Football
Kansas State lost 51-47 to #12 Utah on Saturday. The loss drops the Wildcats to 5-6 on the season, 4-4 in the Big 12. As Jon Morse said in his recap, the star of the game was RB Joe Jackson, who set a new single game rushing record with 293 yards on a day when the rushing attack simply could not be stopped.
This was a wild game, and for K-State, an extraordinary record-setting effort that ultimately fell short and left everyone associated with the program—players, coaches, fans—devastated and confused,
and none more so than head coach Chris Klieman. In an emotional press conference after the game, Klieman left no doubt that he cares deeply about the players and the program, but is clearly frustrated with the fans.
I’ve heard it enough. I’ve heard that I’ve cashed it in. I’ve heard the players have cashed it in and we need to get new leadership here. We need to get new players, new coaches. I’m tired of it. I have got to be honest with you, I’m tired of it. I have given my frigging ass life for this place for seven years. I have given everything for seven years. I think I deserve a little bit of respect.
I will be honest, I don’t know how to feel about this, so I’m going to use this space to editorialize a little and try to organize my own thoughts. Maybe it will help our community here do the same.
This game was a great example of effort and tenacity, and everyone associated with the program should be proud of themselves despite the result. But this is a conversation we should have been having in Week 4 of the season, not in Week 13. It has been a frustrating season, one in which the most we can say about these Wildcats is that maybe the team just plays to the level of its competition? I have been critical of Klieman’s staff before and I still maintain that some change might be a good thing.
It’s clear that Klieman is navigating some serious challenges off the field, and this is making it much harder for him to process things happening on the field. I feel for him, but I also worry that having a viscerally emotional and public response to what is—at bottom—a minor professional setback is not healthy for him as a person. I hope Klieman and his family can find the time and emotional resources to deal with this situation.
There have been a variety of fan reactions to Klieman’s presser. I will say only this. There is an extremely fine line between, on the one hand, impassioned defense of the players and the program after a great effort and on the other hand, whining about public sentiment and disrespect, possibly gaslighting some fans in the process. I don’t think the latter is what Klieman intended, but I cannot entirely fault the fans who feel he may have crossed the line.
The best reaction to criticism you can’t control is studied and polite indifference.
Basketball
Losing 86-85 to Nebraska in basketball was perhaps an omen that this was going to be a heartbreaking weekend for K-State fans. This was the Wildcats’ first loss of the season and also helped Nebraska (6-0) run its current win streak to 10.
Eric Rubottom’s recap notes that the Cats were slow out of the gate, but keyed by Abdi Bashir and PJ Haggerty, K-State came to tie the game and then kept pace with the Huskers until the end, when with the game tied up at 85, a hit and a miss at the free throw line from Sam Hoiberg (yes, son of Fred) gave Nebraska the win.
After the game, both head coaches noted that it was a special game, a closely contested one between well-matched teams. Jerome Tang was appropriately proud of his team, and as Haggerty noted, the team just has to “go back to the drawing board and bounce back.”
The Wildcats will get that chance against Indiana in at the famed Assembly Hall in Bloomington on Tuesday night. This is K-State first trip to Indiana since 1985 and another game against an undefeated Big Ten team might be just what Kansas State needs.
Tbe women’s basketball team (4-3) suffered a similar fate in a tough 47-44 loss to the Horizon League’s Green Bay (5-1). Thanks to some truly horrible shooting in the first half (just 8-of-30 from the field), the Wildcats quickly found themselves in a hole, but fought back valiantly in the second half, starting with a three-pointer from Taryn Sides, the first successful bucket from beyond the arc for the Cats. The team pulled within one point with less than two minutes to go on a layup from Tess Heal but a desperate three-point heave at the buzzer fell short.
Up next, the Wildcats are headed to Mexico for the Cancun Challenge. This is K-State’s first trip to the event since 2018 and the team’s campaign will begin with a game against Columbia on Thanksgiving at 12:30 PM.
Volleyball
The VolleyCats were the lone bright spot of the last several days for K-State sports. The Wildcats rolled Houston in straight sets 25-19, 25-20, 25-20. As has become the norm over this season, Ava LeGrand (37 assists, 11 digs) and Shaylee Myers (16 kills, 13 digs) both had double-doubles in the match, with LeGrand notching her third straight, 14 in total this season. As a team, the VolleyCats held Houston to just .131 in hitting percentage.
Kansas State will play its final home match of the season on Wednesday against UCF at Morgan Family Arena.
