Kansas State University Athletics
Sending the Seniors Out with a Win is ‘The No. 1 Thing’
Nov 25, 2025 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Sixty minutes. That's all that separate Kansas State from reaching a fifth-straight bowl game. All that stands in the way of the Wildcats on Senior Day will be an angry Colorado team that will conclude its challenging 2025 season Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
K-State, 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the Big 12 Conference, comes off a heartbreaking 51-47 loss at No. 12 Utah. Colorado, 3-8 and 1-7, suffered its fourth-straight defeat in a 42-17 loss at Arizona State this past Saturday and is winless on the road. K-State and Colorado
will be meeting for the 68th time in Saturday's 11:00 a.m. kickoff, which will be televised by FS1.
K-State head coach Chris Klieman in his weekly news conference on Monday indicated there's ample motivation in Saturday's game for the Wildcats, who with a win would post their fourth-straight season with a winning Big 12 record — the longest such streak since 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 — and would earn the opportunity to win a third-straight bowl game — something that has never happened in the history of K-State football.
As for the No. 1 motivation for Saturday?
"The seniors," Klieman said. "That's the No. 1 thing. We could be 3-8, and I'm glad we're not. But we've got to try and win for these seniors. I've been a part of it and have seen it where you don't win your Senior Day game, and that's a tough locker room. Been a part of it where you win that game, whether it's the last game of the season or not, and that lasting effect for those kids to be on the field and come into the locker room where they've spent so much time with some euphoria of winning the game is something special.
"Secondly, making sure we get an opportunity to spend more time with this football team and with the opportunity to be in postseason, and we're starting to play a lot of young guys. Watching those kids and saying, 'Man, if we can get another 10 practices with those guys, what an opportunity it'll be to kickstart those guys for the next year.'"
Practice — and exactly who's able to practice week to week and day to day — has been a prevalent theme for a K-State squad that has been hamstrung by injuries to the point where safeties might play at running back during a Tuesday or Wednesday session just to have enough healthy bodies on the field.
Practice also helped elevate sophomore running back Joe Jackson to a starting role throughout a majority of the season.
All Jackson did was rush for a school-record 293 yards on 24 carries with touchdowns of 66, 80 and 24 yards against Utah, surpassing the previous record of 292 rushing yards by College Football Hall of Famer Darren Sproles against Louisiana in 2004.
Jackson on Monday was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, and the K-State offensive line was named Big 12 Offensive Line of the Week by the league's office.
"I just found out Joe Jackson was the offensive player of the week in the Big 12, which is very deserving," Klieman said. "Our offensive line was also the offensive line of the week in the Big 12. Very deserving."
K-State rushed for a school-record 472 yards and five touchdowns against Utah while averaging 11.2 yards per rushing attempt.
"It was next level," Klieman said. "It was something that hadn't been done to that group at Utah for a long, long time."
Klieman said, "We've got to be able to pick up and move forward."
K-State observes fall break this week, which could benefit the Wildcats.
"We'll see the guys today," Klieman said. "I think it's good week for us, no school, have our guys around us and around the facility a lot. We won't be able to bang a whole lot with guys because of injuries and the fact it was as physical of a game as it was, so we've got to do a great job of making sure we have our guys as fresh as we can and get really good game plans to go out for these seniors."
Last season's game at Colorado was a battle. In the end, Avery Johnson laid a long pass over the left shoulder of Jayce Brown for the game-winning 50-yard touchdown with 2 minutes, 14 seconds left before the Wildcats' defense made a final stop to preserve the 31-28 victory in Boulder, Colorado.
That victory was one of six by K-State that were decided by a single possession last season. The Wildcats won four of them.
This season, K-State has played seven one-possession games but has only come out on the winning side twice. The Wildcats' seven one-possession games are tied for the most among Power 4 teams.
"Guys, we've lost them in ways that I've never seen in college football before – I really haven't – and I've been doing this for 30-some years," Klieman said.
The loss at Utah — the Utes scored with 56 seconds remaining — was one of the Wildcats' most heartbreaking defeats in three decades.
"You don't get a chance in the grind to think about (close losses)," Klieman said. "It's something that at the end of the season, whenever that is, from this week to bowl game, I'll probably really dive deep into it, the whys of things. No, that's a raw part of this game, the hard part of this game, is it's hard to figure things out like that on the run. We can figure things out of saying, 'We have to change our routine and get to a fast Friday and don't practice on Thursday.' You're looking to do things in that respect to kickstart something, but in the manner of how you lose a game, it's something we'll probably dive into a little bit more at the end of the year."
For now, all eyes look to Saturday.
Sixty minutes separates the Wildcats from the postseason.
Sixty minutes. That's all that separate Kansas State from reaching a fifth-straight bowl game. All that stands in the way of the Wildcats on Senior Day will be an angry Colorado team that will conclude its challenging 2025 season Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
K-State, 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the Big 12 Conference, comes off a heartbreaking 51-47 loss at No. 12 Utah. Colorado, 3-8 and 1-7, suffered its fourth-straight defeat in a 42-17 loss at Arizona State this past Saturday and is winless on the road. K-State and Colorado
will be meeting for the 68th time in Saturday's 11:00 a.m. kickoff, which will be televised by FS1.
K-State head coach Chris Klieman in his weekly news conference on Monday indicated there's ample motivation in Saturday's game for the Wildcats, who with a win would post their fourth-straight season with a winning Big 12 record — the longest such streak since 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 — and would earn the opportunity to win a third-straight bowl game — something that has never happened in the history of K-State football.
As for the No. 1 motivation for Saturday?
"The seniors," Klieman said. "That's the No. 1 thing. We could be 3-8, and I'm glad we're not. But we've got to try and win for these seniors. I've been a part of it and have seen it where you don't win your Senior Day game, and that's a tough locker room. Been a part of it where you win that game, whether it's the last game of the season or not, and that lasting effect for those kids to be on the field and come into the locker room where they've spent so much time with some euphoria of winning the game is something special.
"Secondly, making sure we get an opportunity to spend more time with this football team and with the opportunity to be in postseason, and we're starting to play a lot of young guys. Watching those kids and saying, 'Man, if we can get another 10 practices with those guys, what an opportunity it'll be to kickstart those guys for the next year.'"
Practice — and exactly who's able to practice week to week and day to day — has been a prevalent theme for a K-State squad that has been hamstrung by injuries to the point where safeties might play at running back during a Tuesday or Wednesday session just to have enough healthy bodies on the field.
Practice also helped elevate sophomore running back Joe Jackson to a starting role throughout a majority of the season.
All Jackson did was rush for a school-record 293 yards on 24 carries with touchdowns of 66, 80 and 24 yards against Utah, surpassing the previous record of 292 rushing yards by College Football Hall of Famer Darren Sproles against Louisiana in 2004.
Jackson on Monday was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, and the K-State offensive line was named Big 12 Offensive Line of the Week by the league's office.
"I just found out Joe Jackson was the offensive player of the week in the Big 12, which is very deserving," Klieman said. "Our offensive line was also the offensive line of the week in the Big 12. Very deserving."
K-State rushed for a school-record 472 yards and five touchdowns against Utah while averaging 11.2 yards per rushing attempt.
"It was next level," Klieman said. "It was something that hadn't been done to that group at Utah for a long, long time."
Klieman said, "We've got to be able to pick up and move forward."
K-State observes fall break this week, which could benefit the Wildcats.
"We'll see the guys today," Klieman said. "I think it's good week for us, no school, have our guys around us and around the facility a lot. We won't be able to bang a whole lot with guys because of injuries and the fact it was as physical of a game as it was, so we've got to do a great job of making sure we have our guys as fresh as we can and get really good game plans to go out for these seniors."
Last season's game at Colorado was a battle. In the end, Avery Johnson laid a long pass over the left shoulder of Jayce Brown for the game-winning 50-yard touchdown with 2 minutes, 14 seconds left before the Wildcats' defense made a final stop to preserve the 31-28 victory in Boulder, Colorado.
That victory was one of six by K-State that were decided by a single possession last season. The Wildcats won four of them.
This season, K-State has played seven one-possession games but has only come out on the winning side twice. The Wildcats' seven one-possession games are tied for the most among Power 4 teams.
"Guys, we've lost them in ways that I've never seen in college football before – I really haven't – and I've been doing this for 30-some years," Klieman said.
The loss at Utah — the Utes scored with 56 seconds remaining — was one of the Wildcats' most heartbreaking defeats in three decades.
"You don't get a chance in the grind to think about (close losses)," Klieman said. "It's something that at the end of the season, whenever that is, from this week to bowl game, I'll probably really dive deep into it, the whys of things. No, that's a raw part of this game, the hard part of this game, is it's hard to figure things out like that on the run. We can figure things out of saying, 'We have to change our routine and get to a fast Friday and don't practice on Thursday.' You're looking to do things in that respect to kickstart something, but in the manner of how you lose a game, it's something we'll probably dive into a little bit more at the end of the year."
For now, all eyes look to Saturday.
Sixty minutes separates the Wildcats from the postseason.
Players Mentioned
K-State Football | Chris Klieman press conference - Nov. 24, 2025
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K-State Men's Basketball | Game Highlights vs Nebraska (Hall of Fame Classic)
Saturday, November 22
K-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference vs Nebraska (Hall of Fame Classic)
Saturday, November 22
K-State Men's Basketball | Jack Hartman National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Recognition
Friday, November 21