Josh Pate Predicts a Big 12 Favorite to Plateau in 2025

The Kansas State Wildcats will be a trendy pick to win the Big 12 in 2025, but one college football analyst not there on the Cats is Josh Pate.

Pate was talking about Kansas State’s over-under for the upcoming college football season, and predicted not much change for the Wildcats heading into another fall campaign under head coach Chris Klieman.

Pate said on his show about the Cats, “Kansas State was 8-4 last year. They have an over-under of 8.5. I’m going with Kansas State being the same as they were last year. I know Avery Johnson’s back, I know that. But you don’t always get huge improvement just because a guy returns. I think Avery Johnson is who he is. He’s a good player. I think he is who is as a quarterback.”

Josh Pate’s Kansas State Concerns

Pate went on to explain why he’s not totally sold on a big leap for the Wildcats this season, saying, “I think there are questions along that offensive line, sort of the middle-of-the-pack secondary last year. Counting on some portal backfills there. They go to Baylor, they go to Kansas, they go to Oklahoma State, they get Texas Tech, they go to Utah. Their schedule is not easy. I think it’s a lot of close games. I think 8-4 sounds about right to me.”

Kansas State has won eight or more games in 10 of the last 13 seasons, so this has been part for the course under Chris Klieman, and Bill Snyder before him. However, many Wildcats fans are rightfully expecting a big jump in Year 2 under Johnson. If Avery doesn’t take that next step, than Pate’s prediction will likely come to fruition.

Kansas State will open the 2025 season in a dramatic setting — facing rival Iowa State on Aug. 23 in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, marking the first Big 12 game ever held in Ireland and reviving the Sunflower Showdown on a global stage. That tricky neutral-site opener sets the tone before the Wildcats return home to Manhattan to host North Dakota on Saturday, August 30th.