From The Couch – Wildcats Are Rate Bowl “Champions”

From The Couch – Wildcats Are Rate Bowl “Champions”

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Does anyone else find it odd that the winners of these bowl games are dubbed “champions?” I guess it is technically true since they won the game, but the word “champion” is usually reserved for a world or conference champion in a sport. Now the word is used to crown the winner of a meaningless bowl game as a “champion.” Am I the only one who finds this a bit odd? Anyway, let’s talk about the Rate Bowl victory against Rutgers.

K-State started slowly from the beginning of the Rate Bowl, especially defensively, falling behind 34-17 before battling back and securing the 44-41 victory. A strange feeling overcame me as I watched K-State play this game. I didn’t care whether the team won or lost. I don’t recall ever feeling that numb when watching a K-State game. K-State got behind 34-17 and I thought, “Who cares?” The Wildcats came back to take the lead and I thought, “Who cares?” The final whistle blew and I thought, “Who cares?” Don’t get me wrong, it is great that the Wildcats won the game, but it was a meaningless game against an average opponent that, in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t mean anything.

That said, there were plenty of positives for K-State. Quarterback Avery Johnson played pretty well, throwing for 195 yards with three touchdowns and an interception while adding 57 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He still has plenty to work on with his throwing accuracy, but he has time to improve. We have to remember he is just a true sophomore. The running backs looked fantastic. Dylan Edwards set a K-State bowl record with 196 yards rushing with two touchdowns on the ground and one through the air, and Joe Jackson ran for 50 yards, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. The K-State backfield for 2025 looks explosive. That is exciting.

Here are some of the top quotes and highlights from the game…

K-State’s offense was productive all night. They had 542 total yards, 347 of those on the ground. They scored a field goal on their first drive of the game, but Rutgers answered with a touchdown drive to take a 7-3 lead. K-State answered with a touchdown drive of their own, capped off by the two-yard touchdown run by Avery Johnson, to take a 10-7 lead. Rutgers scored 10 in a row to take a 17-10 lead before K-State tied it up on this touchdown pass from Avery Johnson to Dylan Edwards…

Rutgers went on another 10-0 scoring run before halftime to take a 27-17 lead going into the break. The K-State defense was porous the entire first half, giving up 319 yards to Rutgers in the first 30 minutes of the game. The Wildcats were without defensive back Jacob Parrish, but almost everyone else on the 2024 defense played in the game. This defense has plenty to work on going into the 2025 season. I hope they can find some help and depth in the transfer portal to get better.

After halftime, Rutgers scored again on their first drive to take a 34-17 lead. Then the teams exchanged punts before Dylan Edwards burst through the Rutgers defense on this 65-yard touchdown run……

Chris Klieman decided to go for a two-point conversion after this touchdown behind 11 points. Asked about this odd decision in the post-game press conference, Klieman joked and refused to give a real answer for his thinking.

The decision to go for two points here didn’t cost the Wildcats the game, but going for two here and missing, then going for two and missing again after the next touchdown, cost K-State two points and made them chase points. This was a nonsensical decision, and it’s my job to point out nonsensical decisions!

K-State missed the two-point conversion after this touchdown, too. Instead of being down a field goal had they kicked extra points, the Wildcats were down five. It didn’t cost them. This time.

Rutgers wasn’t done scoring, taking a 41-29 lead early in the fourth quarter. Luckily, the K-State offense was cookin’ at this point and the defense was playing much better.

A three-and-out after this touchdown gave the ball back to K-State, and it was Dylan Edwards time again…

Game over. K-State held Rutgers on downs to seal the victory. Lost in the shuffle of Dylan Edwards’ brilliant performance was the fact that Avery Johnson broke K-State’s all-time single-season passing touchdown record with 25. Johnson has had his ups and downs this season, but he is only going to get better and he is already breaking records. Did you know that K-State has only had two starting quarterbacks that have won two bowl games? One is Jonathan Beasley. The other is Avery Johnson.

JM: This was a neat tribute to Dana Dimel. Dimel was a somewhat controversial figure at K-State. He took a lot of heat from fans when his K-State offenses didn’t perform. He has received a lot of love from K-State fans since his death. I wish he would have heard more of the love when he was still alive. I suppose that is a lesson for all of us.

I started this column with a bunch of “who cares?” That’s how I feel about alternate uniforms. I like our primary uniforms. A lot of thought and effort went into creating them back when Bill Snyder came to K-State. The alternates are okay every once in a while, but I haven’t seen one yet that I like better than the primary one. The crowd on X constantly pushing for alternates is an annoying bunch. I know the players like them, but would you please show me one player who would have decided to come to K-State had they worn alternate uniforms more often? That is a fallacy.

With the win, K-State joined Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and Oregon as Power 4 teams to win nine games for the third straight season. That is quite an accomplishment, but in his post-game press conference, Chris Klieman chided those calling this season disappointing, talking about how hard it is to win. Well, based on preseason expectations, the season WAS disappointing. K-State was picked as one of the favorites to win the Big 12, and they finished in eighth place. I think that is why a lot of people would call the season a disappointing one. The Wildcats may be one of the favorites to win the league again in 2025, and Klieman should embrace those expectations instead of scolding K-State fans for having high expectations for the program. Winning nine games is great, but can we not settle for it? I’m getting sick of K-State’s coaches castigating fans for not attending games in enough numbers or for being critical of the players and programs. You make millions of dollars and your starting quarterback drives around campus in a purple Corvette. Get off the fans’ backs.

My “way too early” prediction for the 2025 Wildcats is that they will once again contend for the Big 12. If they can fill in some pieces on defense through the portal and find some quality depth, they have a good shot at winning it. I will have a better feel for what they can do once the roster is complete, but winning nine games should be the minimum expectation for 2025.

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