From The Couch – K-State Football Is A Mess
K-State football is a mess, and don’t let Chris Klieman, Gene Taylor, Stan Weber, or anyone else tell you otherwise. Fans heard every excuse in the book after the team lost to Iowa State in Dublin, sneaked by FCS North Dakota last week, and then gave up a 13-point lead while losing to Army last night, 24-21, in Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
This K-State team was picked as one of the favorites to win the Big 12 Conference in 2025. The 1-2 start to the season has shattered those hopes and has me wondering if this team will even get to bowl eligibility.
I walked to our car with my family last night in stunned silence after Avery Johnson threw an interception that sealed the game for Army. Got in the car and turned on the post-game show and Stan and Wyatt were interviewing Chris Klieman. You might think Klieman sounded frustrated or upset that K-State lost. Nope. Instead, he sounded almost giddy about how his team played. You’d think K-State had just won the game by 30 points. I understand trying to stay positive, but please give me a coach that is upset and pissed off after losing a game that they were favored by 17 points.
I watched Klieman’s post-game press conference this morning. He was very defensive in his answers to questions from the media. Granted, this was a strange game. K-State only had two possessions and held the ball for three minutes in the second half. Army held the ball for 27 minutes. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a stat like that one. My son was a little late getting back to our seats after halftime and at one point he turned and asked me, “Has K-State had the ball this half?” I said, “Yes, one time. A three and out.”
The K-State defense couldn’t get Army off the field. After Army took a 14-13 lead in the 3rd quarter, K-State returner Bryce Noernberg took the kickoff return to the house, giving the Wildcats some life.
After a successful two-point conversion, K-State had a 21-14 lead. This ended up not working out for K-State, because a tired defense had to go back onto the field. Army went 13 plays for 57 yards and kicked a 35-yard field goal to cut the lead to 21-17. Then a fluky onside kick gave Army the ball right back…
Army went 56 yards in 14 plays and scored what would be the game-winning touchdown to take a 24-21 lead. K-State had one last chance, but Army intercepted Avery Johnson to seal the game…
It wasn’t all bad for Avery Johnson. He finished the game 15/25 for 172 yards and this touchdown pass to Jaron Tibbs in the first half to put K-State ahead 10-0….
“And guys, when you’re running the ball for three yards and two yards and then four yards,
and you’re getting cut at your knees every play, which is legal, and you’re trying to tackle that fullback and that quarterback [Cale Hellums] all day long, it gets to wear on you.”…K-State head coach Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: I believe we all understand this when you play against Army or Navy. Notre Dame was able to get Army’s offense off the field when they beat them 49-14 last season. Navy was able to get them off the field when they beat Army 31-13 last season, and FCS team Tarelton State was able to get them off the field enough to beat them 30-27 last Saturday. K-State’s defense couldn’t get the Army offense off the field. Period.
“And there’s not a doubt in my mind that kick return hurt us. I mean, they took 15 plays and score. And then awesome, we get a kick return for a touchdown. We got no chance to make any adjustments. That’s the way they play. And we got to go back out there. So then we have another 15 plays and do a great job of, I think, holding them to a field goal.”…Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: You know Army is gonna run the ball right at you. The fact of the matter is K-State does not have the personnel on defense to force them to punt. They also don’t have the pride and fire in their bellies to stop them. Case in point. In the third quarter, Army was driving down the field into the south end zone, which is where we were sitting in the 6th row. On 4th and three, Army quarterback Cale Hellums ran for what appeared to be a touchdown. The play was reviewed and was overturned, but Army still had a first and goal at the one yard line. The fans were loud, trying to get behind the players. I saw no fire and no emotion in the players. The defense nonchalantly lined up and allowed Hellums to easily sneak it in for the touchdown. They looked, and acted, defeated.
“Guys, I’m dang proud of that football team that we have in there.”…Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: This is probably not the best thing to say after a loss like this one.
“And I know that we have a good football team.”…Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: No, you do not.
“‘I’ve learned from this. We can go two ways. You can even learn from it, change it to directly over the next few games, or you just let the past two losses result in more losses.”…Senior offensive lineman Sam Hecht, post-game
JM: The next game at Arizona on Friday night will be very difficult. They’d better figure some things out.
“We got down 13 to nothing. I looked up there, it was 10 to nothing and I thought to myself, I’ve been in this situation before. My last game at Georgia Southern, we got down 10 to nothing to Florida. You know, we found a way. The guys didn’t flinch that day. I just sensed in our team today they weren’t going to flinch. They were here for a fight. So, when we got down 10 to nothing, 13 to nothing, and took over there at the end of the first half with an opportunity to get some points, I mean, that’s the drive of the game.”…Army head coach Jeff Monken, post-game
JM: Army was here for a fight. Was K-State?
K-State’s game this Friday is a must-win to salvage the season. Will the players and coaches respond positively? I hope they will, but my confidence is waning.
