K-State Headed to AutoZone Liberty Bowl to Face Navy
Dec 08, 2019 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Coming off an 8-4 regular season under first-year head coach Chris Klieman, K-State Nation is heading to Memphis as Kansas State officials announced Sunday that the Wildcats have accepted an invitation to play Navy in the 61st Annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Tuesday, December 31.
It will be Kansas State's second appearance in the Liberty Bowl, the first being after the 2015 season. K-State and Navy will square off for the first time in school history inside Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium with kickoff slated for 2:45 p.m., shown to a nationwide television audience on ESPN.
"We are excited to accept an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl," said Klieman. "I am really proud of our team, especially our seniors, and our staff for continuing to work hard day after day and collectively getting better throughout the season. The story of the 2019 Wildcats still has one game left, and we look forward to spending the holidays in Memphis and preparing for a great Navy team in what will be an exciting Liberty Bowl."
The Wildcats (8-4) will be playing in their 22nd bowl game in school history and are back in postseason play after a one-year hiatus. The Wildcats have won two-straight bowls and three of their last five. They will be in search of winning three-straight bowl games for the first time in school history.
"I want to congratulate Coach Klieman and our football team and staff on a great regular season and getting our program back to a bowl game," said Athletics Director Gene Taylor. "We look forward to showcasing our football program and Kansas State University in the Liberty Bowl, and I know our fans are excited to show their outstanding support in Memphis while our football student-athletes, coaches and staff are provided a great experience."
K-State, which was predicted to finish ninth in the Big 12, ended the year in a tie for third place in the league standings, the biggest jump from a preseason poll since 2014 (TCU). The Wildcats also claimed the only victory among the four College Football Playoff teams this year when they upended No. 4 Oklahoma.
Kansas State raced out to a 3-0 start, highlighted by a 31-24 victory at Mississippi State, the Wildcats' first win inside an SEC venue in 12 tries. Following a pair of losses to open up Big 12 play, K-State came back with three more wins – a 24-17 triumph over TCU, a 48-41 upset of then-No. 5 and now College Football Playoff participant Oklahoma, and a convincing 38-10 win at Kansas.
The victory over the Sooners was the Wildcats' first over a top-five team in 13 seasons and the first over OU in Manhattan since 1996. K-State's win in Lawrence was its 11th-straight Sunflower Showdown victory to tie the Wildcats' own record for the longest winning streak in by either team in the series.
A pair of losses to Texas and West Virginia by a combined seven points – including one on a field goal on the final play of the game in Austin – preceded a pair of wins to close out the regular season as K-State won at Texas Tech, 30-27, before a 27-17 triumph over Iowa State on Senior Night, the Wildcats' seventh-straight home win over the Cyclones.
Navy, K-State's Liberty Bowl opponent, holds a 9-2 record prior to the annual Army-Navy Game this Saturday in Philadelphia. The Midshipmen, who were ranked No. 24 in the final College Football Playoff Top 25, finished with a 7-1 mark in the American Athletic Conference to tie for first in the West Division. It will be the first meeting between K-State and Navy, the sixth for the Wildcats against a service academy and the first since hosting Army in 1987. Kansas State is 3-2 all-time against service academies, going 3-0 against Air Force and 0-2 against Army.
Tickets in the official K-State sections are available now online at www.kstatesports.com/bowlgame and via phone at 1-800-221-Cats until 6 p.m. Sunday and beginning again at 8:30 a.m. Monday. All Ahearn Fund members and fans who pre-ordered tickets have been contacted earlier this week with information regarding their ticket requests. Student tickets will also be made available later this week in-person at the Bramlage Coliseum ticket office.
Bench seating is still available at $85 per ticket, and parking passes are available for just $20 each. Fans are also invited to purchase tickets to the bowl's pre-game buffet and party next to the stadium for just $40.
The K-State Alumni Association will also provide official travel packages to the bowl game. Visit the Alumni Association's official bowl travel page – www.k-statesportstours.com – for travel package information.
LIBERTY BOWL TELECONFERENCE QUOTES
CHRIS KLIEMAN, HEAD COACH
On accepting an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl…
"We're thrilled to be playing in such a prestigious game. I told the guys about it after our practice today, and they were thrilled to get an opportunity to go to Memphis and play a storied tradition school like the Naval Academy. I have so much respect for Ken (Niumatalolo) and the job he's done there. We're thrilled to take our fans and take our football team and try to put up a great showing against a great team. I'm looking forward to the time that we have there in Memphis."
On the pillars to this team's turnaround...
"Ken (Niumatalolo) hit it on the head. It's the senior leadership. Those kids were really disappointed walking off the field last year in the last game of the season and finishing 5-7 and not having an opportunity to play in the postseason. It was a goal we set out for early in the season and had some tough times and the players had great resolve. They battled through those tough times. They believed in each other. They counted on each other. I was excited because I think we became a better football team as the season went on."
On challenge of facing Navy and the team's preparation schedule…
"I probably echo Ken when I told our defensive coordinator (Scottie Hazelton) we were playing Navy. He said, 'Oh crap.' It's a challenging offense to face. We're on the road this week recruiting, so we'll let the guys work out with the strength and conditioning staff. We'll practice next weekend, have some visitors from the recruiting world, and then our guys go into finals week. So, we're kind of just beginning to put together our schedule once we get to this coming weekend. It's still a work in progress for us."
On Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry...
"We just have to have great discipline in defending the option and have to tackle exceptionally well. We'll start diving into video and film in another few days once it settles down on the recruiting trail, but obviously he's a tremendous football player. I've seen Navy play maybe one time this year, I can't remember who it was against, but I remember watching, and he was an electric player."
On being the only team with a win over a College Football Playoff team…
"It's a neat stat. We played exceptionally well that day, and it's something I know that day here in October our guys are going to remember for an awful long time, but it's also the standard we want to play to. I know a lot of recruits saw that game but, more importantly, our own players to continue to learn and grow from that experience that, if you play well, you have an opportunity to be successful. We did that day, and there are some days where we don't play well and it doesn't go our way. It was a great experience."
GENE TAYLOR, ATHLETICS DIRECTOR
On accepting an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl…
"We are very excited to accept on behalf of Kansas State, President (Richard) Myers and our football program. We want to compliment Coach (Ken) Niumatalolo and Navy on a tremendous turnaround after last year. I know they have one more very important game coming up this weekend, so I wish them luck there. It's an honor to play an academy. Obviously, spending 15 years there, I know how hard those young men work beyond the sport of football. So, we are really looking forward to it. We're excited about it. I couldn't be more pleased with Coach Klieman and his effort this year coming into this situation as a new coach with a lot of new faces. He's led this team through some great victories, a couple of tough losses, then to come back quality for an outstanding bowl. (We're) very excited. I know our young men that didn't get to a bowl game last year are very excited about being in the Liberty Bowl this year."
On ticket presales to the Liberty Bowl…
"Presales have been pretty good. We'll know a lot more now that our bowl has been announced. I know that the AutoZone Liberty Bowl was one of our higher presales when we put it out. It was one of the top ones. I'm guessing now that our fans know and can start planning. The date is a great date for our fanbase – they can get down there, they spend Christmas with their families and then get down to Memphis. Obviously, there's a chance to celebrate New Year's Eve in Memphis. So, I think our sales will pick up. I think our fans been kind of waiting to see where we're going to be. So, I'll know a lot more this week."
On if he would be in favor of the Big 12 having guidelines when it comes to the bowl selections…
"I don't know. This is, obviously, my second time through with the bowl selection. I'm not real sure. I certainly talk with some of our colleagues about that. Obviously, we're very excited about being in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. You have so many teams with similar records, I think there were three teams that were 5-4 in the conference and we all kind of beat each other. So, I don't know how much different you could do. Obviously you want to bowls to get the matchups that maybe they haven't had in a while, and when you put (down) some really tough parameters, sometimes it limits that. So, I don't know. We can talk about it, but I'm certainly not making it a major priority. With six bowl tie-ins, and then when you have two teams go up (to the New Year's Six), all that plays into it as well."
On if he was surprised that K-State was still available when it was the Liberty Bowl's turn to pick…
"It all kind of depends on the matchups, really. We talked to a lot of bowls. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl folks have been with us a lot, so I knew they were highly interested in us as a team. They were interested in us a couple years ago when we ended up going to the (Cactus) Bowl. So, I'm not surprised that we were there. Everybody is just kind of looking at matchups. It just happened to be that's where we were available. It could have gone a couple other places, but we're excited about Memphis. There's no question about it. They've good to us all season and been following us for a while. They game to our first (road) game down at Mississippi State. So, we're excited about being a part of it."
It will be Kansas State's second appearance in the Liberty Bowl, the first being after the 2015 season. K-State and Navy will square off for the first time in school history inside Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium with kickoff slated for 2:45 p.m., shown to a nationwide television audience on ESPN.
"We are excited to accept an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl," said Klieman. "I am really proud of our team, especially our seniors, and our staff for continuing to work hard day after day and collectively getting better throughout the season. The story of the 2019 Wildcats still has one game left, and we look forward to spending the holidays in Memphis and preparing for a great Navy team in what will be an exciting Liberty Bowl."
The Wildcats (8-4) will be playing in their 22nd bowl game in school history and are back in postseason play after a one-year hiatus. The Wildcats have won two-straight bowls and three of their last five. They will be in search of winning three-straight bowl games for the first time in school history.
"I want to congratulate Coach Klieman and our football team and staff on a great regular season and getting our program back to a bowl game," said Athletics Director Gene Taylor. "We look forward to showcasing our football program and Kansas State University in the Liberty Bowl, and I know our fans are excited to show their outstanding support in Memphis while our football student-athletes, coaches and staff are provided a great experience."
K-State, which was predicted to finish ninth in the Big 12, ended the year in a tie for third place in the league standings, the biggest jump from a preseason poll since 2014 (TCU). The Wildcats also claimed the only victory among the four College Football Playoff teams this year when they upended No. 4 Oklahoma.
Kansas State raced out to a 3-0 start, highlighted by a 31-24 victory at Mississippi State, the Wildcats' first win inside an SEC venue in 12 tries. Following a pair of losses to open up Big 12 play, K-State came back with three more wins – a 24-17 triumph over TCU, a 48-41 upset of then-No. 5 and now College Football Playoff participant Oklahoma, and a convincing 38-10 win at Kansas.
The victory over the Sooners was the Wildcats' first over a top-five team in 13 seasons and the first over OU in Manhattan since 1996. K-State's win in Lawrence was its 11th-straight Sunflower Showdown victory to tie the Wildcats' own record for the longest winning streak in by either team in the series.
A pair of losses to Texas and West Virginia by a combined seven points – including one on a field goal on the final play of the game in Austin – preceded a pair of wins to close out the regular season as K-State won at Texas Tech, 30-27, before a 27-17 triumph over Iowa State on Senior Night, the Wildcats' seventh-straight home win over the Cyclones.
Navy, K-State's Liberty Bowl opponent, holds a 9-2 record prior to the annual Army-Navy Game this Saturday in Philadelphia. The Midshipmen, who were ranked No. 24 in the final College Football Playoff Top 25, finished with a 7-1 mark in the American Athletic Conference to tie for first in the West Division. It will be the first meeting between K-State and Navy, the sixth for the Wildcats against a service academy and the first since hosting Army in 1987. Kansas State is 3-2 all-time against service academies, going 3-0 against Air Force and 0-2 against Army.
Tickets in the official K-State sections are available now online at www.kstatesports.com/bowlgame and via phone at 1-800-221-Cats until 6 p.m. Sunday and beginning again at 8:30 a.m. Monday. All Ahearn Fund members and fans who pre-ordered tickets have been contacted earlier this week with information regarding their ticket requests. Student tickets will also be made available later this week in-person at the Bramlage Coliseum ticket office.
Bench seating is still available at $85 per ticket, and parking passes are available for just $20 each. Fans are also invited to purchase tickets to the bowl's pre-game buffet and party next to the stadium for just $40.
The K-State Alumni Association will also provide official travel packages to the bowl game. Visit the Alumni Association's official bowl travel page – www.k-statesportstours.com – for travel package information.
LIBERTY BOWL TELECONFERENCE QUOTES
CHRIS KLIEMAN, HEAD COACH
On accepting an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl…
"We're thrilled to be playing in such a prestigious game. I told the guys about it after our practice today, and they were thrilled to get an opportunity to go to Memphis and play a storied tradition school like the Naval Academy. I have so much respect for Ken (Niumatalolo) and the job he's done there. We're thrilled to take our fans and take our football team and try to put up a great showing against a great team. I'm looking forward to the time that we have there in Memphis."
On the pillars to this team's turnaround...
"Ken (Niumatalolo) hit it on the head. It's the senior leadership. Those kids were really disappointed walking off the field last year in the last game of the season and finishing 5-7 and not having an opportunity to play in the postseason. It was a goal we set out for early in the season and had some tough times and the players had great resolve. They battled through those tough times. They believed in each other. They counted on each other. I was excited because I think we became a better football team as the season went on."
On challenge of facing Navy and the team's preparation schedule…
"I probably echo Ken when I told our defensive coordinator (Scottie Hazelton) we were playing Navy. He said, 'Oh crap.' It's a challenging offense to face. We're on the road this week recruiting, so we'll let the guys work out with the strength and conditioning staff. We'll practice next weekend, have some visitors from the recruiting world, and then our guys go into finals week. So, we're kind of just beginning to put together our schedule once we get to this coming weekend. It's still a work in progress for us."
On Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry...
"We just have to have great discipline in defending the option and have to tackle exceptionally well. We'll start diving into video and film in another few days once it settles down on the recruiting trail, but obviously he's a tremendous football player. I've seen Navy play maybe one time this year, I can't remember who it was against, but I remember watching, and he was an electric player."
On being the only team with a win over a College Football Playoff team…
"It's a neat stat. We played exceptionally well that day, and it's something I know that day here in October our guys are going to remember for an awful long time, but it's also the standard we want to play to. I know a lot of recruits saw that game but, more importantly, our own players to continue to learn and grow from that experience that, if you play well, you have an opportunity to be successful. We did that day, and there are some days where we don't play well and it doesn't go our way. It was a great experience."
GENE TAYLOR, ATHLETICS DIRECTOR
On accepting an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl…
"We are very excited to accept on behalf of Kansas State, President (Richard) Myers and our football program. We want to compliment Coach (Ken) Niumatalolo and Navy on a tremendous turnaround after last year. I know they have one more very important game coming up this weekend, so I wish them luck there. It's an honor to play an academy. Obviously, spending 15 years there, I know how hard those young men work beyond the sport of football. So, we are really looking forward to it. We're excited about it. I couldn't be more pleased with Coach Klieman and his effort this year coming into this situation as a new coach with a lot of new faces. He's led this team through some great victories, a couple of tough losses, then to come back quality for an outstanding bowl. (We're) very excited. I know our young men that didn't get to a bowl game last year are very excited about being in the Liberty Bowl this year."
On ticket presales to the Liberty Bowl…
"Presales have been pretty good. We'll know a lot more now that our bowl has been announced. I know that the AutoZone Liberty Bowl was one of our higher presales when we put it out. It was one of the top ones. I'm guessing now that our fans know and can start planning. The date is a great date for our fanbase – they can get down there, they spend Christmas with their families and then get down to Memphis. Obviously, there's a chance to celebrate New Year's Eve in Memphis. So, I think our sales will pick up. I think our fans been kind of waiting to see where we're going to be. So, I'll know a lot more this week."
On if he would be in favor of the Big 12 having guidelines when it comes to the bowl selections…
"I don't know. This is, obviously, my second time through with the bowl selection. I'm not real sure. I certainly talk with some of our colleagues about that. Obviously, we're very excited about being in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. You have so many teams with similar records, I think there were three teams that were 5-4 in the conference and we all kind of beat each other. So, I don't know how much different you could do. Obviously you want to bowls to get the matchups that maybe they haven't had in a while, and when you put (down) some really tough parameters, sometimes it limits that. So, I don't know. We can talk about it, but I'm certainly not making it a major priority. With six bowl tie-ins, and then when you have two teams go up (to the New Year's Six), all that plays into it as well."
On if he was surprised that K-State was still available when it was the Liberty Bowl's turn to pick…
"It all kind of depends on the matchups, really. We talked to a lot of bowls. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl folks have been with us a lot, so I knew they were highly interested in us as a team. They were interested in us a couple years ago when we ended up going to the (Cactus) Bowl. So, I'm not surprised that we were there. Everybody is just kind of looking at matchups. It just happened to be that's where we were available. It could have gone a couple other places, but we're excited about Memphis. There's no question about it. They've good to us all season and been following us for a while. They game to our first (road) game down at Mississippi State. So, we're excited about being a part of it."
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