One thing that the media isn’t discussing is K-State’s motivation in this game. We just won an extremely competitive conference. Could be tough for our boys to resist the urge to rest on their laurels.
At the other end of the spectrum you have Alabama, whose biggest achievement is barely beating a team that finished in the top half of the Big 12. Alabama hasn’t achieved anything this year—they didn’t even win their division! You have to imagine there will be some desperation on Saban’s end to avoid starting the 2023 season looking like the 5th best team in the SEC.