Using ESPN’s FPI (Football Power Index) as a guide, Auburn has a 83.8 percent chance to beat Kansas State on Thursday.

Auburn looks to respond to first road test vs. Kansas State

Auburn hasn’t been tested yet, winning by 24 points and 46 points respectively in its first two games. It now travels to Manhattan, Kan. to take on a testy Wildcat team that is looking to spoil the season of the No. 5 ranked Tigers.

Gus Malzahn has a lot of veteran players who played in hostile road games last season, but he’s reminded fans and the media publicly that this is a different team and will be a good measurement for where the 2014 edition of the Auburn Tigers are. This game got a little tougher for the Tigers on Wednesday night, when news broke that safety Jermaine Whitehead did not travel with the team to Manhattan and will not play Thursday night.

Auburn faces a very good quarterback in Jake Waters, who leads the team in both passing and rushing yards. He’s coming off a game against Iowa State in which he threw for over 200 yards and rushed for over 130 yards in the Wildcats win over the Cyclones.

Malzahn has said the Tigers still need to play faster on offense, so expect him to use tempo to take the crowd out of the game early. Auburn possesses arguably the best rushing attack in the country, averaging over 300 yards per game on the ground.

A win over K-State on Thursday night would likely cement the Tigers as a serious candidate to make the College Football Playoff.