Kansas State University Athletics
ENERGY
Sep 29, 2025 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
It was a running jump — no, almost a dive — across the gray-carpeted locker room floor Saturday afternoon, this introduction to mayhem, this grand announcement that we were between chapters, as Kansas State put behind the past and would soon delve into the future, but not before enjoying the moment, because too often moments are fleeting, in life and in sports, and special moments, man, they must be cherished. And so, there was K-State head coach Chris Klieman, on his 58th birthday, running and jumping into the middle of the oval-shaped locker room a nano-second before K-State players, still in full uniform, mobbed him, dousing him with bottled water, as he bounced up and down and spun and pumped his fist and adjusted his purple hat, and spun some more, a smile this big rarely seen in public, yet reserved for these kinds of moments and for his players in this crazy college football universe.
Understand it had been several days since K-State had tasted victory — a three-point win over FCS member North Dakota sandwiched between three losses by a total of 12 points — and the Wildcats, who carried — and now still carry — high hopes for this 2025 season, were not used to defeat — not this many defeats, and certainly not like this. In recent weeks, you could see it in their eyes, this stunned gaze into nothingness, and there were feelings, yes, and they kept those bottled up, reserved only for their coaches, teammates, and perhaps families, because this hurt, man, and it hurt bad, and this trail of tears, no, it wasn't the K-State way.
Well, somewhere along the way, a switch turned after a 23-17 loss at Arizona on September 12. During the ensuing bye week, Klieman visited with 12 team captains and seasoned veteran players in the Vanier Family Football Complex. And they talked about various issues. And one of those issues was ENERGY. And ENERGY is in all caps because among the shortcomings of a squad that suffered defeat in three of its first four games, perhaps energy was lacking the most. The fire that was so ever-present all the way to the end of the season-opening 24-21 loss to No. 22 Iowa State in Dublin, Ireland, slowly and eventually reduced to smoldering coals. Klieman could see it. His assistant coaches could see it. And certainly, the players could see it. But what could be done?
This is where Klieman, who has guided K-State to at least nine wins in each of the past three seasons, really dug in, because football is football, and Klieman, who took North Dakota State to four Division I National Championships, then took K-State to a 2022 Big 12 Championship, and who's led the Wildcats to three bowl wins in their last four appearances, knows young people, he gets young people, and one of the key commonalities among his teams is what he felt — perhaps for the first time this season — in the air on the sideline and on the field of play on Saturday was this: ENERGY.
"You know," Klieman said, "the one thing that's a non-negotiable for me is you're going to celebrate good plays and you're going to celebrate K-State football."
And so, the practices leading up to Saturday were intense, physical and spirited.
"I think we could've gotten 30 sideline warnings in practice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday," Klieman said, "because that's what we emphasized — celebrate with your teammates."
And there was ample reason for celebration on Saturday, and even before any of that, running back Dylan Edwards felt the energy of the 53,013 fans in the stands — the 12th largest attendance in school history and the highest attendance for a game in 10 years — and he felt it among his teammates, that energy in the air.
"We went out there, and just before the game, everybody was excited to go out there," Edwards said. "It was a different type of feeling going out there. It just felt good to be out there with them today. It did."
Energy was at a season high, as was execution, and K-State beat unbeaten UCF 34-20 to improve to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12 Conference.
"I told the guys we want to come out here and come out and have energy," junior quarterback Avery Johnson said. "Winning is fun to me. Nothing is going to be fun if you lose a game. The biggest point for us is winning games each Saturday."
And the Wildcats did it together with passion, perhaps turning the corner and bouncing back on track along this rollercoaster ride that shifts into the month of October. At one point, Klieman and senior tight end Will Swanson collided on the field while celebrating a play. After an interception by safety Gunner Maldonado, the team defenders came off the bench to swarm the safety, which drew an official's flag for a sideline warning.
"We got a sideline warning, and I didn't care," Klieman said. "You know, it's fun. Celebrate this game. You only get so many opportunities to play it."
Swanson knows. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound tight end, a native of Papillion, Nebraska, and 2024 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, arrived at K-State in 2020. He has seen plenty of ups and a few downs along the way. He knew the feeling. And the feeling returned on Saturday. And it felt good. And after the game, it made him smile.
"The No. 1 thing on my mind was the energy we had as a team on the sideline," he said. "That's what separated ourselves with how we'd been playing in the past. It's without a doubt the energy that we brought."
How did K-State get that energy for Saturday's game?
"That's a good question," he said. "It was just going back in time, kind of, and remembering why you love football, and the power of touch. Going out there and seeing someone you love so much make a big play, you want to go hug, and give him a high-five or just tell him, 'Good job.'
"That's something we did very well over the bye week and also, it's the realization for how grateful we are to play this game. There are so many answers for that question."
K-State racked up 34 points and 434 total yards while holding UCF to 20 points — 19 points under its season average. Johnson passed for 168 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 75 rushing yards on 12 carries. Edwards had 20 carries for 166 yards and a 75-yard touchdown run down the K-State sideline that had his teammates going crazy with excitement. K-State saw wide receiver Jaron Tibbs have eight catches for 72 yards while true freshman tight end Linkon Cure and junior wide receiver Sterling Lockett both record their first catches as Wildcats. K-State had two interceptions for the first time with Maldonado and Qua Moss electrifying the team and the stadium. The Wildcats also had eight tackles for loss and three sacks, which was cause for more celebration.
"If Simon McClannan makes a great punt, make sure everybody taps Simon on the head," Klieman said. "When Luis Rodriguez makes another big-time kick, everybody go get on Luis' hat. That becomes contagious. Leadership and energy are a contact sport. It ain't, 'Good job.' Man, it's getting on guys, and that's why I almost killed myself celebrating with Swanson on a great block, because you have to show that energy, man, and if I'm showing it now as a 58-year-old, then those kids know that, man, we're celebrating great, great plays."
The question becomes this: How does energy carry over into performance?
Swanson took a second to ponder it.
"It's just one of those things that there's no stat for it," he said, finally. "You can't stat energy on the sideline. It's kind of the unseen. It's hard to understand, but it makes so much of a difference. When we got to the locker room after the game, you can't see it, but that's the factor that made it all different."
And it was different. And it was special. And it was a moment to hold onto. A moment to enjoy. Klieman. Water bottles. Bring it.
"The water is extremely cold," Johnson said. "If you're one of the guys messing around you might pour water all over one of your teammates and they'll jump a little bit because it's cold in there, but usually Coach Klieman takes the heat for most of the water, and everybody throws water on Coach Klieman, and they jump in the middle like you're at a concert, like it's a mosh pit at a concert.
"It's pretty cool. It's a cool way to celebrate wins."
Once the Klieman-led mosh pit died down, the singing began. Yes, the K-State players sang to their head coach, and they belted, "Happyyyy birrrrthdayyyy to youuuuu!" And Klieman, soaking wet in his purple shirt, stood in the middle of the locker room, walked a little bit, adjusted his hat, paused and looked at his players, and you could tell the newly crowned 58-year-old was letting it all sink in, the enormity of the day, and of this moment.
Just like the rest of the day, the energy of celebration, a rebirth of sorts, hung high in the air. K-State doesn't live in the past. It doesn't leap ahead into the future. No, Klieman focused on only the present when he ran and jumped into the middle of the celebratory locker room on Saturday.
And boy, did the moment, and the energy, sure feel good.
It was a running jump — no, almost a dive — across the gray-carpeted locker room floor Saturday afternoon, this introduction to mayhem, this grand announcement that we were between chapters, as Kansas State put behind the past and would soon delve into the future, but not before enjoying the moment, because too often moments are fleeting, in life and in sports, and special moments, man, they must be cherished. And so, there was K-State head coach Chris Klieman, on his 58th birthday, running and jumping into the middle of the oval-shaped locker room a nano-second before K-State players, still in full uniform, mobbed him, dousing him with bottled water, as he bounced up and down and spun and pumped his fist and adjusted his purple hat, and spun some more, a smile this big rarely seen in public, yet reserved for these kinds of moments and for his players in this crazy college football universe.
Understand it had been several days since K-State had tasted victory — a three-point win over FCS member North Dakota sandwiched between three losses by a total of 12 points — and the Wildcats, who carried — and now still carry — high hopes for this 2025 season, were not used to defeat — not this many defeats, and certainly not like this. In recent weeks, you could see it in their eyes, this stunned gaze into nothingness, and there were feelings, yes, and they kept those bottled up, reserved only for their coaches, teammates, and perhaps families, because this hurt, man, and it hurt bad, and this trail of tears, no, it wasn't the K-State way.
Well, somewhere along the way, a switch turned after a 23-17 loss at Arizona on September 12. During the ensuing bye week, Klieman visited with 12 team captains and seasoned veteran players in the Vanier Family Football Complex. And they talked about various issues. And one of those issues was ENERGY. And ENERGY is in all caps because among the shortcomings of a squad that suffered defeat in three of its first four games, perhaps energy was lacking the most. The fire that was so ever-present all the way to the end of the season-opening 24-21 loss to No. 22 Iowa State in Dublin, Ireland, slowly and eventually reduced to smoldering coals. Klieman could see it. His assistant coaches could see it. And certainly, the players could see it. But what could be done?
This is where Klieman, who has guided K-State to at least nine wins in each of the past three seasons, really dug in, because football is football, and Klieman, who took North Dakota State to four Division I National Championships, then took K-State to a 2022 Big 12 Championship, and who's led the Wildcats to three bowl wins in their last four appearances, knows young people, he gets young people, and one of the key commonalities among his teams is what he felt — perhaps for the first time this season — in the air on the sideline and on the field of play on Saturday was this: ENERGY.
"You know," Klieman said, "the one thing that's a non-negotiable for me is you're going to celebrate good plays and you're going to celebrate K-State football."
And so, the practices leading up to Saturday were intense, physical and spirited.
"I think we could've gotten 30 sideline warnings in practice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday," Klieman said, "because that's what we emphasized — celebrate with your teammates."
And there was ample reason for celebration on Saturday, and even before any of that, running back Dylan Edwards felt the energy of the 53,013 fans in the stands — the 12th largest attendance in school history and the highest attendance for a game in 10 years — and he felt it among his teammates, that energy in the air.
"We went out there, and just before the game, everybody was excited to go out there," Edwards said. "It was a different type of feeling going out there. It just felt good to be out there with them today. It did."
Energy was at a season high, as was execution, and K-State beat unbeaten UCF 34-20 to improve to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12 Conference.
"I told the guys we want to come out here and come out and have energy," junior quarterback Avery Johnson said. "Winning is fun to me. Nothing is going to be fun if you lose a game. The biggest point for us is winning games each Saturday."
And the Wildcats did it together with passion, perhaps turning the corner and bouncing back on track along this rollercoaster ride that shifts into the month of October. At one point, Klieman and senior tight end Will Swanson collided on the field while celebrating a play. After an interception by safety Gunner Maldonado, the team defenders came off the bench to swarm the safety, which drew an official's flag for a sideline warning.
"We got a sideline warning, and I didn't care," Klieman said. "You know, it's fun. Celebrate this game. You only get so many opportunities to play it."
Swanson knows. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound tight end, a native of Papillion, Nebraska, and 2024 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, arrived at K-State in 2020. He has seen plenty of ups and a few downs along the way. He knew the feeling. And the feeling returned on Saturday. And it felt good. And after the game, it made him smile.
"The No. 1 thing on my mind was the energy we had as a team on the sideline," he said. "That's what separated ourselves with how we'd been playing in the past. It's without a doubt the energy that we brought."
How did K-State get that energy for Saturday's game?
"That's a good question," he said. "It was just going back in time, kind of, and remembering why you love football, and the power of touch. Going out there and seeing someone you love so much make a big play, you want to go hug, and give him a high-five or just tell him, 'Good job.'
"That's something we did very well over the bye week and also, it's the realization for how grateful we are to play this game. There are so many answers for that question."
K-State racked up 34 points and 434 total yards while holding UCF to 20 points — 19 points under its season average. Johnson passed for 168 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 75 rushing yards on 12 carries. Edwards had 20 carries for 166 yards and a 75-yard touchdown run down the K-State sideline that had his teammates going crazy with excitement. K-State saw wide receiver Jaron Tibbs have eight catches for 72 yards while true freshman tight end Linkon Cure and junior wide receiver Sterling Lockett both record their first catches as Wildcats. K-State had two interceptions for the first time with Maldonado and Qua Moss electrifying the team and the stadium. The Wildcats also had eight tackles for loss and three sacks, which was cause for more celebration.
"If Simon McClannan makes a great punt, make sure everybody taps Simon on the head," Klieman said. "When Luis Rodriguez makes another big-time kick, everybody go get on Luis' hat. That becomes contagious. Leadership and energy are a contact sport. It ain't, 'Good job.' Man, it's getting on guys, and that's why I almost killed myself celebrating with Swanson on a great block, because you have to show that energy, man, and if I'm showing it now as a 58-year-old, then those kids know that, man, we're celebrating great, great plays."
The question becomes this: How does energy carry over into performance?
Swanson took a second to ponder it.
"It's just one of those things that there's no stat for it," he said, finally. "You can't stat energy on the sideline. It's kind of the unseen. It's hard to understand, but it makes so much of a difference. When we got to the locker room after the game, you can't see it, but that's the factor that made it all different."
And it was different. And it was special. And it was a moment to hold onto. A moment to enjoy. Klieman. Water bottles. Bring it.
"The water is extremely cold," Johnson said. "If you're one of the guys messing around you might pour water all over one of your teammates and they'll jump a little bit because it's cold in there, but usually Coach Klieman takes the heat for most of the water, and everybody throws water on Coach Klieman, and they jump in the middle like you're at a concert, like it's a mosh pit at a concert.
"It's pretty cool. It's a cool way to celebrate wins."
Once the Klieman-led mosh pit died down, the singing began. Yes, the K-State players sang to their head coach, and they belted, "Happyyyy birrrrthdayyyy to youuuuu!" And Klieman, soaking wet in his purple shirt, stood in the middle of the locker room, walked a little bit, adjusted his hat, paused and looked at his players, and you could tell the newly crowned 58-year-old was letting it all sink in, the enormity of the day, and of this moment.
Just like the rest of the day, the energy of celebration, a rebirth of sorts, hung high in the air. K-State doesn't live in the past. It doesn't leap ahead into the future. No, Klieman focused on only the present when he ran and jumped into the middle of the celebratory locker room on Saturday.
And boy, did the moment, and the energy, sure feel good.
Players Mentioned
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