K-State Q&A: Making sense of Wildcats football amid their worst start since 2009
.jpg "Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson (2) waits for the snap during the second quarter against the Army Black Knights at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium.")
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- K-State starts 1-2, marking its worst football opening since 2009 season.
- Team leadership holds meetings to restore accountability and locker room unity.
- Quarterback Avery Johnson posts strong stats, but offensive line struggles persist.
Who are we? The Wildcats! Who are we going to beat? The Wildcats!
That is one of my favorite lines from the classic episode of “The Simpsons,” entitled Bart Star. I laugh at the clip every time it shows up on social media to poke fun at just how many teams have chosen the Wildcats as their nickname.
But it’s not a joking matter when Arizona and Kansas State play against each other. As a writer, I like being able to refer to each team by their nicknames. But it’s too confusing to do so when these teams play. I imagine fans are also hesitant to chant “let’s go Wildcats” at these games.
Here’s an idea for the Big 12: Designate alternate nicknames for games that involve a pair of Wildcats.
Another suggestion: Do the same thing for games that involve a pair of Cougars.
How about the Desert Cats (Arizona) vs. the Power Cats (K-State)? Or maybe we can shift to Bear Down (Arizona) vs. EMAW (K-State). What about the City Cats (Houston) vs. the Mountain Lions (BYU)? Or maybe the Fighting Jim Nantz’s (Houston) vs. the Running Andy Reids (BYU)?
There’s got to be a better way!
But I digress ...
Let’s dive into your questions about the K-State Wildcats. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
Is the player leadership lacking? In other words, when we have a 4th and 2 do the captains give the feeling that we will get this 4th down and will our way to it with the rest of the team following and believing due to great leadership? If not, what can be done? -@ChadFullington via X.
The leadership within the K-State locker room seems just fine to me.
Some fans have criticized Chris Klieman for being too positive with his team this season, especially after he said he was “dang proud” after K-State suffered a humbling loss to Army.
But defensive tackle Damian Ilalio and quarterback Avery Johnson both talked about how important it is for the Wildcats to hold each other accountable and find a way to play up to the K-State standard moving forward.
Said Ilalio: “We’re going to reset as a team. We’re going to come together. I’ve been in tough spots before with this team. In 2022, people didn’t think we were going to win a Big 12 championship after the first couple games. The season is not over yet. There’s definitely a long way to go, and we have got a lot of things to fix, but it’s not over at all.”
Said Johnson: “The biggest thing is, don’t panic. We put in a lot of work this off season, and I think there’s a lot better football for us that still needs to be played.”
When K-State suffered an early loss to Tulane in 2022, tight end Brayden Loftin said the team held a meeting early on the following week. Grievances were aired, the roster came together and the Wildcats went on to have a special season.
Loftin said a similar meeting took place this week. He said leaders are stepping up and he expects K-State to start playing better football.
That all sounds good to me.
The problem between now and then is that Tulane turned out to be an incredible team. It’s amazing to me that fans still look back at that loss as a black eye for the program. Tulane beat USC in the Cotton Bowl that year.
Losing to Army is a different animal. Will the Black Knights even reach a bowl this season? They opened the year with a loss to Tarleton State.
Furthermore, K-State had Deuce Vaughn, Cooper Beebe, Ben Sinnott, Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Will Howard in 2022. It would probably be easier for this group to win on fourth down if those guys were still on the roster.
Is culture a problem in the locker room? -@bionicdoctor1 via X.
All I can really say on this topic is that K-State seems to have lost some swagger since it started last season 7-1. The Wildcats inexplicably lost the following week at Houston, and it’s been hard for them to win close games ever since.
K-State finished last season 2-3 and started this season 1-2. All but one of those contests was decided by single digits.
The Wildcats need to get their swagger back.
When are we going to let Avery Johnson cut it loose and start winning games with his legs? - Perry L. via e-mail.
It might happen against Arizona.
Last year, Johnson rushed for 110 yards on 17 carries in a 31-7 home victory over this opponent. Maybe K-State thinks that strategy will work again in the rematch.
But I do think it’s worth pointing out that Johnson has looked very good as a passer this season. He got away with a few bad throws against North Dakota, but his throws have been on the money otherwise. He had 273 yards and two touchdowns against Iowa State. He had 318 yards and three scores against North Dakota. Then he added 172 yards and a touchdown against Army, despite barely being on the field in the second half.
It’s been a long time since Johnson won a game for K-State with his legs. Maybe we should be asking when K-State is going to let him throw even more.
Is Avery Johnson a Josh Freeman 2.0? Great talent, lots of potential, but doesn’t elevate his teammates? Most of K-State’s QB1’s have not come in as being this acclaimed and with high expectations -@the_funky_andy via X.
This question seems unfair to both Avery Johnson and Josh Freeman.
As much as some want it to be, winning is not a quarterback statistic. If it were, not a single NFL team would have drafted Patrick Mahomes coming out of Texas Tech. His record during three seasons with the Red Raiders: 16-21.
It can be hard for any quarterback to win when he doesn’t have the support of a strong offensive line, a dependable running game or a stingy defense. That’s why those Texas Tech teams weren’t very good. It had nothing to do with Mahomes failing to “elevate” his teammates.
Josh Freeman owned the single-season passing record at Kansas State until it was broken by Jake Waters. Quarterback was not the defining problem of the Ron Prince era.
Avery Johnson is averaging 254.3 yards and two touchdowns passing per game this season. Quarterback isn’t the reason why K-State is off to a 1-2 start.
Is Johnson a tad overhyped? Maybe. That is a valid question.
But he’s been doing his job for K-State this year.
Seems to me bigger problems exist on the offensive line, which is trying to replace three starters from last season, and in the secondary, which lost three players to the NFL. The Wildcats also miss Dylan Edwards.
Are there any plans to use Bryce Noernberg in the offense and not just on special teams? -@mickrichard89 via X.
For now, the plan is to keep him on special teams.
He plays the same position as Jayce Brown and Sterling Lockett. So he really only sees action as a wide receiver with the scout time.
I asked Noernberg how far away he was from joining the WR rotation earlier this week.
“I don’t really know,” he said. “We got Jayce and Sterling, who do a good job, so I’m not really worried about that right now. I kind of just take my role and do the best that I can.”
That is a good attitude. Noernberg is helping the Wildcats as a kick returner. He might as well keep his main focus there.
How do we plan to win beat Arizona? -@ICTWetz via X.
It will be important for K-State to have a strong first quarter.
Arizona has won both of its games easily against Hawaii and Weber State. How will it handle its first contest against a Big 12 team? Probably just fine if it jumps out to another lead. K-State needs to make Arizona doubt itself. Perhaps then it will struggle to adjust to the step up in competition.
Did we have a higher than normal number of guys injured this year in the preseason or is this typical? -@mickrichard89 via X.
The number of potential contributors listed as “out” before the Iowa State game was higher than I expected.
Things got worse when Dylan Edwards suffered an ankle injury early on against the Cyclones. He hasn’t been able to play since. Now Jerand Bradey is also on the sideline. But Linkon Cure and Ryan Davis may be ready to play this week.
K-State could really use Edwards back in the lineup. The Wildcats aren’t blocking well enough to spring Joe Jackson and DeVon Rice for big gains. Edwards could help, because he is the guy who can make something out of nothing.
My weekly recommendations
Streaming: Alien Earth on FX and Hulu. If you like the Alien movies then you will really like this TV series. It takes us to a new and entertaining place in that universe. I want to know what happens next.
Drink: Temperatures are dropping below 70 degrees in the evening, which means you have permission to start drinking Octoberfest beer.
Vintage K-State football highlight: As the Wildcats return to Tucson, let’s take a look back at their Copper Bowl win in 1993.
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Making sense of Wildcats football amid their worst start since 2009."