Motivation from Within

By: D. Scott Fritchen

While Kansas State suffered its second straight loss, Cincinnati dropped a third consecutive contest last Saturday. The teams meet as Big 12 Conference foes for the first time armed with ample motivation in Manhattan.

That motivation: Just win.

"This team, we need to forget about the past," K-State defensive end Travis Bates said.

K-State fell from the College Football Playoff rankings this week after recent losses at Houston (24-19) and against Arizona State (24-14) — a game that the Wildcats trailed 21-0 at halftime.

Now K-State, 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the Big 12, is looking to regroup and rebound in Saturday's 7 p.m. kickoff at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. K-State head coach Chris Klieman and the program will recognize the 2024 senior class prior to its final appearance in Manhattan.

"Coach Klieman and all our coaches have been saying whatever the outside noise, focus on the guys in the locker room, play for your teammates and the guys you're with," K-State safety Jack Fabris said. "The biggest motivation is playing for your teammates and don't let the seniors down.

"Our motivation are the players on this team."

Cincinnati, 5-5 and 3-4, has fallen off since starting at 5-2. The Bearcats have seen losses pile up — at Colorado (34-23), against West Virginia (31-24) and at Iowa State (34-17).

Now they will try to knock off the Wildcats, whose 15 home wins since 2022 leads the Big 12.

Second-year Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield earlier in the week said his players were "fired up and hungry." The Bearcats will reach bowl eligibility for a sixth time in the last seven years if they beat either K-State or TCU in their last regular season game.

"Obviously, we're disappointed because we feel like we already could've won 6, 7 or 8 games," Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby said. "We've had a chance to win every single game. We're obviously disappointed, but we know what this team can be, and we know we can finish strong. We're only guaranteed two more opportunities with this team, so we're playing for that third opportunity. If we go out there and play like we can, we'll be fine."

K-State failed to play up to its standards in each of its past two contests with things reaching a low when they suddenly trailed Arizona State by three touchdowns at home. Although the Wildcats managed a comeback, ineffectiveness on offense, defense and in special teams took turns contributing to an uncharacteristic performance.

But the Wildcats fought.

"We had a long staff meeting (Sunday) and talked about a lot of things," Klieman said at his weekly Monday news conference. "It's interesting because if you look at offense, defense and special teams, I don't think anybody could point a finger, because I don't think any unit played up to its capability.

"We have some guys hurting because they want to win and be successful. Our job is this week to get them right and right the ship because we have another opportunity at home here."

For a K-State offense that had generally been consistent prior to the past two games, it comes down to discipline and execution, K-State offensive coordinator Conor Riley said.

"I want to see execution," Riley said. "I want to see discipline and execution. That's the biggest thing right now that we're lacking. Whether it's hanging on the ball, ball security, whether it's running the right route, whether it's using proper technique up front, those are all things that are 100% in our control.

"I want to see guys flying around, cutting it loose, playing free, and executing at a high level, because those are the things right now — and I'm responsible, I'm responsible — that are burning us right now, and they're getting exposed."

Sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson is set to make his 12^th career start and has thrown for 2,150 yards and 17 touchdowns to go along with 412 rushing yards and five scores. But Johnson has also thrown nine interceptions, including four in the last two contests.

"He took a really good step forward from a leadership standpoint in the last couple weeks," Klieman said. "He's been a lot more vocal and taking a lot of ownership in the offense. He knows he can play better. We all know there's more in Avery, and he knows there's more in him. That's the thing I love about that kid is he doesn't think he's arrived. There's so much more football in him, and he's going to continue to get better and play better."

Johnson also might see more action in the running game. After rushing for 321 yards on 44 carries in the season's first five games, Johnson has managed just 104 yards on 35 rushing attempts over the past five contests.

"I want him to cut it loose a little bit more in running the football," Klieman said. "Maybe not in the first quarter on the first drive, but in the red zone and in the fourth quarter, because he's a real threat with his legs."

Johnson seemed excited about such a prospect.

"At this point, whatever I can do to help the team win," he said. "I've obviously shown I can be a dangerous runner and haven't been able to showcase that these past few weks, but I'm definitely excited about that, being able to go out there and just show what I'm able to do with my legs."

On the other side, Sorsby has taken the reins of Cincinnati's offense since the redshirt sophomore was named the starting quarterback in fall camp. He has thrown for 2,453 yards with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions, and his 65.5% completion rate currently ranks third best in single-season history.

Sorsby's 426 passing yards against Texas Tech are the most by a Big 12 quarterback against an FBS opponent this fall. He rushed for 143 yards on 14 carries in last weekend's loss at Iowa State, the second-most by a Big 12 quarterback this season.

"He's unique in the fact that he can throw the football with such a quick release and he's accurate and can run," Satterfield said. "He's a special player. He's still young and learning. He's continuing to grow as a player, and we still haven't seen his best ball."

Xzavier Henderson is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior who leads Cincinnati with 52 catches for 632 yards and four touchdowns. Joe Royer leads Big 12 tight ends with 42 receptions, needing four more catches to break Travis Kelce's school record of 45 catches in 2012.

Saturday's contest will feature two of the top six running backs in the Big 12. K-State junior running back DJ Giddens has rushed for 1,128 yards and five touchdowns on 176 carries, ranking 12^th in the FBS with 112.8 rushing yards per game. Cincinnati's Corey Kiner ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 90.5 rushing yards per game and needs 97 yards to reach 1,000 rushing yards this season. His 67 missed tackles forced rank second in the Power 4.

"They run the ball really well and have a quarterback that can run, and they'll run him and complement that with a good naked play-action pass game with some talented receivers outside," K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said. "They do a really good job schematically. They're sound in what they do and have a tight end that can stretch you and catch the ball and a RPO game to complement that as well. They keep you off balance."

Klanderman said that the defense "has competitors."

"We talk a lot about how we never let our circumstances dictate how we show up," Klanderman said. "It's frustrating circumstances right now so we're really being tested in that ethos right now."

Saturday's game will test the moxie of the Wildcats.

"You never want to lose, especially in front of your home crowd, and the fans that come out and show out for us week in and week out," Johnson said. "Ultimately, you have to come back and fight for all our supporters and the people in this building. We have a lot of competitors on this team that just want to win."

Satterfield believes that his team is ready for the challenge.

"(On Monday) they were fired up and hungry to get back out on the field for another opportunity," Satterfield said. "That's what you want. As I told them, if we're 10-0, 5-5 or 0-10, none of that matters. It's about how you come to work today and how much enthusiasm you're going to have. If (Monday) was any indication, they'll be ready to go."

Klieman hopes that K-State is ready to go as well.

"We have to prepare really well and have great game plans so on Saturday when the chips get down, we're just playing football, playing free, and not worried about what could happen," Klieman said. "Without a doubt I want to make sure our seniors leave the Bill for the last time with a win."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Travis Bates

Jack Fabris

DJ Giddens

Avery Johnson

Related Videos