If recruiting rankings went to battle on the football field Saturday in New Orleans, the Sugar Bowl between Alabama and Kansas State would be declared a no contest.

Junior quarterback Will Howard was the 888th-rated player in the 2020 class by 247 Sports and his leading receiver, Malik Knowles, was No. 1,632 in the 2018 class — and No. 235 among wide receivers. Howard’s other two top receivers are Kade Warner, the son of former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner and the ranked 565th-ranked receiver in his recruiting class, and Phillip Brooks, who had no ranking at all.

Lining up across from K-State’s receivers on the Superdome turf will be Alabama’s pair of five-star cornerbacks, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Eli Ricks, who were both ranked in the top 20 players nationally of their classes. Covering the slot will be Brian Branch, widely projected as a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

Alabama owns the recruiting landscape and plays like it, Howard contends.

“To me, it kind of reminds me a little bit of LSU from last year,” he said Thursday, referencing the Wildcats’ win in the Texas Bowl. “Just kind of how they kind of are up front, and how athletic they are. It’s the SEC, kind of, body types up front. Kind of how they kind of operate, too. They do a lot of man coverage stuff.

‘They kind of want to say, ‘We’re better than you,’ and ‘We’re gonna man you up and see if you can win.’ I kind of like that, because it’s a challenge. It’s, like, man on man, mano a mano. Who’s better?”

Howard then answered his own question.

“We’ll see,” he said. “I think we’re up to the challenge. I believe in our receivers, and our O-line, and it’s going to be a lot on 1-on-1s. We always say that, every week. Who is going to win their 1-on-1s? Who’s gonna come out on top? I’m looking forward to it.”

K-State tight end Ben Sinnott — another unranked recruit — has become a problem for defenses, too, Howard believes. Sinnott has four touchdown catches and 217 receiving yards in his team’s past four games.

“It feels like they’ve been trying to match him and do some more things to try to negate him a little bit,” Howard said. “When he’s 1-on-1, he’s hard to defend. He’s a beast, man. I love — if he’s in a 1-on-1 situation, I’m going to bet on him every time, just like all of our other receivers.”

Howard has started four games for K-State this season, replacing Adrian Martinez after a midseason leg injury. Wildcats offensive coordinator Collin Klein said Thursday that Howard will start the Sugar Bowl, but they would “love to get” Martinez on the field.

On the opposite side, Alabama enters the Sugar Bowl with a mostly-healthy defense besides a question mark at inside linebacker next to Henry To’o To’o, with Jaylen Moody (arm) not practicing this week and Deontae Lawson limited. Freshman Jihaad Campbell practiced at that spot Wednesday when reporters were present.

There were no opt-out from Will Anderson or any other Alabama player, which ups the ante, Howard believes.

“It’s going to be fun to be able to have both teams at full strength and not have to make any excuses for either side,” he said.

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.