How Chris Klieman can build off Kansas State’s solid start, guide Wildcats to a bowl
The Kansas State Wildcats are exactly where optimistic fans predicted them to be at the midpoint of Chris Klieman’s first season as football coach.
That might sound strange considering the meandering path K-State has taken to this point, looking like a top 25 team in its first three games and then a Big 12 doormat during its first two conference losses, but it’s true. Most fans would have gladly taken a 4-2 start at the season’s outset, and that is where this team sits following last week’s victory over TCU.
The Wildcats (4-2, 1-2 Big 12) appear on track for bowl eligibility and possibly more, even as the most challenging game of the year is next on the schedule against undefeated Oklahoma.
Mid-season analysis
Klieman is the type of coach who likes to look at the big picture. He has begun saying things like “trust the process” and “forget about wins and losses” when talking about his team. So far, he thinks this group is heading in the right direction.
“How hard they play. Their resolve. The fact that they stay together,” Klieman said when asked what impresses him about this team. “Our practices are really good, especially during the two-game losing streak and you throw in the open week. That they know it’s a process, that they know that they’re continuing to get better and better. We see it, even though it may not show up every Saturday, and I wish it would, just like you all wish it would show up every Saturday. I can still see us getting better.”
Of course, “wins and losses” are the most important parts of college football and there are plenty of areas where the Wildcats can improve.
“The two things that we still have to continue to work on is finding a way to be more consistent rushing the football and tackling on defense,” Klieman said. “Those are the two components that are going to be the end all for us as we move on through the season.”
K-State’s final six games will decide if the Wildcats ultimately reach or exceed expectations in Year 1 under Klieman.
The Wildcats were picked to finish ninth in the preseason Big 12 poll. But some fans were dreaming of eight or more wins when K-State began the year 3-0 with an upset victory at Mississippi State. As is the case with most things, realistic expectations were found somewhere in the middle.
Going bowling
Reaching the postseason seems like a fair goal for the Wildcats.
They missed out on a bowl game last year for the first time since 2009, and qualifying for one this year would be a first step for Klieman.
How can K-State get to six victories? That won’t be a problem as long as the Wildcats take care of business in the games they are favored to win. The Wildcats will likely be picked to win at Kansas and at home against West Virginia. A road game at Texas Tech feels like a toss up.
K-State can gain bowl eligibility by winning two of those games.
Otherwise, it would need to pull off an upset in one of its other three games, all against ranked teams: No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 15 Texas and No. 23 Iowa State.
Run the dang ball
K-State will probably need to establish a consistent running game in order to return to a bowl game.
When the Wildcats were at their best in nonconference play, they aggressively moved the ball on the ground and controlled time of possession. By averaging 280 rushing yards in those games, K-State played at its pace and benefited from a rested defense. But that hasn’t been the case lately.
The Wildcats have gone four straight games without eclipsing 150 rushing yards and only had 94 against TCU, with 61 of them coming on a single quarterback draw from Skylar Thompson.
K-State needs to get more up front from its offensive line and tight ends to open up holes for top running back James Gilbert. A healthy Malik Knowles will help the passing game. But this team can only run on all cylinders when it, well, runs the ball efficiently.
“I know we’re getting better at running the football, we’ve shown some of that, but we have to keep finding out what’s our niche,” Klieman said. “Are we going to be more of a gap-scheme team, zone-scheme team?”
Better tackling
Defense hasn’t been a big problem for the Wildcats. They rank 19th nationally in scoring defense (18.7 points) second nationally in third-down defense (24% success rate), but they are conceding nearly 350 yards per game and have looked foolish trying to make tackles on a handful of plays.
The most glaring tackling issues have come in the open field, such as last week when TCU quarterback Max Duggan bulldozed his way through the middle of K-State’s defense for a long touchdown run.
Klieman has counted so many missed tackles that he thinks the Wildcats will improve significantly by simply eliminating half of them.
It might take even more than that for K-State to hang with Oklahoma as a 23 1/2-point underdog this week. But some minor improvements could definitely help the Wildcats build on a promising first half of the season.
This story was originally published October 24, 2019 at 12:20 PM with the headline "How Chris Klieman can build off Kansas State’s solid start, guide Wildcats to a bowl."