It’s Finally Here
Aug 30, 2024 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
On Monday, as the sun rose above Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and soon after the iron plates finished clinking inside the weight room at the Vanier Family Football Complex, sixth-year senior defensive end Brendan Mott, a Kansas State team captain, received a grand announcement from brother Chris, who punched three words into his cellphone: "IT'S FINALLY HERE!"
Mott envisioned the sight of 50,000 purple-clad fans, the deafening sounds echoing through his helmet.
Game week had arrived.
"On Saturday, the smoke is going, the fans are loud, and it's awesome," Mott said. "During camp, when they put the seatbacks up inside the stadium, you know you're getting close. I can't wait to run out of that tunnel."
On Saturday, a total of 247 days will have passed since the Wildcats defeated NC State, 28-19, in the Pop-Tarts Bowl — seemingly a small lifetime away, what with the winter conditioning, spring workouts, summer workouts, and training camp flowing along throughout the offseason, thus bringing K-State to Week 1 of the 2024 college football season, which suddenly arrived in a hurry.
But, alas, it is here, and here we go: When No. 18 K-State opens its season against UT Martin in Saturday's 6 p.m. kickoff at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, it will mark the opening salvo for a Chris Klieman-led squad that was picked second in the new-look Big 12 Conference and carries aspirations of reaching its first College Football Playoff in school history.
"The offseason gets quicker and quicker, and the season comes faster and faster," Klieman said. "We all like fall camp because it's football, football, football, and that's awesome, and then school starts, and you hit a lull."
And then Week 1 hits and the fireworks begin. At least that's the intent for the Wildcats, who are 30-4 in season openers since 1990 and will face FCS power UT Martin for the first time in history. K-State, 6-0 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley/Big South Association, opens the season against an Ohio Valley/Big South opponent for a second-straight year after defeating SEMO, 45-0, in 2023.
UT Martin has won three-straight conference championships under head coach Jason Simpson, who enters his 19th season with a 115-87 record.
"These guys want more," Simpson said. "We know we have won three-straight conference championships, but we have only been rewarded with one playoff appearance. We have a list of the things that we are chasing, but we have to focus on everything we have to do on a daily basis with relentless intent to ultimately accomplish our goals."
UT Martin features 27 seniors or graduate students and 25 redshirt juniors. That includes quarterback Kinkead Dent, who completed 192-of-353 passes for 2,295 yards and 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season.
"I have so much respect for (Simpson) and for FCS football," said Klieman, who won four FCS titles as North Dakota State's head coach before coming to K-State prior to the 2019 season. "This will be the best FCS opponent we will have played so far. This program is a championship program that has won it the last three years, and they have some guys that would be playing for us."
K-State has outscored its four FCS foes 159-37 under Klieman.
UT Martin appears to be no joke.
"What people forget sometimes is for FCS programs, that's an awesome opportunity to come into Bill Snyder Family Stadium and play in front of this crowd," K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said. "That's something you've been looking forward to since the schedule came out. Sometimes, I'd guess FBS programs don't feel the same way. I don't think our guys take that lightly. Doesn't matter who the opponent is — if it's Tennessee-Martin or Tennessee — our guys are going to come out the same way and play.
"Hopefully, we can just roll out there and see who executes better and who makes plays."
As for a top playmaker? Well, 6-foot-1, 192-pound sophomore Avery Johnson, who will be making his first start at quarterback in a game played in Manhattan, was picked to win the Heisman Trophy by the New York Post. Johnson leads a K-State offense that features running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards, and that boasts its deepest group of wide receivers in years.
Last season, K-State ranked No. 23 in the FBS by averaging 445.2 yards per game, which ranked second in school history.
"We're just excited to get back onto the field," Johnson said. "We worked hard all summer and spring and really since the season ended last year to get to this point. I think all the guys are just excited to get back into The Bill and be around the fans and look to secure our first win of the season."
UT Martin returns five starters, including three linebackers and a pair of safeties, from a unit that ranked sixth in the FCS in rushing defense (96.3 yards) and tackles for loss (7.5).
"They've lost a few guys up front from a year ago, and whether it be through graduation or the transfer portal, but the guys they have listed as their starters have had significant reps," K-State offensive coordinator Conor Riley said. "In fact, it was very interesting to us that one of the guys who had significant reps got beat out by a guy who didn't have as many reps last year. You're seeing a lot of depth. Having coached at that level, that's one of the things you often times don't see is a lot of depth. Within the new age of college football, that becomes more challenging for FCS schools. You look at the physicality of the guys up front, and then look at the experience and physicality of the guys on the second level, and you become very impressed. It grabs your attention right away. You're looking at linebackers who are grad transfers, and physical guys who can run.
"It's been most definitely a challenge in game planning. I know our guys are going to be ready for the challenge Saturday night, but we're not going to make any bones about it: It's going to be a real good challenge."
Defensively, the Wildcats return All-Big 12 linebacker Austin Moore and seven other returning starters — it returns five of its top six tacklers from a year ago — from a unit that features senior safety Marques Sigle and welcomes hard-hitting jack safety Jordan Riley.
Last season, K-State allowed 21.0 points per game after allowing 21.0 points in 2021 and 21.9 in 2022. It is the first time K-State has given up fewer than 22.0 points in three-consecutive seasons since between 1991 and 2003.
Aside from returning its starting quarterback, UT Martin brings back three starting wide receivers and the interior offensive line for a unit that ranked seventh in the FCS in averaging 439.8 total yards per game.
"The quarterback is a really good player," Klanderman said. "He can give you a little bit of trouble with his mobility. People have a hard time with him in the open field. He has a really good grasp with what they're doing offensively. Along with him is a veteran group of receivers and skill guys and interior linemen. Continuity brings a good football team up, and they have a ton of it on the offensive side."
K-State harbors continuity of its own. It is the only returning Big 12 team with at least eight wins in each of the last three seasons and one of 13 Power 4 programs to claim that feat.
Its continuity is felt across Bill Snyder Family Stadium as well, where the Wildcats are 82-9 against non-conference opponents since 1990.
If there is a moment to behold, it might arrive prior to kickoff, as Klieman and players marvel in the continuity of K-State fans.
The game, like many others, is a sellout.
"I take it all in, and I probably do a better job of that now than I did in year one, but I take it all in," Klieman said. "I have so much respect for Dr. (Frank) Tracz and what he does with The Pride, and I love our band and love hearing it as we come in, and the student section will be rolling in full force an hour before kickoff.
"Those things, I never take for granted and I always take them in better now than when I first got here. But just the pageantry of college football – to tell our new kids, 'We're going to pull up in buses 100 yards from the front of the stadium, and you're going to get to see what college football is all about.' A young guy might be like, 'What?' And an older guy will say, 'It's one of the coolest traditions that we started a few years ago with the walk.' We get out of the buses, and the fans are there, and young kids and families, it's awesome. That's what college football is about. That's what excites me. That's what I get excited about is the pageantry of college football."
For now, the countdown clock continues to tick.
After 247 days, K-State will play a football game.
It's finally here.
On Monday, as the sun rose above Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and soon after the iron plates finished clinking inside the weight room at the Vanier Family Football Complex, sixth-year senior defensive end Brendan Mott, a Kansas State team captain, received a grand announcement from brother Chris, who punched three words into his cellphone: "IT'S FINALLY HERE!"
Mott envisioned the sight of 50,000 purple-clad fans, the deafening sounds echoing through his helmet.
Game week had arrived.
"On Saturday, the smoke is going, the fans are loud, and it's awesome," Mott said. "During camp, when they put the seatbacks up inside the stadium, you know you're getting close. I can't wait to run out of that tunnel."
On Saturday, a total of 247 days will have passed since the Wildcats defeated NC State, 28-19, in the Pop-Tarts Bowl — seemingly a small lifetime away, what with the winter conditioning, spring workouts, summer workouts, and training camp flowing along throughout the offseason, thus bringing K-State to Week 1 of the 2024 college football season, which suddenly arrived in a hurry.
But, alas, it is here, and here we go: When No. 18 K-State opens its season against UT Martin in Saturday's 6 p.m. kickoff at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, it will mark the opening salvo for a Chris Klieman-led squad that was picked second in the new-look Big 12 Conference and carries aspirations of reaching its first College Football Playoff in school history.
"The offseason gets quicker and quicker, and the season comes faster and faster," Klieman said. "We all like fall camp because it's football, football, football, and that's awesome, and then school starts, and you hit a lull."
And then Week 1 hits and the fireworks begin. At least that's the intent for the Wildcats, who are 30-4 in season openers since 1990 and will face FCS power UT Martin for the first time in history. K-State, 6-0 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley/Big South Association, opens the season against an Ohio Valley/Big South opponent for a second-straight year after defeating SEMO, 45-0, in 2023.
UT Martin has won three-straight conference championships under head coach Jason Simpson, who enters his 19th season with a 115-87 record.
"These guys want more," Simpson said. "We know we have won three-straight conference championships, but we have only been rewarded with one playoff appearance. We have a list of the things that we are chasing, but we have to focus on everything we have to do on a daily basis with relentless intent to ultimately accomplish our goals."
UT Martin features 27 seniors or graduate students and 25 redshirt juniors. That includes quarterback Kinkead Dent, who completed 192-of-353 passes for 2,295 yards and 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season.
"I have so much respect for (Simpson) and for FCS football," said Klieman, who won four FCS titles as North Dakota State's head coach before coming to K-State prior to the 2019 season. "This will be the best FCS opponent we will have played so far. This program is a championship program that has won it the last three years, and they have some guys that would be playing for us."
K-State has outscored its four FCS foes 159-37 under Klieman.
UT Martin appears to be no joke.
"What people forget sometimes is for FCS programs, that's an awesome opportunity to come into Bill Snyder Family Stadium and play in front of this crowd," K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said. "That's something you've been looking forward to since the schedule came out. Sometimes, I'd guess FBS programs don't feel the same way. I don't think our guys take that lightly. Doesn't matter who the opponent is — if it's Tennessee-Martin or Tennessee — our guys are going to come out the same way and play.
"Hopefully, we can just roll out there and see who executes better and who makes plays."
As for a top playmaker? Well, 6-foot-1, 192-pound sophomore Avery Johnson, who will be making his first start at quarterback in a game played in Manhattan, was picked to win the Heisman Trophy by the New York Post. Johnson leads a K-State offense that features running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards, and that boasts its deepest group of wide receivers in years.
Last season, K-State ranked No. 23 in the FBS by averaging 445.2 yards per game, which ranked second in school history.
"We're just excited to get back onto the field," Johnson said. "We worked hard all summer and spring and really since the season ended last year to get to this point. I think all the guys are just excited to get back into The Bill and be around the fans and look to secure our first win of the season."
UT Martin returns five starters, including three linebackers and a pair of safeties, from a unit that ranked sixth in the FCS in rushing defense (96.3 yards) and tackles for loss (7.5).
"They've lost a few guys up front from a year ago, and whether it be through graduation or the transfer portal, but the guys they have listed as their starters have had significant reps," K-State offensive coordinator Conor Riley said. "In fact, it was very interesting to us that one of the guys who had significant reps got beat out by a guy who didn't have as many reps last year. You're seeing a lot of depth. Having coached at that level, that's one of the things you often times don't see is a lot of depth. Within the new age of college football, that becomes more challenging for FCS schools. You look at the physicality of the guys up front, and then look at the experience and physicality of the guys on the second level, and you become very impressed. It grabs your attention right away. You're looking at linebackers who are grad transfers, and physical guys who can run.
"It's been most definitely a challenge in game planning. I know our guys are going to be ready for the challenge Saturday night, but we're not going to make any bones about it: It's going to be a real good challenge."
Defensively, the Wildcats return All-Big 12 linebacker Austin Moore and seven other returning starters — it returns five of its top six tacklers from a year ago — from a unit that features senior safety Marques Sigle and welcomes hard-hitting jack safety Jordan Riley.
Last season, K-State allowed 21.0 points per game after allowing 21.0 points in 2021 and 21.9 in 2022. It is the first time K-State has given up fewer than 22.0 points in three-consecutive seasons since between 1991 and 2003.
Aside from returning its starting quarterback, UT Martin brings back three starting wide receivers and the interior offensive line for a unit that ranked seventh in the FCS in averaging 439.8 total yards per game.
"The quarterback is a really good player," Klanderman said. "He can give you a little bit of trouble with his mobility. People have a hard time with him in the open field. He has a really good grasp with what they're doing offensively. Along with him is a veteran group of receivers and skill guys and interior linemen. Continuity brings a good football team up, and they have a ton of it on the offensive side."
K-State harbors continuity of its own. It is the only returning Big 12 team with at least eight wins in each of the last three seasons and one of 13 Power 4 programs to claim that feat.
Its continuity is felt across Bill Snyder Family Stadium as well, where the Wildcats are 82-9 against non-conference opponents since 1990.
If there is a moment to behold, it might arrive prior to kickoff, as Klieman and players marvel in the continuity of K-State fans.
The game, like many others, is a sellout.
"I take it all in, and I probably do a better job of that now than I did in year one, but I take it all in," Klieman said. "I have so much respect for Dr. (Frank) Tracz and what he does with The Pride, and I love our band and love hearing it as we come in, and the student section will be rolling in full force an hour before kickoff.
"Those things, I never take for granted and I always take them in better now than when I first got here. But just the pageantry of college football – to tell our new kids, 'We're going to pull up in buses 100 yards from the front of the stadium, and you're going to get to see what college football is all about.' A young guy might be like, 'What?' And an older guy will say, 'It's one of the coolest traditions that we started a few years ago with the walk.' We get out of the buses, and the fans are there, and young kids and families, it's awesome. That's what college football is about. That's what excites me. That's what I get excited about is the pageantry of college football."
For now, the countdown clock continues to tick.
After 247 days, K-State will play a football game.
It's finally here.
Players Mentioned
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