K-State Discusses Dillons Sunflower Showdown at Weekly Press Conference
Oct 12, 2026 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Collin Klein and select players met with the media on Monday inside the Vanier Family Football Complex to preview the Dillons Sunflower Showdown against Kansas this Saturday inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Links to video and audio of Klein's press conference – which was streamed live on ESPN+ – are above in addition to an audio link of the player breakout interviews. A transcript of Klein's press conference is below.
COLLIN KLEIN, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"Alright good morning, thanks for being here. Going through the (Houston) ball game, a couple thoughts were not all that different from when we had talked. Offensively, we just couldn't stay on the field early in those first couple drives. We had a couple 50-50 plays that we weren't able to make on either side of the ball, and that they made. Credit to them – they really set us behind and kind of got us in the hole and weren't able to crawl out of it or do anything with it on the first possession out of the half, which was going to be critical for us to get back into the ball game. We didn't do that, and it was kind of the story of the game there. Defensively, even going back and looking at it, we weren't good getting off of the field on third down. Houston was 5-of-6 on third down and six-plus, and there's three 50-50 balls on third and long that we just couldn't win and couldn't get off the field. Again, credit to them. They made those plays to stay on the field. So, we came in here today, and I thought the guys had a good mentality. Whenever you get punched in the face and face some adversity, you really find out what you're about and who you are and who you are as a group. I've got great confidence in in our character and our relationships that we have in this building and the belief of what we can become and on that journey when that happens and how that comes to fruition is what we're working towards every day. I believe that in them and believe in what we're doing and how we're doing it, and our process is good, and our people are good. When we get over that hump on the tipping point on some of these things, I believe it's going to be sooner than later, and that's how we're approaching it. That's how they're approaching it. We have a big week with KU coming to town. They pose a lot of challenges and do a lot of diverse things offensively and defensively that we have to prepare for and is going to be a good prep for us. We have to get back to doing the fundamental things correctly and the little things right to get on the right side of those plays on both sides of the football to get the outcome that we want. Nothing that's been done in the past has any bearing on this week and in this game. The score is 0-0 right now, and we've got to earn it every single day this week on the practice field to leave the game Saturday how we want. That's where we're at."
On any players that jumped out defensively…
"I think Donovan McIntosh coming back off the injury. He's continuing to get some more confidence. I think he's continuing to get healthier and be what he knows he can be and what we can be. I think Nick McClellan is showing flashes, and I think is going to earn a bigger role in some of the things that he's doing. Those would be the two that jump to mind."
On the play of safety Adrian Maddox against Houston…
"I thought he took some opportunities, had a couple nice tackles where he was able to down the football. I'm proud of how he competed. He's a high-energy competitor, which is tremendous, and I think our defense felt that. He has to continue to – like the guys on that side of the ball – from an eye-discipline standpoint, a pursuit-angle standpoint to play up to his full capacity."
On what jumps out when watching Kansas…
"I think they've got good length at the skill positions on both sides. I think their secondary has good size, has good length. I think they have a couple really, really good D-linemen with good size and good length. I think No. 33 (Leroy Harris III) is a problem and does a really nice job. Offensively, I think they run well outside. I think the quarterback keeps getting better and better week in and week out and is creating explosive plays for them. So, it's going to be a challenge."
On the mindset of team when he was a player when the winning streak began in 2009…
"Well, I was there the year before too, and I think the pain of that one and living it firsthand, personally, was real. I think that '09 team, we were building. Looking back to that of how hard those guys on that team, how hard our staff worked at the time, that was part of getting that momentum program-wide flipped and moving forward to some of the things that were going to come the next couple years. So, I do remember that day."
On if he feels more energy this week with it being a rivalry game…
"I think our whole building has incredible competitors, has incredible character. True competitors respond when challenged, albeit a very, very painful loss, you rise up."
On how defenses are playing against Avery Johnson's dual-threat capabilities…
"You can tell how they adjust, even the schemes, out of formations and certain calls that they're in to know where he's at to maintain better edges. There's no doubt he's impacting the run game at times even when he's not carrying it. We had three runs over 10 yards, and two were scrambles. So, we have to create more explosive plays collectively on offense. We only had six total. We need double that to be where we want. That is part of it, but I would contend too, for the big explosive things to happen – quarterback or offense-wide – we have to be a lot better on base hits. We're throwing too many no-hitters on first and second down with some routine plays, whether it be in the run game or the pass game that's hurting that ability to create more explosives, and then also spread the football to attack with the running backs, with the quarterback, and down the line."
On balancing playcalling between run and pass…
"You're spot on with that. The Cincinnati situation was three two-minute drives didn't help. We're in a lot of third downs because of some of the stuff we just talked on first and second down. We had 14 third downs. We had seven of seven-plus yards. So, there's seven right there that are predominantly pass situations right off the bat. So, I think that's part of it. I don't have the number right off my head as far as the total encompass. I think we are still probably in that 52, 53, (to) 47-ish window. Still pretty balanced, but when you're in less advantageous situations, down two scores, two-minute situations, tempo opportunities, that's going to lend itself to a higher pass number."
On how he addressed the rivalry to the team…
"We talked about it this morning, and I had every guy – player and staff – from the state of Kansas stand up, and there's a lot of them in this room. There's been a lot of them in this room for a very, very long time. The pride they take in this game and the rivalry is real, and that's something we've embraced for a long time. But, we understand – like I said before – it's going to come down to doing what it takes to win and play winning football to win the game."
On Kansas running back Dylan Edwards…
"Well, I truly wish Dylan well and nothing but the best for him and every young man that has come through this program. It's about the people. It's about taking care of people. It's about respecting people. I wish him the absolute best. Anybody on the opposite sideline is not a dear friend for three and a half hours, and that's anybody on any sideline."
On trying to increase takeaways…
"It's capitalizing on those windows of opportunities when they come. Those first two possessions of that game last week, there's two opportunities that we have with, basically, the ball in our hands. There's one off the tipped pass on the shot right at about midfield, and I want to say it was the first or second play of the second drive – Koy (Beasley) does a great job robbing the stick route and almost has it. On the first two possessions of the game, those would have been huge opportunities. So, it's just making sure when we get them, we take them. We have to do a good job of understanding and reading run-pass keys better and faster, so that when we read pass, we get our pass rush revved up to be able to disrupt the passer, which will always lead to more chaos as far as that goes."
On the progression of Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall…
"Yeah, I mean you can see he's got really, really good athleticism. He extends plays. He pushes the ball downfield, and (Andy) Kotelnicki does a great job with their offense."
On where the trophy is located this week…
"It's right in the middle of the locker room."
On next steps for offensive lineman Oliver Miller…
"First is just continuing the progression of getting him healthy. I would have thought he would have had more snaps than he did before the game. Things obviously didn't go as scripted. So, they were down a little bit to what I was thinking he was going to have. But, I'm very excited for his progress, very excited that he's getting and feeling healthy and all is well there, and he's going to be a big part of this program for years to come."
On the error that led to 10 defensive men on the field on the early fourth down against Houston…
"I think a D-lineman had missed a signal or missed the sub in the chaos of things, and that can't happen. It's why we felt like we needed to take the time out to make sure that we were squared away on that critical down, and that's what happened."
On having tight end Linkon Cure getting more involved later in the Houston game…
"It's been a matter of time. There's two other plays where the ball has to go to him. So, I'm not surprised. I'm excited for the future and everything that he's doing. A matter of time."
COLLIN KLEIN, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"Alright good morning, thanks for being here. Going through the (Houston) ball game, a couple thoughts were not all that different from when we had talked. Offensively, we just couldn't stay on the field early in those first couple drives. We had a couple 50-50 plays that we weren't able to make on either side of the ball, and that they made. Credit to them – they really set us behind and kind of got us in the hole and weren't able to crawl out of it or do anything with it on the first possession out of the half, which was going to be critical for us to get back into the ball game. We didn't do that, and it was kind of the story of the game there. Defensively, even going back and looking at it, we weren't good getting off of the field on third down. Houston was 5-of-6 on third down and six-plus, and there's three 50-50 balls on third and long that we just couldn't win and couldn't get off the field. Again, credit to them. They made those plays to stay on the field. So, we came in here today, and I thought the guys had a good mentality. Whenever you get punched in the face and face some adversity, you really find out what you're about and who you are and who you are as a group. I've got great confidence in in our character and our relationships that we have in this building and the belief of what we can become and on that journey when that happens and how that comes to fruition is what we're working towards every day. I believe that in them and believe in what we're doing and how we're doing it, and our process is good, and our people are good. When we get over that hump on the tipping point on some of these things, I believe it's going to be sooner than later, and that's how we're approaching it. That's how they're approaching it. We have a big week with KU coming to town. They pose a lot of challenges and do a lot of diverse things offensively and defensively that we have to prepare for and is going to be a good prep for us. We have to get back to doing the fundamental things correctly and the little things right to get on the right side of those plays on both sides of the football to get the outcome that we want. Nothing that's been done in the past has any bearing on this week and in this game. The score is 0-0 right now, and we've got to earn it every single day this week on the practice field to leave the game Saturday how we want. That's where we're at."
On any players that jumped out defensively…
"I think Donovan McIntosh coming back off the injury. He's continuing to get some more confidence. I think he's continuing to get healthier and be what he knows he can be and what we can be. I think Nick McClellan is showing flashes, and I think is going to earn a bigger role in some of the things that he's doing. Those would be the two that jump to mind."
On the play of safety Adrian Maddox against Houston…
"I thought he took some opportunities, had a couple nice tackles where he was able to down the football. I'm proud of how he competed. He's a high-energy competitor, which is tremendous, and I think our defense felt that. He has to continue to – like the guys on that side of the ball – from an eye-discipline standpoint, a pursuit-angle standpoint to play up to his full capacity."
On what jumps out when watching Kansas…
"I think they've got good length at the skill positions on both sides. I think their secondary has good size, has good length. I think they have a couple really, really good D-linemen with good size and good length. I think No. 33 (Leroy Harris III) is a problem and does a really nice job. Offensively, I think they run well outside. I think the quarterback keeps getting better and better week in and week out and is creating explosive plays for them. So, it's going to be a challenge."
On the mindset of team when he was a player when the winning streak began in 2009…
"Well, I was there the year before too, and I think the pain of that one and living it firsthand, personally, was real. I think that '09 team, we were building. Looking back to that of how hard those guys on that team, how hard our staff worked at the time, that was part of getting that momentum program-wide flipped and moving forward to some of the things that were going to come the next couple years. So, I do remember that day."
On if he feels more energy this week with it being a rivalry game…
"I think our whole building has incredible competitors, has incredible character. True competitors respond when challenged, albeit a very, very painful loss, you rise up."
On how defenses are playing against Avery Johnson's dual-threat capabilities…
"You can tell how they adjust, even the schemes, out of formations and certain calls that they're in to know where he's at to maintain better edges. There's no doubt he's impacting the run game at times even when he's not carrying it. We had three runs over 10 yards, and two were scrambles. So, we have to create more explosive plays collectively on offense. We only had six total. We need double that to be where we want. That is part of it, but I would contend too, for the big explosive things to happen – quarterback or offense-wide – we have to be a lot better on base hits. We're throwing too many no-hitters on first and second down with some routine plays, whether it be in the run game or the pass game that's hurting that ability to create more explosives, and then also spread the football to attack with the running backs, with the quarterback, and down the line."
On balancing playcalling between run and pass…
"You're spot on with that. The Cincinnati situation was three two-minute drives didn't help. We're in a lot of third downs because of some of the stuff we just talked on first and second down. We had 14 third downs. We had seven of seven-plus yards. So, there's seven right there that are predominantly pass situations right off the bat. So, I think that's part of it. I don't have the number right off my head as far as the total encompass. I think we are still probably in that 52, 53, (to) 47-ish window. Still pretty balanced, but when you're in less advantageous situations, down two scores, two-minute situations, tempo opportunities, that's going to lend itself to a higher pass number."
On how he addressed the rivalry to the team…
"We talked about it this morning, and I had every guy – player and staff – from the state of Kansas stand up, and there's a lot of them in this room. There's been a lot of them in this room for a very, very long time. The pride they take in this game and the rivalry is real, and that's something we've embraced for a long time. But, we understand – like I said before – it's going to come down to doing what it takes to win and play winning football to win the game."
On Kansas running back Dylan Edwards…
"Well, I truly wish Dylan well and nothing but the best for him and every young man that has come through this program. It's about the people. It's about taking care of people. It's about respecting people. I wish him the absolute best. Anybody on the opposite sideline is not a dear friend for three and a half hours, and that's anybody on any sideline."
On trying to increase takeaways…
"It's capitalizing on those windows of opportunities when they come. Those first two possessions of that game last week, there's two opportunities that we have with, basically, the ball in our hands. There's one off the tipped pass on the shot right at about midfield, and I want to say it was the first or second play of the second drive – Koy (Beasley) does a great job robbing the stick route and almost has it. On the first two possessions of the game, those would have been huge opportunities. So, it's just making sure when we get them, we take them. We have to do a good job of understanding and reading run-pass keys better and faster, so that when we read pass, we get our pass rush revved up to be able to disrupt the passer, which will always lead to more chaos as far as that goes."
On the progression of Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall…
"Yeah, I mean you can see he's got really, really good athleticism. He extends plays. He pushes the ball downfield, and (Andy) Kotelnicki does a great job with their offense."
On where the trophy is located this week…
"It's right in the middle of the locker room."
On next steps for offensive lineman Oliver Miller…
"First is just continuing the progression of getting him healthy. I would have thought he would have had more snaps than he did before the game. Things obviously didn't go as scripted. So, they were down a little bit to what I was thinking he was going to have. But, I'm very excited for his progress, very excited that he's getting and feeling healthy and all is well there, and he's going to be a big part of this program for years to come."
On the error that led to 10 defensive men on the field on the early fourth down against Houston…
"I think a D-lineman had missed a signal or missed the sub in the chaos of things, and that can't happen. It's why we felt like we needed to take the time out to make sure that we were squared away on that critical down, and that's what happened."
On having tight end Linkon Cure getting more involved later in the Houston game…
"It's been a matter of time. There's two other plays where the ball has to go to him. So, I'm not surprised. I'm excited for the future and everything that he's doing. A matter of time."
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Football, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Football, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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