up to speed in a hurry.
The Good, the Bad, and Who Kansas State Misses in 2026
The Good
Scroll down to the teams that Kansas State miss – here’s your welcome present, Coach Klein. The Wildcats don’t have to play at least three of the top Big 12 teams, and there’s only one road game before late October. But …
The Bad
The road dates kick in hard over the second half of the year, with four of the last six away from The Family. Yeah, the Wildcats miss some big teams, but they have to go to Arizona State, TCU, and Iowa State in the finishing kick, and going to Colorado should be more of a fight this season. And now …
What Big 12 Teams Kansas State Will Miss
Baylor, BYU, Texas Tech, UCF, Utah, West Virginia. Okay, so you’d like to take your cuts against Baylor, UCF, and West Virginia, but if you could pick three teams to miss, BYU, Texas Tech, and Utah would be them.
Kansas State’s Best and Worst Case Scenarios in 2026
Best Case: The start is the opposite of last year’s first month
The Wildcats started 1-3 last year, and then 2-4, and all four losses were winnable. This time around, without any Power Four games in non-conference play, the Wildcats get by Cincinnati on the way to a 6-0 start, and …
Worst Case: The Wildcats don’t beat the Bearcats
They lose to Cincinnati, and the second half of the season becomes too overwhelming. There’s another miss along the way, they can’t get through all the tough road games, and it’ll come down to the Iowa State game in the regular season finale to get bowl eligible.
Kansas State Football 2026 Schedule
Sept 5 Nicholls State
Sept 12 Washington State
Sept 19 Tulane
Sept 26 at Cincinnati
Oct 3 OPEN DATE
Oct 10 Houston
Oct 17 Kansas
Oct 24 at Arizona State
Oct 31 at Colorado
Nov 7 Oklahoma State
Nov 14 at TCU
Nov 21 Arizona
Nov 28 at Iowa State
Games That Will Decide Kansas State’s Season
1. Sept. 26, at Cincinnati. The Houston game will be tough, and the Tulane date won’t be a layup, but win this, and the Wildcats should start 6-0
2. Oct. 24, at Arizona State. Does Kansas State want to be a player in the Big 12 Championship race? Great, then win this.
3. Nov. 28, at Iowa State. Even if everything goes close to perfectly, the last game of the regular season should be a very, very big deal for both first-year coaching staffs.
Related: Oklahoma State Football 2026 Schedule: Breakdown and Season Outlook
This story was originally published by College Football News on Jan 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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