When Head Coach Dan McCarney takes his troops on the road Saturday, they’ll be facing easily their greatest challenge of the 1998 season.

The Kansas State Wildcats stand undefeated, at 6-0, and ranked third in the nation.

Their offense, perhaps the best in the Big 12, features a top 25 running game and one of the most efficient passers in college football. Their attack also leads college football in scoring, averaging 52.8 points per contest.

With 1997 Big 12 Newcomer-of-the-Year Michael Bishop leading the charge, K-State has outscored its opponents a combined 317-51. Bishop, who averages over 10 yards per passing attempt and has so far thrown 12 touchdown passes and only one interception, has a pass efficiency rating of 163.56, one of the top tallies in football.

Bishop can also carry the ball well, piling up over 250 yards in six games.

His abilities are a solid complement to the numbers of feature back Eric Hickson, who currently has 516 rushing yards, a 5.7 yard per carry average and six rushing touchdowns.

Bishop’s two favorite receivers, Darnell McDonald and Aaron Lockett, are both nearing the 450-yard mark, and each has four touchdown receptions. Tight end Justin Swift, a punishing run blocker, also has 175 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The Wildcat offensive line, which averages 303 pounds and features three returning starters, has been dominant so far in ’98.

Unfortunately for Wildcat opponents, the Kansas State offense is nowhere near as powerful as either its defense or special teams.

The Wildcat “D” has surrendered fewer points than any team in the nation (8.3 per game) and is currently ranked fourth in the nation against both the run and the pass and third nationally in overall defense.

K-State’s defensive line, featuring standouts Darren Howard, Damion McIntosh and Joe Bob Clements, has given up an average of just 79 rushing yards per game.

Their starting linebackers, Travis Ochs, Jeff Kelly and Mark Simoneau, are considered the best trio in the nation. All three made the All-Big 12 roster last year, Kelly and Simoneau on the first team and Ochs on the second.

In the backfield, the Wildcats have continued to prosper on the strength of seven returning letter-winners. Safeties Jarrod Cooper and Lamar Chapman and corner Dyshod Carter return to starting roles in the secondary, which has led the Big 12 in pass defense for four consecutive years.

So far this season, the Wildcat backfield has surrendered just 156.3 passing yards per game and five passing touchdowns. They’ve also collected nine interceptions, with no single player accounting for more than two.

The Wildcat special teams may actually be the strength of the club.

Kicker Martin Gramatica, last year’s Lou Groza award winner for the nation’s top kicker, has already outdone himself in ’98.

The senior has already managed 68 points this year. Of his 10 field goals on the season, four have been outside 40 yards, and one was from the ridiculous distance of 65 yards, a kick that would have broken the NFL record.

Punter James Garcia currently holds the best career punting average in Wildcat history.

The return teams have also been superb. David Allen, a sophomore reserve wide receiver and tailback, currently holds a 22.26-yard punt return average and three punt return touchdowns, making him the most prolific return-man in college football.

Top to bottom, Head Coach Bill Snyder’s troops are the cream of the collegiate crop — and they’ve demonstrated that week-in and week-out.

Several of their wins have come at the expense of second-rate teams, including a 66-0 victory over Indiana State, a 73-7 win over Northern Illinois and a 62-7 pasting of Northeast Louisiana, but the Wildcats have gotten the job done against first-class programs as well.

The same Texas Longhorn team that hammered the Cyclones, 54-33, fell to Kansas State by a score of 48-7. The Wildcats have also posted impressive wins over Oklahoma State and on the road at Colorado.