Another Opportunity Awaits
Nov 08, 2023 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss at No. 7 Texas last Saturday, Kansas State is on the mend as it takes on Baylor on Saturday.
K-State is trying to wash away its 33-30 loss to the Longhorns. The Wildcats mounted a 20-point comeback to tie Texas at 27-27 and went into overtime tied at 30-30 before the Longhorns made a 42-yard field goal to take the lead.
The Wildcats went for the win on their first possession of overtime but were unable to convert on fourth down at the 4-yard line.
"Tough, tough loss," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said in his weekly news conference. "We had a pretty good meeting yesterday with our leadership council, and (we discussed) how proud we were of the effort and how the guys fought and battled and played. Texas is really good, and we all know that.
"I don't know if there's a lot of teams that could go in there and be down 17-0 and then flip the game. Then we go down 27-7 and things weren't going really great. All the sudden it's 27-14, and, lo and behold, we're in a game and have a chance to win."
Klieman continued.
"Our guys are hurting. We had a chance, an opportunity to win the game, and didn't get it done."
Quarterback Will Howard discussed the importance of flushing the loss.
"We were hurting, I'm not going to lie," Howard said. "We lost to a really good team in a game that we should've won, and the way that we lost was brutal because you're so close and come back after being down by so much — it's tough. We've flushed that now, and we're on to the next one because who knows what could happen.
"We just have to control what we can control and take care of business this week with Baylor. We can't let Texas beat us twice."
The loss dropped K-State to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12 Conference behind Texas and Oklahoma State in the league standings. Seven Big 12 teams have two or fewer losses in league play.
"We've got to move forward," Klieman said. "We always talk about how you respond. Well, this is a little bit different. We had a top-5 team, in my opinion, on the ropes. They made some plays down the stretch and found a way to win. Hats off to them.
"Now we've got to be able to move on. We have so much story to write this season and so many more things to accomplish and awesome opportunities. The first one starts this Saturday as one of the last two (home games) for our seniors from The Bill.
"I'm confident our guys will come back and respond."
K-State gets a struggling Baylor team that has lost three of its last four, including Saturday's heartbreaking 25-24 overtime home setback to Houston. It marked their sixth loss in seven games in Waco, Texas.
"It's a sad and frustrated and really kind of broken locker room," Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said after the loss to the Cougars.
For all of their plight, the Bears, 3-6 and 2-4, are undefeated on the road this season with a 36-35 win at UCF and a 32-29 win at Cincinnati.
"I think we all know how difficult the Big 12 is, at least us as coaches," Klieman said. "We're going to get Baylor's best. They haven't lost on the road and have two Big 12 wins. I have so much respect for Dave Aranda. They're two years removed from a Big 12 Championship."
K-State is 5-0 at home this season and has outscored its opponents 213-47 in Manhattan, putting up 45, 42, 44, 41 and 41 points in those contests.
"We are fortunate to have two home games left and get an opportunity to come back and compete after a tough loss," center Hayden Gillum said. "We're excited to be back here. We're still in a great position. We have a great team, and there's a lot left ahead of us."
Baylor has won eight of the last 11 games in the series. The Wildcats won last season's meeting, 31-3, but have lost the last two against the Bears in games played in Manhattan.
That could change on Saturday.
"We can't let a team beat us twice, regardless how much of a heartbreaking loss it was," jack safety Kobe Savage said. "We came back with an attack mentality to attack this week and attack our preparation and film.
"We're a tough bunch of guys out there. I want us to be remembered as guys who are going to attack every rep and always come back with a fight."
K-State's losses include a 30-27 loss at Missouri, a 29-21 loss at Oklahoma State prior to its three-point loss in Austin, Texas. The Wildcats are a total of 14 points from an undefeated record.
Klieman emphatically stated that "we all have to move on" from the Texas game.
"We had an opportunity to do something and honestly probably shock the world being down 27-7 and having a chance to win that game," Klieman said. "Yep, we're all hurting for it, but, man, you've got to move on. We all have to move on — coaches, players, everybody.
"The great thing is we have another opportunity on Saturday."
Coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss at No. 7 Texas last Saturday, Kansas State is on the mend as it takes on Baylor on Saturday.
K-State is trying to wash away its 33-30 loss to the Longhorns. The Wildcats mounted a 20-point comeback to tie Texas at 27-27 and went into overtime tied at 30-30 before the Longhorns made a 42-yard field goal to take the lead.
The Wildcats went for the win on their first possession of overtime but were unable to convert on fourth down at the 4-yard line.
"Tough, tough loss," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said in his weekly news conference. "We had a pretty good meeting yesterday with our leadership council, and (we discussed) how proud we were of the effort and how the guys fought and battled and played. Texas is really good, and we all know that.
"I don't know if there's a lot of teams that could go in there and be down 17-0 and then flip the game. Then we go down 27-7 and things weren't going really great. All the sudden it's 27-14, and, lo and behold, we're in a game and have a chance to win."
Klieman continued.
"Our guys are hurting. We had a chance, an opportunity to win the game, and didn't get it done."
Quarterback Will Howard discussed the importance of flushing the loss.
"We were hurting, I'm not going to lie," Howard said. "We lost to a really good team in a game that we should've won, and the way that we lost was brutal because you're so close and come back after being down by so much — it's tough. We've flushed that now, and we're on to the next one because who knows what could happen.
"We just have to control what we can control and take care of business this week with Baylor. We can't let Texas beat us twice."
The loss dropped K-State to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12 Conference behind Texas and Oklahoma State in the league standings. Seven Big 12 teams have two or fewer losses in league play.
"We've got to move forward," Klieman said. "We always talk about how you respond. Well, this is a little bit different. We had a top-5 team, in my opinion, on the ropes. They made some plays down the stretch and found a way to win. Hats off to them.
"Now we've got to be able to move on. We have so much story to write this season and so many more things to accomplish and awesome opportunities. The first one starts this Saturday as one of the last two (home games) for our seniors from The Bill.
"I'm confident our guys will come back and respond."
K-State gets a struggling Baylor team that has lost three of its last four, including Saturday's heartbreaking 25-24 overtime home setback to Houston. It marked their sixth loss in seven games in Waco, Texas.
"It's a sad and frustrated and really kind of broken locker room," Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said after the loss to the Cougars.
For all of their plight, the Bears, 3-6 and 2-4, are undefeated on the road this season with a 36-35 win at UCF and a 32-29 win at Cincinnati.
"I think we all know how difficult the Big 12 is, at least us as coaches," Klieman said. "We're going to get Baylor's best. They haven't lost on the road and have two Big 12 wins. I have so much respect for Dave Aranda. They're two years removed from a Big 12 Championship."
K-State is 5-0 at home this season and has outscored its opponents 213-47 in Manhattan, putting up 45, 42, 44, 41 and 41 points in those contests.
"We are fortunate to have two home games left and get an opportunity to come back and compete after a tough loss," center Hayden Gillum said. "We're excited to be back here. We're still in a great position. We have a great team, and there's a lot left ahead of us."
Baylor has won eight of the last 11 games in the series. The Wildcats won last season's meeting, 31-3, but have lost the last two against the Bears in games played in Manhattan.
That could change on Saturday.
"We can't let a team beat us twice, regardless how much of a heartbreaking loss it was," jack safety Kobe Savage said. "We came back with an attack mentality to attack this week and attack our preparation and film.
"We're a tough bunch of guys out there. I want us to be remembered as guys who are going to attack every rep and always come back with a fight."
K-State's losses include a 30-27 loss at Missouri, a 29-21 loss at Oklahoma State prior to its three-point loss in Austin, Texas. The Wildcats are a total of 14 points from an undefeated record.
Klieman emphatically stated that "we all have to move on" from the Texas game.
"We had an opportunity to do something and honestly probably shock the world being down 27-7 and having a chance to win that game," Klieman said. "Yep, we're all hurting for it, but, man, you've got to move on. We all have to move on — coaches, players, everybody.
"The great thing is we have another opportunity on Saturday."
Players Mentioned
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