The Bengals won five games last year. Their highest-profile matchup came against Oregon State, and Idaho State lost 38-15 (not awful). In the last two games of the season, the Bengals allowed 117 combined points (pretty awful).

In the wacky, wide-open world of the new Big 12 Conference, both Iowa State and Kansas State have aspirations of winning the league and earning that automatic bid to the College Football Playoff. ISU played for the conference title last year, while KSU has been a consistent presence among Big 12 contenders for many years.