Kansas State well ahead of Big 12 on tougher non-conference scheduling

Considering Kansas State's penchant for scheduling lightweight non-conference opponents, it might come as a surprise to hear that the Wildcats are fully on board with -- even well ahead of -- the Big 12's decision that its teams much schedule at least one Power 5 non-conference opponent each season.

Kansas State has actually been trending that way already. It played Auburn in 2014 and with upcoming home-and-home series home-and-home series against Mississippi State, Stanford and Vanderbilt, the Wildcats are in compliance with the new rule through 2021.

According to the Kansas City Star, K-State athletic director John Currie is working on four more games against prominent teams. Currie said he hopes to soon have Power 5 games scheduled through 2030.

"For us, it is really irrelevant,” Currie told the Star. “We are trying to have a major, inter-sectional opponent on all of our schedules. We are working to fill the 2020s. It is a process, so you have to figure out who matches up with you and when. Sometimes you have five conference road games and they have five, too, and neither of you can go on the road. It is a process, but we will work to do that over the next couple years.

"We are trying to be a little bit more strategic. Now that things are fairly stable from a realignment perspective, I think scheduling out through the late 2020s is probably a prudent thing to do right now."