A pair of Big 12 rivals meet up in one of college football’s two games involving ranked teams on the same field, as No. 20 Arizona travels to No. 14 Kansas State in a battle of Wildcats on Friday.

While it’s a matchup of Big 12 teams, it’s not actually a Big 12 conference game thanks to a scheduling technicality, but it’s still a good litmus test to see where these teams are in what figures to be a more competitive league championship race later on.

Arizona played close against Northern Arizona a week ago as its vaunted passing attack led by Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan didn’t produce like it usually does, but it came out with the 21-10 victory.

Likewise for Kansas State, which held off an upset-minded Tulane team on the road last weekend, needing some timely defensive plays to get out of New Orleans unscathed and undefeated.

What do the experts think of the matchup? Let’s turn to the SP+ prediction model to get a preview of how Arizona and Kansas State compare in this Week 3 football game.

So far, the simulations are siding pretty definitively with the home team in this matchup.

SP+ predicts that Kansas State will defeat Arizona by a projected score of 35 to 25 and will win the game outright by an expected 9.3 points.

The model gives Kansas State a strong 72 percent chance of victory in the matchup.

SP+ is a “tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency” that attempts to predict game outcomes by measuring “the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football.”

How good is it this season? So far, the SP+ model is 47-44 against the spread with a 51.6 win percentage.

Kansas State is listed as a 7.5 point favorite against Arizona, according to the lines at FanDuel Sportsbook, which set the total at 59.5 points for the game.

FanDuel lists the moneyline odds for Kansas State at -255 and for Arizona at +205.

If you’re using this projection to bet on the game, you should take…

Other analytic tools also favor Kansas State to hold serve at home against Arizona.

That includes the College Football Power Index, a computer prediction model that uses data points from both teams to simulate games 20,000 times to pick winners.

Kansas State comes out the projected winner in 73.2 percent of the computer’s simulations, while Arizona emerged triumphant in the remaining 26.8 percent of sims.

The index favors Kansas State to be 9.5 points better than Arizona on the same field in both teams’ current composition, also enough to cover the spread.

Kansas State is projected to win 9.1 games this season and sits in second-place among Big 12 teams with a 27.6 percent chance to qualify for the College Football Playoff.

Arizona is ninth in the Big 12 with a 5 percent shot at the 12-team playoff as the computers cooled off on its expectations after last week’s game, with the Wildcats expected to win 7 games.

When: Fri., Sept. 13
Time: 7 p.m. Central
TV: Fox network

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The suspect, 73-year-old Thomas Edward Kain, was trying to leave the Elks Lodge #2349 in Apache Junction around 8:30 pm when he crashed his vehicle through the building. He then barreled over a row of occupied tables, leaving several injured.

The truck came to a halt after it was completely inside the lodge. The video surveillance showed that its windshield was splashed with drinks.

Several people were rushed to hospitals

According to the website of City of Apache Junction, AZ, “Ten individuals were transported to multiple hospitals by ambulance, while fifteen others received treatment on-site for minor injuries. At least five additional individuals drove themselves to local hospitals for further medical evaluation. Currently, one person remains in critical but stable condition, with ongoing improvements to their health.”

Kain was charged with 12 counts of aggravated assault, 17 counts of endangerment, and DUI – slightest degree. The website said that more charges may follow, and blood test results, which are yet to be released, will determine the “extent of alcohol impairment.”

“In response to the unfortunate incident at the Apache Junction Elks Lodge last night, we want to express our heartfelt sympathy and support for all those impacted,” the club said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, and we want to recognize the tireless efforts of the first responders who assisted.”

The Apache Junction Police Department is working with the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control to investigate the incident. The City of Apache Junction, AZ website highlighted the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol.

“Impaired driving drastically reduces reaction times, decision-making abilities, and motor skills, putting everyone on the road at risk. We are fortunate that, despite the severity of this incident, no lives were lost. However, the outcome could have been far worse,” it said.

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals have announced the following roster moves ahead of their Wednesday practice:

“The Arizona Cardinals Football Club today announced that the team has signed linebacker Julian Okwara (OAK-wara) to the active roster from the practice squad and has placed offensive lineman Jonah Williams on injured reserve. In addition, the team has signed offensive lineman Charlie Heck to the practice squad.”

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon previously said this morning Williams would go on injured reserve.

“Jonah’s going to go on IR. Not going to speculate about the time when he’s going to get back, what that looks like. [We’re] still gathering more information about that,” Gannon told reporters.

Williams will miss at least the next four weeks.

While the Cardinals will slide Kelvin Beachum into the starting spot at right tackle, Heck’s presence on the practice squad bolsters depth at the position.

More on Heck from the team’s media relations department:

“Heck (6-8, 315) played 41 games (21 starts) the past four seasons with the Texans after entering the league with Houston as a fourth-round selection (126th overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft from North Carolina. The 27-year old Heck appeared in all 17 games in 2022 and started 13 games at right tackle in 2021. He started four games last year with Houston. His father, Andy Heck, is the offensive line coach with the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Heck will wear jersey #67.”

As for Okwara, he was added as pass rusher ahead of the team’s regular season opener, where they lost 34-28 against the Buffalo Bills.

The Cardinals failed to create a consistent rush with Zaven Collins, Dennis Gardeck and Xavier Thomas rotating at outside linebacker.

Arizona plays host to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2. We will get our first injury report later today.