From The Couch – K-State Loses To Iowa State In Final Regular Season Game

From The Couch – K-State Loses To Iowa State In Final Regular Season Game

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Chris Klieman couldn’t get out of his post-game press conference fast enough after K-State’s 29-21 loss to Iowa State on Saturday night. I watched the presser after the game. Klieman was irritated at the media and fans for being critical of him, his coaching staff, and his players. His message to the players post-game was to “play the bowl game.” My take from what he said is that he expects many of his players to leave via the transfer portal and wants to field a competitive team for that game. After he answered the last question, he abruptly stood up and stormed out.

This is not good. After a 7-1 start to the season, K-State lost three of its s final four games, sometimes in head-scratching fashion. Let’s get into the good, the bad, and the ugly….

The Wildcats fumbled the ball away to Iowa State on the first play of the game last night on a mishandled option pitch from Avery Johnson to Dylan Edwards. It was a sign of things to come. Iowa State took advantage of the short field to score a touchdown and take a 7-0 lead. K-State answered on this 28-yard touchdown pass from Avery Johnson to Jayce Brown to tie the game at 7.

Jayce Brown played in the game even though it was leaked earlier in the week that he intends to enter the transfer portal…

Brown responded to the transfer speculation by posting this message on Friday…

Notice that he did not say “This report is false. I’m not transferring.” I think Brown or someone close to him leaked that he is planning to transfer. Why he did it when he did is anyone’s guess, but there is speculation that Brown has been a problem in the locker room all season. In what is likely his last game in a Wildcat uniform, he created a couple of highlights that he can put on his transfer portal tape…

Brown had three catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns in the game.

It sounds like Avery Johnson wants Brown to stay. I think it’s ridiculous that Brown let this information leak right before the final game of the regular season, and if he has been a problem in the locker room, I say good riddance.

K-State kept fighting back in this game, cutting the Cyclone lead to three after the touchdown pass from Avery Johnson to Garrett Oakley. It was Johnson’s third touchdown pass of the game. Oakley did the Trump dance in celebration.

K-State had their chances to win the game, but offensive play-calling was suspect much of the night (again), and Avery Johnson made his share of mistakes, the worst of which was this safety on a 3rd and seven down three points.

Down 26-21 after the safety, K-State kicked off to Iowa State. The Cyclones drove down the field on a tired K-State defense to kick a field goal and take an eight-point lead, which would be the final margin of victory. K-State had two more chances with the ball and failed miserably both times.

With 6:11 left, starting on their own 27-yard line, here is how the offensive series went:

First down: Avery Johnson threw a short pass to Keagan Johnson that fell incomplete.
Second down: Avery Johnson completed a five-yard pass to Joe Jackson.
Third down: Joe Jackson ran for three yards. This was the worst play-call of the night, in my opinion. Why run the ball into the middle of the line on third and five? Mind-boggling.
Fourth down: Avery Johnson threw incomplete to Garrett Oakley. Oakley was open across the middle, but the pass was behind him. I think he should have caught it, but it was a much more difficult pass to catch than it should have been.

Iowa State got the ball back and ran some time off the clock, but missed a 37-yard field goal attempt. K-State still had some life with 1:11 left in the game. Here is how the next offensive series went:

First down: Avery Johnson three incomplete to Jayce Brown. K-State had a penalty for an ineligible player downfield.
First and 15: Avery Johnson threw incomplete to Dylan Edwards.
Second down: Avery Johnson threw incomplete to Jadon Jackson.
Third down: Avery Johnson threw incomplete to Garrett Oakley.

Avery Johnson was hurt and had to leave the game after the third down play because he was hit after throwing the pass. On first and third downs, Johnson had plenty of field in front of him to run the ball for a first down, but didn’t do it.

Fourth down: Ta’Quan Roberson threw incomplete to Dante Cephas. Game over.

Offensive player of the game: Jayce Brown.

Defensive player of the game: VJ Payne. 12 tackles, one tackle for loss. He was all over the field last night.

“This is a hard business right now. It’s a really hard business, and we won eight games for the fourth year in a row.”…K-State head coach Chris Klieman, post-game

JM: Is Klieman trying to put lipstick on a pig? Yes. Nobody is calling for his job, but this athletic department begs for money from fans. They increase parking and ticket prices. Wildcat NIL begs donors for more money. The travel agency selling packages for Ireland calls and emails all the time. It’s not easy to be a coach, but it’s not easy to be a fan, either. I suppose it’s good to be in a position where fans are angry after finishing the season with an 8-4 record, but the way the end of this season went down leaves a lot to be desired. The team and coaches regressed the second half of the season. I don’t know if the cause is Chris Klieman’s health or locker room turmoil, but the product on the field got worse about halfway through this season. It is not like this team was 4-8 last season and had a great turnaround that fans should be excited about. This team was picked to contend for the Big 12 championship before the season and flat-out blew it down the stretch. That is disappointing.

I looked it up to confirm. Yes, Chris Klieman is 2-4 in his final games of the regular season. That’s an odd trend for a coach who has won more games than he has lost. The only years he has won the last regular season game were in 2019, his first season as head coach, and 2022, the Big 12 championship year.

I have a question for you as a K-State fan. Are you happy with this 8-4 season, or are you disappointed that K-State underperformed and blew it down the stretch by losing three of its last four games? Opinions seem to vary.

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