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If the oddsmakers have anything to say about it, the all-Wildcat showdown between ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ and Kansas State is a coin-flip game. 

Throughout the week, the spread has flipped between both teams. Multiple sportsbooks had ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ as a 2.5-point favorite and avenging its 24-point loss to Kansas State in Manhattan, which snapped the UA's nine-game winning streak. 

Kansas State is now a 1.5-point favorite to beat ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥. 

This time around, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ doesn't have the longest active winning streak in college football, but the UA won its first two games in convincing fashion, outscoring Hawaii and Weber State 88-9, after going 1-7 in the final eight games to end head coach Brent Brennan's first season at the helm. 

The ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ from Manhattan, which entered the season ranked, are 1-2 with losses to Iowa State and Army and a three-point win against FCS North Dakota.  

"Kansas State ain't going to hold anything back on (Friday)," said ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales. "I fully expect those guys to be sharp and physical. Coach (Chris) Klieman is a great coach and he knows how to get his team fresh and ready to play. The most scary thing about a really tough football team, if they handle recovery right and they're fresh, it's going to be a violent war. ... Let's go gut 'em. They're going to have the same philosophy with us." 

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ offensive coordinator Seth Doege said Kansas State is "a program that's not going to lay down when you back them into a corner." 

"That's a program full of tradition, fight and physicality," he added. "I know we're going to get a real fight Friday night. Our guys are ready for it and they're going to be prepared for it. I'm excited about it." 

Friday will be the biggest test of ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥'s repaired offensive line, which will be at full strength with the addition of offensive tackle Rhino Tapa'atoutai, who started at right tackle last week against Weber State. 

Tapa'atoutai, who played left tackle last season, started alongside right guard Alexander Doost, center Ka'ena Decambra, left guard Michael Wooten and left tackle Ty Buchanan, with senior tackle Tristan Bounds as the swing tackle who took over at right tackle in the second half.

After suffering a knee injury last October, Tapa'atoutai "attacked the rehab process and put himself in position to play right now," Doege said.

"I've been at other places where you don't have those guys ready to play," Doege said. "Well, it's because they didn't attack the rehab and the training like Rhino did. I'm proud of the way he built himself up to play." 

Tapa'atoutai, who gave up a team-high four quarterback pressures against Weber State, still has a long road ahead to maintain the endurance to play in Doege's fast-paced offense. He was replaced by Bounds after playing 25 snaps last week. 

"For Rhino, it's about getting into football shape," Doege said. "You can practice all you want, you cant train all you want, but when you get onto the football field and you go eight or nine drives and it's all tempo and you can't breathe, that's a different type of feeling. You still have to execute your assignment and technique to give us the best chance to have success. That's the biggest thing for him, is to get in shape. When he's on the field, we're different. And I'm excited to have him back." 

Doege's assessment of ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥'s offensive line through two games is "they've been good (and) I think they can be better," he said.  

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥'s offensive line allowed a combined 21 quarterback pressures against Hawaii and Weber State and have the second-most penalties (18) in the Big 12 — half of them are holding penalties on the offense. 

Doege said ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ has "way too many holding penalties" and  "a couple of them were critical penalties, so we gotta eliminate that." 

"One penalty is too many penalties," Doege said. "It's just like a turnover. One turnover is too many turnovers. The standard for us is to play penalty-free football."

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥'s offensive line, which has given up the most sacks (5) in the Big 12, will be tested against a Kansas State defensive front that has the second-most sacks (7) in the Big 12. 

"It'll be a big challenge for us this weekend," Doege said. "I think this is going to tell us where we're at there. I think their D-Line is a quality group. ... I'm excited to see where they're at and how they respond to the challenge, because it's going to be a big challenge for them." 

Spivey 'had to really grow up at Kansas State'

Besides the two teams playing against each other last year in Manhattan, there's some familiarity between the coaches and players at both respective schools. 

When ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ offensive coordinator Seth Doege was a quarterback at Texas Tech, his first-ever touchdown pass and rushing touchdown — and pick-six — was against Kansas State, when KSU was led by Heisman Trophy finalist and quarterback Colin Klein. 

"I remember those guys being really physical and good on defense," Doege said. "They've always been able to pound the rock with a mobile quarterback."

One of Doege's top receivers this season is a former KSU player in Tre Spivey, who transferred to ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ in December after two seasons in Manhattan. Spivey had a limited role in Kansas State's offense and had 15 catches for 184 yards and a touchdown in two years at KSU, before the Chandler native transferred to ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ to reunite with longtime friend and teammate in safety Genesis Smith, who also wears No. 12 as his jersey number.

The 6-4, 212-pound Spivey, who caught a 10-yard touchdown in the flat against Weber State, has "grown tremendously since the spring," Doege said. Spivey struggled adjusting to Doege's scheme, signals, the pace of the offense and developing chemistry with quarterback Noah Fifita.

"All of that stuff, it was a lot (for Spivey)," Doege said. "Once he kind of settled in, you could really see his skillset. He wants to be more than a big-bodied receiver. I believe he is, because he can really accelerate. You saw that on the touchdown we threw him this past weekend where it was a flat throw, but when he caught the ball, he accelerated through the end zone.

"That's a skillset most people don't see as him because he is a big body, which I prefer on the edge because those guys can make things right, which he does a lot of the time. He can go up and get balls over people's heads. ... At the same time, he can really separate by being explosive and leave you behind." 

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ head coach Brent Brennan said Spivey isn't "infected by 'cool guy,' where they don't want to work hard or they want to look sweet when they catch the ball, they don't want to block, all that stuff." 

"That's not our receiver group," Brennan said. "That's not how (wide receivers coach Bobby Wade) is coaching them, and that's not Tre Spivey. Tre, he's willing to block, he's tough, he loves it, he wants to make plays, he wants to take every rep (and) he never wants to come out of the game. That's what I love about him." 

Spivey's first reception at ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ was "a ball that probably shouldn't have been thrown and he made a play," Doege said. Fifita threw a 27-yard pass in triple coverage and Spivey came down with the catch to set up Kedrick Reescano for a 14-yard touchdown run on ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥'s first offensive possession of the season.

In his third game at ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥, "I'm excited he's getting an opportunity to play on Friday against some of his former teammates," Doege said. 

There's no bad blood between Spivey and Kansas State. 

"Honestly, I look back at those days and I just smile because I feel like I grew a lot there — and I've grown a lot here, too," Spivey said. "But going from high school and going to a program like Kansas State, they pride themselves in hard work and responsibility. I had a lot to learn. ... I had to really grow up at Kansas State. That was huge for me. They kind of gave me a formula how to become a man. Coming to ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ has allowed me to grow and expand on that." 

From Gunner to Genesis

Tre Spivey won't be the only familiar face on the field. Former ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ safety Gunner Maldonado will be in his fourth game as a reserve defensive back at Kansas State.  

Maldonado has four tackles in 64 defensive snaps this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Free safety Wesley Fair and strong safety VJ Payne are the two safeties ahead of Maldonado on Kansas State's depth chart. 

The Chandler native was a mainstay in ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥'s defense for three seasons after he started his all-Wildcat career at Northwestern. Maldonado had 175 tackles, four interceptions, eight pass deflections, six forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in four years at ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥. 

Maldonado's 87-yard fumble return for a touchdown that sparked ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥'s come-from-behind victory over Oklahoma in the 2023 Alamo Bowl is known as one of the best plays in program history.

"I'll always appreciate my boy Gunner," said ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ strong safety Dalton Johnson, who started alongside Maldonado for two seasons. "He's a great athlete and a great teammate. We definitely had a connection when he was playing here. College football is a business these days, so he decided to transfer over to K-State. Never mad at him. Wish him the best of luck. Excited to see him this weekend if he's able to get out there and play." 

Plus, Maldonado recovering from a season-ending knee injury while his successor, safety Genesis Smith, continued to exponentially improve made it a tall task for Maldonado to be a starter again.   

"I would love to have Gunner here because when you have multiple guys with that much experience, there's so much you can do with different packages," said defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, who gave Maldonado his first-ever Power 4 offer at ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ State. "But being an every-down player, knowing the wall he was against, he decided going to Kansas State would give him a better opportunity for a fresh start.

"As a person, I absolutely love Gunner. ... The city of Tucson should still love Gunner Maldonado. Don't be disappointed because he chose to go a route that's best for him." 

The Maldonado-Johnson tandem at safety was successful because they "had a really good connection out there, so the trust was there," Johnson said.

"It makes it easier to play fast and move around, and Genesis has definitely stepped into that role as far as building trust with each other," Johnson said.  

Smith, who grabbed his first interception of the season last week against Weber State, "is a freak and he has shown in the first two games, one, how aggressive he is — he comes down the field and smacks people. Two, how big his presence is in the middle of the field; and then how much his tackling has improved over the first two years." 

The last time ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ took the field against Kansas State, Smith and Maldonado were ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥'s safety duo, with Johnson out with an injury — the only game Johnson has missed since 2023. Smith and Maldonado also roomed together during road trips last season.  

"That's one of my best friends," Smith said of Maldonado. "Great dude. Paved the way for me, honestly. ... He was a great dude, a great role model for me and I can't wait to see him."

During the game, "it's war time," Smith said with a smile. 

Avery Johnson 'a triple-threat quarterback'

Kansas State first-year offensive coordinator Matt Wells is taking a different approach with Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson. 

Wells "is doing something different with him than they did two years ago, different than what they did last year," and not utilizing Johnson's speed and running ability as much, said ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales.

Johnson is on pace to rush for 312 yards this season, which would be nearly half of his total rushing yards from last season.  

However, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ isn't letting its guard down, especially considering Johnson had a game-high 110 rushing yards in Kansas State's rout of ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ last season. KSU out-rushed ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ 235-56 in Manhattan last season.  

"He's obviously a dynamic, dual-threat guy," ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ head coach Brent Brennan said of Johnson. "He throws it well and has a lot of speed and is a dangerous runner. Any time you play somebody like that, it challenges all aspects of your defense. You have to do a great job of tackling. We have to have population at the football to make sure we get people on the ground and don't let people get out and loose on us. He's a really, really good player." 

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ safety Dalton Johnson said, "it's hard and fun to play a running quarterback because they can do so much and you really just have to expand your defense."

"Our goal is to take that away and make him throw the ball," said the UA defensive back.  

The objective for ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ is to not "lose integrity in the rush lanes, like we did a couple of times last year," or else Johnson "is going to get vertical on you and hurt you right away," Gonzales said.

"It's a tenfold process of how you can be great on defense and take care of everything," Gonzales said. "Avery Johnson is a triple-threat quarterback. He can run, he can throw and break plays and hurt you with his feet."

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ could potentially not have all hands on deck to limit Johnson, with defensive back Treydan Stukes still returning from the knee injury he suffered last season and defensive end Tre Smith, who suffered a leg injury last week, being a "game-time decision," according to Gonzales.

However, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ has safety Dalton Johnson, who missed last season's game against Kansas State and is currently second on the team in tackles this season. 

Additionally, a potential three-linebacker lineup with Taye Brown, Max Harris, Chase Kennedy and Riley Wilson, who made his ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ debut and tied for the second-most tackles against Weber State, in some order, will help the UA defense if Smith is unable to play. 

Wilson "made a couple of plays in that short time," Gonzales said.

Said Gonzales: "He makes our football team better and it was really exciting to see him out there." 

Party like it's 1989

To celebrate "Retro Night" for ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥'s matchup with Kansas State on Friday, the UA will don helmet decals that are a blast to the past. 

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ will wear replica decals the team wore in the 1980s — the all-red "Block A" with navy blue Wildcat paw prints on a white helmet with a navy blue face mask and a red, white and blue stripe down the crown of the helmet. 

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ switched to the current rendition of the "Block A" in 1990.  

The decals ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ is wearing this week were famously worn with former head coach Larry Smith at the helm. Before Smith left ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ for USC, he posted a 48-28-3 record. Before Dick Tomey succeeded Smith, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ won the 1986 Aloha Bowl. 

The paw print decals, similar to Ohio State's buckeye leaf decals, were a sign of on-field success for a player. The more stickers on the helmet, the better the player. 

In addition to its retro-looking helmet, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ will also sport its normal navy blue jerseys and white pants on Friday.