K-State Wildcats vs. TCU Horned Frogs: Five things to know about Big 12 championship

The Kansas State football team is about to play one of its biggest games in decades.

The Wildcats have been rewarded for a 9-3 regular season and 7-2 finish in Big 12 play with a spot in the conference championship game against undefeated TCU (12-0, 9-0 Big 12) at 11 a.m. on Saturday inside AT&T Stadium.

A victory would give K-State its first league championship since 2012. But there was no Big 12 title game that season. It hasn’t played in one of those since 2003, when Ell Roberson and Darren Sproles shocked No. 1 Oklahoma 35-7 at Arrowhead Stadium.

Much will be at stake for both the Horned Frogs and the Wildcats in this one.

Here is everything else you need to know to start preparing for the contest.

The details

Kickoff: 11 a.m. Saturday

Where: AT&T Stadium

TV: ABC

Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City and KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita

Betting line: TCU by 2 1/2

Over/Under Points Total: 62

Five things to know

1. Here is how you can buy tickets to the game. As of early Monday afternoon, tickets remained available for purchase through K-State on its athletics website. Most of the available seats were in the upper levels of AT&T Stadium. Tickets are also still available through sites such as Seat Geek, which had tickets available ranging from $81 to $761.

2. TCU defeated K-State 38-28 earlier this season. Here are some memorable stats from that game: TCU running back Kendre Miller rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. Max Duggan threw for 280 yards and three scores. Will Howard made his season debut for the Wildcats and threw for 225 yards and two scores. K-State sacked Duggan four times. Chris Tennant missed a pair of field goals. TCU won the second half 21-0.

3. Max Duggan is a Heisman Trophy contender. He probably won’t win the award, but odds are high that the TCU quarterback will be invited to New York as a Heisman finalist, along with USC quarterback Caleb Williams, Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and perhaps a wildcard candidate or two. Funny thing about that is Duggan wasn’t even supposed to start for TCU this season. He took over as QB1 only after Chandler Morris suffered an injury in the season-opener. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise for TCU, as Duggan went on to throw for 3,070 yards and 29 touchdowns this season.

4. Deuce Vaughn is hitting his stride late in the season. He may have taken a backseat to other K-State playmakers in a few games this season, such as when he only rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown against TCU in late October, but that has not been the case lately. Vaughn erupted for 229 total yards and a touchdown last weekend against Kansas. The Horned Frogs should have a tougher time with him in the rematch.

5. K-State continues to roll on offense with Will Howard at quarterback. Good things just seem to happen when Howard is at the controls of K-State’s offense. Even last weekend when he didn’t complete a pass in the second half against KU, he still led the Wildcats to 443 yards and 47 points. This season, K-State is averaging 47.7 points per game when Howard is the starting quarterback and 40.4 points per game when he plays.