From The Couch – They Ain’t Dead Yet
“The Liberty Bowl is in play!”…One of my friends at halftime of the K-State/UCF game on Saturday.
Said in jest, but that’s where we’re at with the 2025 version of K-State football. The Cats beat UCF 34-20 in front of a capacity crowd (more on that later) in Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday.
The old cliche “a win is a win” comes to mind when describing this game. It was ugly at times, exciting at times, nerve-racking at times, and perplexing at times. K-State got the run game going with Dylan Edwards, Avery Johnson, and freshman backup quarterback Blake Barnett all contributing. Barnett provided a spark early, running five times for 24 yards. It was surprising to see the redshirt freshman backup quarterback in the game early on. There were a couple of offensive sets that had Barnett and Johnson on the field at the same time. Then all of a sudden, we saw the dual-threat Avery Johnson return. He finished the game with 75 yards rushing on 12 carries. Where has this version of Avery Johnson been as the team started the season 1-3? I not only find it perplexing, but also annoying, that we haven’t seen this in the first four games of the season.
Here are the game highlights from both teams…
JM: Regarding the first highlight (lowlight) shown in the video….
JM: The Cats had a great first drive until this inexplicable play call, where Linkon Cure threw an interception. The receiver was initially double-covered, and then triple-covered by the time the ball got there. He should have thrown the ball away, but was trying to make a play. I don’t understand calling a trick play like this on your first drive of the game, in which your offense is moving the ball down the field.
The true freshman tight end redeemed himself later in the game with a 10-yard catch, his first catch as a Wildcat.
“Stalling out after that first drive isn’t something we wanted to do., but stayed true to it, and never panicked and kept our energy up, and we were rewarded with success.”…K-State quarterback Avery Johnson, post-game
“Avery is a really special athlete and sometimes we have to say roll and go. Just like Dylan. When those two are running, we can be a much better team.”…K-State head coach Chris Klieman, post-game.
JM: Not “sometimes,” coach. How about all the time? That is, if you are interested in winning football games. I’ll be honest, sometimes I sit there watching and wonder if they are more interested in winning games or getting Johnson to the NFL unscathed. I may be the only person saying this publicly, but a lot of people say it to me privately.
“Thanks to the fans. You’re a 1-3 football team not playing very good football and it’s easy to say, ‘I can watch this one at home.’ I appreciate them believing in the kids and believing in us, because we feel we have a good football team. Is it going to be rough at times because there are really good teams in the Big 12? There are dang good teams in our league. But I appreciate the fans coming and supporting these guys because these kids want to win. They’re as upset when we don’t play well as the fans are, and I appreciate those fans coming out.”…Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: This is the first time this season that I recall Chris Klieman giving props to the fans. I was a bit surprised to see so many people in the stadium. Nice job, K-State fans.
“When everybody plays together as one, we’re really hard to stop.”…Avery Johnson, post-game
JM: I would amend this to say “when you run for 266 yards as a team, you are really hard to stop.”
“We’re a different team when Dylan Edwards plays. Sometimes we maybe get too hard on the offensive line when Dylan is not in there, because Dylan makes some things right when it’s not right. He was obviously the spark we needed.”…Chris Klieman, post-game
JM: Edwards ran for 166 yards and a touchdown. He is electric when he gets past the defensive line and linebackers. When he doesn’t, his size is a hindrance. One run in particular, he ran into the defensive line and the UCF defensive lineman picked him up and threw him down like a rag doll for no gain. It’s hard to be critical when running for 166 yards, but I’d like to see a bigger back step up for K-State that is able to “ground and pound” in short-yardage situations.
“Winning is hard in college football.”…Avery Johnson, post-game
JM: Johnson was echoing what his head coach told the media after the game. I heard Chris Klieman end his post-game interview with Wyatt Thompson by saying, “it is hard to win football games.” This is something that a lot of coaches with losing records say. I find it cringeworthy. Is it just me?
I would be remiss not to mention the K-State defense. They forced three turnovers (one fumble and two interceptions), which contributed greatly to the win. They gave up 205 rushing yards, but were mostly good against the pass. I was mostly pleased with how they played.
K-State sits at 1-1 in the Big 12. The opportunity to win the league still exists, but it won’t be easy to run the table. Up next Saturday is a game at Baylor at 11:00 AM. Baylor is a 5 1/2 point favorite. My advice to the K-State offense to win the game is simple. Run, baby, run.
