‘Just Hit Reset and Go Again’
Oct 15, 2024 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The theme for No. 17 Kansas State during this stretch of a grueling Big 12 Conference season might as well be Willie Nelson's classic hit song, "On the Road Again."
Three road games. Two different time zones.
Welcome to the new Big 12.
"Our routines are getting acclimated," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said at his weekly news conference Monday.
First, the Wildcats traveled to BYU for a 38-9 late-night loss on September 21. Then they hit Colorado for a 31-28 late-night thriller this past Saturday.
Now the Wildcats, 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12, brace themselves to hit the east coast when they visit West Virginia, 3-3 and 2-1, in Saturday's 6:30 p.m. kickoff from Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.
"The benefit of playing the late slots or evening slots is the amount of time we get from the end of practice Thursday up until game time, whether it's last-minute adjustments to some walk-through time to recovery time for our guys to get their bodies back," Klieman said. "The negative is we have to catch these guys up on their sleep at some point."
K-State arrived back at the Vanier Family Football Complex at 5:15 p.m. Sunday after the big win at Colorado.
"It takes a little getting used to," said K-State quarterback Avery Johnson. "Whenever you go to BYU or Colorado, it honestly seems like you're sleeping in a little longer, but you get home a little later. It'll kind of be opposite going to West Virginia and that different time zone. Ultimately, our coaches and support staff put together a good plan for us so our bodies are as fresh as can be and that we're woke up and ready to play."
There's no sleeping on the Wildcats.
K-State proved itself to be legit and made its strongest statement yet against the Buffaloes in a game that began at 9:25 p.m. CT and didn't end until after midnight. The Wildcats are tied for their best six-game start in the Klieman era and remain contenders for a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game.
West Virginia comes off a 28-16 home loss against Big 12 frontrunner Iowa State.
"It's a really tough atmosphere to go into," Klieman said. "We know that it's a really good atmosphere and some really good football up there, and they're going to give us everything. Every week is a different battle in the Big 12."
Saturday's battle will be a meeting between two relatively evenly matched teams. K-State is outscoring West Virginia 31.3 to 30.2 on average this season, and the Wildcats are giving up slightly fewer points at 21.0 to 26.0.
Through six games, K-State has built itself into a difficult team to beat.
"We've improved greatly, and it's our chemistry and trust in one another," Johnson said. "Everybody isn't trying to do too much, they're doing their role and aren't trying to put the weight of the world on their shoulders We are continuing to go out and trust your brother to your right and your left, and play our game, because whenever we play together as a team, we're a hard team to beat and one that other teams should be nervous to matchup against."
When it comes to K-State's season highlight reel, it might be difficult to top the dramatic late-game 50-yard touchdown strike from Johnson to wide receiver Jayce Brown that proved to be the game winner.
K-State, which enjoyed a hearty postgame locker room celebration, has returned to earth. And now it prepares to hit the road again for its next challenge.
"Doesn't matter if it's home or away, you cannot be seduced by success," Klieman said. "If you get seduced by success, you're going to get knocked off. Enjoy that win for 24 hours — it got knocked down to 12 hours this time — and now it's time to get back to work.
"I'm excited. It'll be the first time we've seen our guys here at 2:40 p.m. Just hit reset and go again."
Here are a few items that Klieman mentioned at his news conference:
Klieman gives an injury update
K-State brought 70 players on its trip to Colorado. Klieman estimates that they used 60 of those players. It seemed like one player after another was slow to get up late Saturday night in Boulder. A few were helped to the sideline.
The good news?
"Nobody is ruled out, which is good," Klieman said. "I don't think many will practice today, but nobody has been ruled out. We probably got better news on a couple guys but probably closer to Wednesday before we know. I anticipate everybody having a really good shot to play."
Klieman is impressed with Dylan Edwards at Colorado
It was no secret that Saturday's game was big for Dylan Edwards, the sophomore running back who transferred from Colorado to K-State after last season. Edwards, a native of Derby, Kansas, made the most of his opportunities against his former team. He had three catches for 27 yards, and he had seven carries for 21 yards, including a one-yard touchdown run to give K-State a 14-7 lead just before halftime.
Afterward, he celebrated with his teammates. And there was plenty to celebrate.
"I was really impressed," Klieman said. "He played with an edge and confidence, but it never crossed the line. He always was in total control, but he wasn't going to back down. That's what I so appreciated about his effort — he was going at it. I know he has a lot of good friends on that team. It was really cool for us to get him into the end zone. He was a spark for us, too. That was a huge spark for our team to see Dylan play with the confidence and swagger that he did. I think a lot of our guys saw a great side of Dylan that we know is there, and we're going to continue to give him opportunities."
Klieman pushes for DJ Giddens to get more respect
K-State junior running back DJ Giddens continues his climb up the national rushing rankings. The 6-foot-1, 212-pound junior running back had 25 carries for 182 yards at Colorado. He now has 108 carries for 786 yards and two touchdowns this season. He ranks fourth in the FBS in averaging 131.0 rushing yards per game and leads the Big 12 in averaging 7.28 yards per attempt. He also ranks fifth in the country with 152.5 scrimmage yards per contest.
Giddens continues to amaze K-State Nation. Does he also amaze his head coach?
"Yeah, and he practices every day the way you guys watch him play," Klieman said. "He's one of those guys where we try to get him a few breaks during the week, and he doesn't want them. He wants to stay out there. He wants every rep he can get. He runs with great patience as well as with physicality, and as everybody has seen he has the ability to make people miss in the hole as well as on the perimeter. He's playing at such a high level.
"I'm excited to see him maybe finally get some of the respect he deserves."
Klieman lauds the K-State Marching Band and traveling fans
A video on the K-State football X account shows that the team had quite the welcoming party when it arrived at Vanier Family Football Complex at 5:15 a.m. Sunday morning. Members of the K-State Marching Band serenaded the squad with songs as coaches and players exited the busses at the complex after flying in at Manhattan Regional Airport. It's a tradition bore by Dr. Frank Tracz many years ago that continues today.
Klieman took a moment to formally say thank you to the marching band, and he also thanked fans who traveled to attend the football game.
"That doesn't happen across the landscape of college football," Klieman said. "How excited the band was, and community members were here, too, at 5:15 a.m. to thank those guys. We had the opportunity for our players to understand this is something that's different, and this is what makes K-State special. We want to thank the band for what they did when we came back, and we had a ton of fans in Boulder. That was awesome to see. When Jayce (Brown) caught that touchdown pass late, they erupted. We had a great group there, and then to celebrate with the fan base afterward was a lot of fun. It's what makes K-State a special place."
The theme for No. 17 Kansas State during this stretch of a grueling Big 12 Conference season might as well be Willie Nelson's classic hit song, "On the Road Again."
Three road games. Two different time zones.
Welcome to the new Big 12.
"Our routines are getting acclimated," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said at his weekly news conference Monday.
First, the Wildcats traveled to BYU for a 38-9 late-night loss on September 21. Then they hit Colorado for a 31-28 late-night thriller this past Saturday.
Now the Wildcats, 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12, brace themselves to hit the east coast when they visit West Virginia, 3-3 and 2-1, in Saturday's 6:30 p.m. kickoff from Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.
"The benefit of playing the late slots or evening slots is the amount of time we get from the end of practice Thursday up until game time, whether it's last-minute adjustments to some walk-through time to recovery time for our guys to get their bodies back," Klieman said. "The negative is we have to catch these guys up on their sleep at some point."
K-State arrived back at the Vanier Family Football Complex at 5:15 p.m. Sunday after the big win at Colorado.
"It takes a little getting used to," said K-State quarterback Avery Johnson. "Whenever you go to BYU or Colorado, it honestly seems like you're sleeping in a little longer, but you get home a little later. It'll kind of be opposite going to West Virginia and that different time zone. Ultimately, our coaches and support staff put together a good plan for us so our bodies are as fresh as can be and that we're woke up and ready to play."
There's no sleeping on the Wildcats.
K-State proved itself to be legit and made its strongest statement yet against the Buffaloes in a game that began at 9:25 p.m. CT and didn't end until after midnight. The Wildcats are tied for their best six-game start in the Klieman era and remain contenders for a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game.
West Virginia comes off a 28-16 home loss against Big 12 frontrunner Iowa State.
"It's a really tough atmosphere to go into," Klieman said. "We know that it's a really good atmosphere and some really good football up there, and they're going to give us everything. Every week is a different battle in the Big 12."
Saturday's battle will be a meeting between two relatively evenly matched teams. K-State is outscoring West Virginia 31.3 to 30.2 on average this season, and the Wildcats are giving up slightly fewer points at 21.0 to 26.0.
Through six games, K-State has built itself into a difficult team to beat.
"We've improved greatly, and it's our chemistry and trust in one another," Johnson said. "Everybody isn't trying to do too much, they're doing their role and aren't trying to put the weight of the world on their shoulders We are continuing to go out and trust your brother to your right and your left, and play our game, because whenever we play together as a team, we're a hard team to beat and one that other teams should be nervous to matchup against."
When it comes to K-State's season highlight reel, it might be difficult to top the dramatic late-game 50-yard touchdown strike from Johnson to wide receiver Jayce Brown that proved to be the game winner.
K-State, which enjoyed a hearty postgame locker room celebration, has returned to earth. And now it prepares to hit the road again for its next challenge.
"Doesn't matter if it's home or away, you cannot be seduced by success," Klieman said. "If you get seduced by success, you're going to get knocked off. Enjoy that win for 24 hours — it got knocked down to 12 hours this time — and now it's time to get back to work.
"I'm excited. It'll be the first time we've seen our guys here at 2:40 p.m. Just hit reset and go again."
Here are a few items that Klieman mentioned at his news conference:
Klieman gives an injury update
K-State brought 70 players on its trip to Colorado. Klieman estimates that they used 60 of those players. It seemed like one player after another was slow to get up late Saturday night in Boulder. A few were helped to the sideline.
The good news?
"Nobody is ruled out, which is good," Klieman said. "I don't think many will practice today, but nobody has been ruled out. We probably got better news on a couple guys but probably closer to Wednesday before we know. I anticipate everybody having a really good shot to play."
Klieman is impressed with Dylan Edwards at Colorado
It was no secret that Saturday's game was big for Dylan Edwards, the sophomore running back who transferred from Colorado to K-State after last season. Edwards, a native of Derby, Kansas, made the most of his opportunities against his former team. He had three catches for 27 yards, and he had seven carries for 21 yards, including a one-yard touchdown run to give K-State a 14-7 lead just before halftime.
Afterward, he celebrated with his teammates. And there was plenty to celebrate.
"I was really impressed," Klieman said. "He played with an edge and confidence, but it never crossed the line. He always was in total control, but he wasn't going to back down. That's what I so appreciated about his effort — he was going at it. I know he has a lot of good friends on that team. It was really cool for us to get him into the end zone. He was a spark for us, too. That was a huge spark for our team to see Dylan play with the confidence and swagger that he did. I think a lot of our guys saw a great side of Dylan that we know is there, and we're going to continue to give him opportunities."
Klieman pushes for DJ Giddens to get more respect
K-State junior running back DJ Giddens continues his climb up the national rushing rankings. The 6-foot-1, 212-pound junior running back had 25 carries for 182 yards at Colorado. He now has 108 carries for 786 yards and two touchdowns this season. He ranks fourth in the FBS in averaging 131.0 rushing yards per game and leads the Big 12 in averaging 7.28 yards per attempt. He also ranks fifth in the country with 152.5 scrimmage yards per contest.
Giddens continues to amaze K-State Nation. Does he also amaze his head coach?
"Yeah, and he practices every day the way you guys watch him play," Klieman said. "He's one of those guys where we try to get him a few breaks during the week, and he doesn't want them. He wants to stay out there. He wants every rep he can get. He runs with great patience as well as with physicality, and as everybody has seen he has the ability to make people miss in the hole as well as on the perimeter. He's playing at such a high level.
"I'm excited to see him maybe finally get some of the respect he deserves."
Klieman lauds the K-State Marching Band and traveling fans
A video on the K-State football X account shows that the team had quite the welcoming party when it arrived at Vanier Family Football Complex at 5:15 a.m. Sunday morning. Members of the K-State Marching Band serenaded the squad with songs as coaches and players exited the busses at the complex after flying in at Manhattan Regional Airport. It's a tradition bore by Dr. Frank Tracz many years ago that continues today.
Klieman took a moment to formally say thank you to the marching band, and he also thanked fans who traveled to attend the football game.
"That doesn't happen across the landscape of college football," Klieman said. "How excited the band was, and community members were here, too, at 5:15 a.m. to thank those guys. We had the opportunity for our players to understand this is something that's different, and this is what makes K-State special. We want to thank the band for what they did when we came back, and we had a ton of fans in Boulder. That was awesome to see. When Jayce (Brown) caught that touchdown pass late, they erupted. We had a great group there, and then to celebrate with the fan base afterward was a lot of fun. It's what makes K-State a special place."
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