Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Bill Snyder might have wondered if he walked into a time machine after taking the Kansas State job again. It looks like 1989 all over again as Snyder tries to bring the Wildcats back into contention. Kansas State still has a solid nucleus of talent, but will miss quarterback Josh Freeman badly after he declared for the NFL draft. It will make it a challenge for Snyder to push the Wildcats back to a bowl game for the first time in two seasons with his current grouping of players.

Here's a look at how the Wildcats' 2009 schedule breaks down:

Nonconference schedule

Sept. 5 Massachusetts
Sept. 12 TBA
Sept. 19 at UCLA
Sept. 26 TBA

Thoughts: Snyder helped prepare his team for its success in previous seasons by playing a group of opponents that looked like they had been lifted from a pastry wagon. No Big 12 teams in the past prepared for its conference play with more gooey treats than Snyder's teams. And I wouldn't expect either of the games still to be filled will be adventurous challenges for the Wildcats. But Massachusetts will be a good first game. It will be needed as the Wildcats head into a tough trip to UCLA the following week. Snyder's most notable nonconference regular season victory came in 2001 when he led the Wildcats to a victory at USC. It will be interesting to see if he can duplicate that big game across town at the Rose Bowl against the Bruins.

Regular season schedule

Oct. 3 Iowa State (at Kansas City)
Oct. 10 at Texas Tech
Oct. 17 Texas A&M
Oct. 24 Colorado
Oct. 31 at Oklahoma
Nov. 7 Kansas
Nov. 14 Missouri
Nov. 21 at Nebraska

Thoughts: The Wildcats have 15 starters back and should be competitive in most Big 12 North games. And they get a break by opening the conference with a game against Iowa State that should have been a road game in Kansas City. They also have winnable home games against Texas A&M and Colorado and a shot to continue Snyder's traditional success against Kansas at home. Snyder should have enough talent to play most of their conference games closely. Who knows? Maybe his coaching acumen will enable him to pull out a couple of close wins.

My best February guess: 7-5, 4-4 in Big 12 play.