Don't be shocked if Nevada quarterback Carson Strong goes among the top 15 players in the 2022 NFL draft. Strong is that good and he's surrounded by excellent receiving weapons. 

The Wolfpack upset California on the road and they are slightly favored to turn the trick against Kansas State. I believe they can accomplish the feat as the Wildcats have to start backup redshirt freshman QB Will Howard. The Wildcats lost their starting QB, Skylar Thompson, to injury last week. 

The Wildcats are 12-6 when Thompson has been under center and 2-5 without him starting under Chris Klieman. 

Howard is more runner than passer. He has 185 career throws with an 8-to-11 touchdown-to-interception ratio. It's not exactly a secret that Kansas State will be heavily run-oriented in this matchup. Nevada doesn't have that good of a run defense, but the Wolfpack will be stacking the line daring Howard to beat them through the air. I doubt he can do that. 

The Wildcats are going to have problems if they have to play from behind, which I anticipate. Strong is going against a Kansas State secondary that ranked 94th in pass efficiency defense last season and doesn't look improved this season. Opposing QB's completed 67.7 percent of their passes against the Wildcats in 2020. This season the Wildcats are permitting passers to complete 67.2 percent of their throws.