Playing Physical, Fast and with Energy

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman recently gathered 12 of his team captains and seasoned veterans at the Vanier Family Football Complex. For years, Klieman has prided the Wildcats on being a player-led program, and so he and the players touched on a variety of topics that could potentially help the struggling team find its way.

K-State is 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12 Conference, and it comes off a bye week following a 23-17 loss at Arizona, and now it prepares to host UCF, 3-0, in Saturday's 11:00 a.m. kickoff at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

The discussion between Klieman and his leaders seemingly paid dividends this week as the Wildcats, who are in new territory — they have won at least nine games in each of the last three seasons — look to break out of their current funk.

"We had an open dialog," Klieman said. "These kids trust me, and I trust them. This is a player-led team, and you guys need to step up and lead. It's easy to lead when you're winning. When things aren't going as well, that's when the challenges come and the true colors of people come out.

"We had a great week, came back on Monday and had a team meeting, and hit reset. We needed to fix us. We've had good practices this week. The energy and physicality have been really good, and now we have to be ready to play."

About 1,350 miles southeast, UCF head coach Scott Frost had very different conversations with his players this week. Offensive line coach Shawn Clark unexpectedly passed away last Sunday, leaving a hole in the hearts of a coaching staff and team that has grown close despite being together for less than a year. The Knights will honor Clark with a decal on the back of their helmets.

Frost, who is in the infant stages of his second tenure at UCF, didn't address energy or passion with his players.

He's seen the energy and passion in each game this season — and even more so this week.

"This team is starting to develop a real love for each other, and they want to play for each other," Frost said. "When you have that bond, you fight and play for each other. That's what our team did last week. That's what they'll do this week.

"Practice was really good. You can feel the guys coming together and wanting to play for Shawn and for each other. This has affected everybody on the team. We have a big test on Saturday and have to be ready to give it everything we've got."

No secret that K-State has lost its three games by an average of 4.0 points. Inconsistencies on offense, defense and special teams have been cause for concern and have been addressed and readdressed by Klieman and first-year offensive coordinator Matt Wells and sixth-year defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman — both of whom spent time with Klieman dissecting the ins and outs of the Wildcats at the office during the bye week.

K-State players believe they are ready. They believe that they have much to prove. A win on Saturday would do everyone a world of good.

"Man, we just want to prove that we can win, that we can win in the Big 12, and we can dominate in the Big 12," defensive end Travis Bates said. "I feel that's what any Big 12 team wants to do, is to dominate, and I feel we have the capability to do so."

But first…

"We have to find our identity," Bates said. "We've put four different things on tape the last four weeks. We have to learn and find our identity this week. Man, I want our identity to be the K-State football way, and that's physical, fast and playing with energy. The last four weeks we haven't put it on tape.

"This is a good week to do so."

K-State's lone win this season is a 38-35 comeback victory against FCS member North Dakota on August 30 in Manhattan, meaning that it has been nearly one month since the Wildcats have tasted success.

All-American candidate Austin Romaine, arguably the fiercest linebacker in the Big 12, is eager to change that.

"We want to prove that our early season doesn't define us," Romaine said. "I think having those first four games and then our bye week, we have a chance to reset and go out there and prove who we really are."

Quarterback Avery Johnson currently ranks sixth all-time in school history in passing efficiency and passing touchdowns, eighth in passing yards per game and ninth in touchdown responsibility. But he completed just 13-of-29 passes for 88 yards and was credited with seven rushes for minus-16 yards and one touchdown at Arizona.

Wide receiver Jayce Brown ranks No. 21 in the FBS and third in the Big 12 with 6.25 catches per game, and he ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage to open the second half at Arizona, but an injury to 6-foot-6 Jerand Bradley that is expected to keep him out several more weeks coupled by injuries to standout running back Dylan Edwards and tight end Linkon Cure have grounded what many expected to be an explosive offense prior to the season.

"Anytime you lose three one-score games, it starts with the play calls, it's every position and every coach, and you own it, and every one of us need to be better," Wells said. "We all own it, and all have a hand in owning it."

Klieman offered a piece of welcome news that caused the restaurant crowd to erupt during his weekly coach's radio show on Thursday.

Asked to update Edwards' status for Saturday's game, Klieman replied, "I think he's going to roll. I think he's good to go, and I think he's excited. He's practiced full speed this week. He hasn't lost a step, I can promise you that. That kid can roll. All indications are that he's going to be a big part of our offense."

Edwards' presence should be of benefit to the entirety of the offense.

"He'll absolutely help," Wells said. "He'll help in the passing game, the running game, and when you run it better, it opens up a lot more RPOs and opens up more shots downfield. He's a weapon, and he'll make our offensive line better, too."

Meanwhile, Klanderman challenged his defensive players heading toward Saturday.

"Hopefully we're going to be better fundamentally and more sound," Klanderman said. "I don't know if we were doing too much, but we've tried to simplify things as much as we can so we can play faster. The one disappointing thing about the Arizona game when you look at it is there were times when it just didn't seem like we were playing with any gusto, and that's the stuff that's got to be changed.

"If we play our tails off and we're sound with what we're doing, we can live with the results. If we're not good enough to beat somebody, we're not good enough to beat somebody, but I think we'll find that we are. The biggest thing you're going to see is how we play and the enthusiasm we play with (on Saturday)."

One of Frost's primary challenges when he took the UCF job in December was finding players to play — period. UCF returned just four players who started in at least six games in 2024, and Frost went out and brought in 63 new players, including 36 Division I transfers, to help fill his 2025 roster.

Tayven Jackson, an Indiana transfer, ranks fifth in the Big 12 in passing as he has completed 70.1% of his passes for 694 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He showed off his capacity to run when he rushed 10 times for 66 yards and one score against North Carolina.

Jackson engineers an offensive attack that racks up 449.3 total yards per game, which ranks sixth in the Big 12. Earlier this week, UCF earned Big 12 Offensive Line of the Week honors.

Defensively, UCF ranks No. 5 nationally against the pass in allowing just 117.0 passing yards per game, which has helped the Knights to rank No. 6 nationally in scoring defense while allowing just 8.7 points per game. UCF has shut out opponents in seven of 12 quarters, hasn't allowed a first-half touchdown, and has four takeaways with 12 pass breakups and seven sacks.

"They have a really good team," Klieman said. "They really hit home runs in the portal. They come out of the gates really fast. They play fast and have explosive players. This is as fast as an offense as we've played so far with skill all over the place. Nobody knows how good North Carolina is, but they dominated that game in all three phases, and they had explosive plays against them and on defense they really suffocated them.

"They have tons of talent, it's just a matter of getting the confidence, and they have that confidence, and when you have that confidence and belief, you play faster and faster."

With three victories to open the season, Frost has won 16 straight games as UCF head coach after going 13-0 in 2017. His 16-game winning streak ties Nick Saban of Alabama (2017-18) and Lincoln Riley of Oklahoma (2020-21).

It's a remarkable run, but Frost has ultimate respect for Klieman, whom he spent two seasons coaching with at Northern Iowa, and he has respect for K-State and its fans and Manhattan. And perhaps for good reason.

"My first coaching gig was at Kansas State," Frost said. "I was a graduate assistant there in 2006. I loved my time in Manhattan. Really good fan base. It was a fun place for me to live and fit me well.

"Coach Klieman has done a great job with that program. They've been really close to winning every game they've played in, and I know coming off a bye week they're going to have smoke coming out of their ears. Our kids know that, too, and I think they will as well."

Not only will this be UCF's first Big 12 game of the season, but it will also be its first road game as well.

"Every challenge we've put in front of this team they've done a good job with it," Frost said. "This is a whole new challenge, fighting through the emotions of the week, going on the road, and playing in front of an opponent's crowd. There are some new challenges that a lot of guys haven't faced yet. We're trying to prepare them as well as we can. It's going to be a tough test, and we have to try and give ourselves a good chance."

It's been a while since K-State has played a game. The time spent reflecting, talking and practicing will culminate in this next chance for the Wildcats to redirect the course of their season.

"We've had good preparation and more energy, but you still have to prove it on Saturday," Klieman said. "You can't be a Monday through Thursday team — you have to be a great Saturday team. I'm excited for the guys to have this next opportunity because we've had to sit on (the most recent loss) for a while.

"We've got to prove it on Saturday."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Travis Bates

Jerand Bradley

Jayce Brown

Linkon Cure

Dylan Edwards

Avery Johnson

Austin Romaine

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