SE: K-State Excited for One Final Go Around

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Kansas State has one more chance to be together. That's what K-State head coach Chris Klieman reiterated in his news conference Tuesday as the Wildcats continue preparations to face LSU in the TaxAct Texas Bowl on January 4 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

COVID rocked last season and the Wildcats experienced an up and down campaign that ended without a bowl game.

K-State, 7-5, gets a shot at finishing 2021 in a vastly different way if it can get past the Tigers, 6-6, for the first bowl victory of the Klieman era. K-State suffered a 20-17 loss to No. 20 Navy in the 2019 Liberty Bowl.

"This gives us another chance to be together as a football team," Klieman said. "This is a close-knit group of guys that cares a lot about each other and enjoys each other's company. For us being the late game on January 4, even though we'll have a little time off, it's really given us almost a full extra month with these guys.

"A few of these guys were a part of the bowl game when they played UCLA a few years back but probably didn't play very much. We didn't have success against Navy and a lot of guys were here for that, but Navy was a good football team, and we had a chance to win and didn't do it. Going through last year, as tough as it was going through it from a COVID standpoint, one of the things that's so unique about college football is the bowl season, playoff system and postseason in general. There are probably a lot of guys bummed last season that we didn't get to play in a bowl game."

Count Consensus All-American Deuce Vaughn among those players excited for the chance to play in a bowl game. This will be the first bowl appearance for Vaughn, a sophomore, who is one of the most exciting players in college football.

"We're ready to go," he said. "It's another opportunity to get out there and play together on a big-time stage. I think we're the only game on as far as bowl games, so everybody's going to be watching in Houston and in a great venue at NRG Stadium as we play a very good ball club. We're really excited."

Klieman said that K-State completed a morning practice on Tuesday and that the Wildcats will have two more practices before players will return home. Klieman said that a majority of the game plan is set. The team returns on December 30 to fly to Houston. The Wildcats will then have five days for final preparations before the bowl game, which kicks off at 8 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN.

The Texas Bowl is a top-five most attended bowl game and the most attended non-New Year's Six game since 2016, trailing only the Rose, Peach, Fiesta and Orange Bowls.

"I know a number of those seniors want that last opportunity to play together," Klieman said. "What a great opponent and a great bowl. I've heard nothing but phenomenal things about the Texas Bowl and how they treat the student-athletes and the experience for the guys. Our guys are chomping at the bit because they want to play together one more time. That's a really good sign of seniors and leaders who've stuck together a very long time."

K-State posted a 3-0 nonconference record followed by the 0-3 start in the Big 12, which was then followed by a remarkable four-game winning streak. At one point, the Wildcats owned the longest active winning streak in the Big 12. Then arrived disappointing losses to eventual Big 12 Champion Baylor (20-17) and at Texas (22-17).

"The way that we lost our last game, it's been a while since we've played football," Vaughn said. "We had some time off after the Texas game. I'm fired up to go out there and play another football game with our guys. We're really, really ready to go because it's another opportunity to come out and showcase what K-State is about."

Klieman provides the latest on senior quarterback Skylar Thompson

K-State sixth-year senior quarterback Skylar Thompson is "trending in the right direction" for a possible appearance in the Texas Bowl, Klieman said on Tuesday.

Thompson, the only player in K-State history to pass for 6,000 yards and rush for 1,000 and who is the only K-State quarterback since at least 1990 to win 23 career games, was knocked out of the game against Baylor with less than 5 minutes remaining during a 20-17 loss to Baylor on Senior Night in Manhattan. Thompson appeared to grab his lower leg following a shovel pass to Phillip Brooks in the middle of the field. He was helped to the injury tent and then carted into the locker room.

It marked the second injury Thompson suffered during the 2021 regular season. He missed two games with a knee injury earlier in the season. In the first quarter against Southern Illinois on September 11, Thompson suffered a non-contact injury to his right knee and did not play against Nevada or Oklahoma State.

Thompson has spent the past month recovering from his latest injury against Baylor.

"He's trending in the right direction," Klieman said. "He's practiced. We hope he doesn't have any setbacks, and if he doesn't, in all likelihood, he'll play, and we're excited about hat. We still are a couple weeks away. Right now, he's trending in the right direction."

If Thompson is unable to go, sophomore Will Howard will likely take the reins of the offense. Howard, a sophomore, has completed 30 of 55 passes for 332 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception, and has 5 carries for 32 yards and 4 touchdowns this season.

"We still don't know Skylar's true fate as far as we think and hope he'll be able to play, but if not, Will will play this game," Klieman said. "That's the thought we had going into Texas. There was a chance he was going to play in one or two football games. If you're healthy and get a chance to play, competitors want to play. Will is a tremendous competitor. We have to live in the present right now and that's what we're doing with Will."

Thompson currently ranks in the top 10 in school history in 15 career categories. His 68.78 pass completion percentage in 2021 ranks first at K-State, and his 155.3 passing efficiency rating ranks fourth. His 7,952 offensive yards ranks second all-time for a career.

"It's big time for him to possibly get a chance to finish it off down in Houston playing against LSU," Vaughn said. "It's really big. Man, I'm excited for him to possibly have that opportunity. If he's ready to go, I'll be right there, and we'll be rallying around him because that's our quarterback and our guy. I'm excited to possibly have him back.

"Sending Skylar T out with a big-time win would be huge for his legacy and everything that he's done for K-State nation and for us as a family here at K-State. In the locker room in this building, he's been a rock for us and to send him out like that would be big time."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Phillip Brooks

Will Howard

Skylar Thompson

Deuce Vaughn

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