K-State Q&A: Big 12 fines, basketball and the biggest Sunflower Showdown in years
It’s time for another K-State Q&A.
Lots of fun basketball and football topics to cover this week, so let’s dive right into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
Without a doubt.
Last year, a Jayhawks player wanted to beat the Wildcats and win the Sunflower Showdown so badly that he tried to hide a penalty flag from the officials by standing on it, hoping they would forget they witnessed a KU hold and let a potential game-clinching run stand in the fourth quarter.
And pride was the only thing at stake in that game!
Both teams were 3-6, motivated only by faint bowl hopes and the desire to beat a rival.
The bar has been raised this year. Both teams enter the Sunflower Showdown coming off victories for the second time since 2007. And both of them were big. Unlike 2016, when K-State obliterated an imploding Baylor team and KU stunned a limping Texas squad coached by Charlie Strong, the Wildcats and Jayhawks both seem to be on the rise.
K-State just upset Oklahoma, and it didn’t seem like a fluke. KU just beat Texas Tech and went toe-to-toe with Texas the week before that.
It’s about time.
You have to go back to 2007 to find the last time this game felt so important to football fans in this state. Ron Prince had the Wildcats 3-1 and fresh off a win over Texas. Mark Mangino had the Jayhawks 4-0 and on the way to the Orange Bowl.
The rivalry has been stale for the past decade, with Bill Snyder pummeling overmatched KU coaches like Turner Gill, Charlie Weis and David Beaty every year.
Chris Klieman vs. Les Miles should be much more entertaining. This is arguably the most important game left on the schedule for both teams.
Before I answer your humorous question (well done, by the way) I want to write a few words about how silly it was for the Big 12 to hit Kansas State with a $25,000 fine after purple-clad fans stormed the field following last week’s 48-41 victory against Oklahoma.
From where I was sitting, it seemed like K-State security did a nice job controlling the crowd. Fans in the student section waited to rush the field and stayed in their seats until a good chunk of OU players were out of harms way and walking toward the locker room.
Nobody went for the goalposts. There were no ugly moments from the celebration that went viral like the court-storming debacle after a KU game at Bramlage Coliseum four years ago.
Ideally, fans should stay in their seats until every member of the visiting team has exited the field before running onto the turf. That seems to be why the Wildcats received a fine. But I thought they handled the postgame celebration well and should have gotten off with a reprimand or less, like the Jayhawks following their victory over Texas Tech.
I didn’t see what happened at TCU last week, so I can’t comment on whether the Horned Frogs deserved a fine for rushing the field after their Texas win.
But I doubt any of the three schools really care about these penalties.
If there are some angry K-State fans out there that think KU deserves a fine, rushing the field at Memorial Stadium is an interesting strategy. But I wouldn’t recommend it. Security might not look the other way when visiting fans try and trespass onto the turf.
The fact that K-State sits one win shy of bowl eligibility this early into his first season with the Wildcats tells you all you need to know about the job he has done as head coach thus far.
At 5-2, and fresh off a win over Oklahoma, there isn’t a game remaining on the schedule that K-State absolutely can’t win.
But before I pick them to win 10 games, it’s also worth pointing out that none of the Wildcats’ remaining five games are gimmes. West Virginia at home is the closet thing they have to a probable victory the rest of the way.
My prediction: 8-4. I think K-State finds a way to beat Kansas and West Virginia and then wins one more against Texas, Texas Tech and Iowa State.
If that’s how things play out, the Wildcats would likely be in the running for the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Florida or the Texas Bowl in Houston. K-State has never played a postseason game in Florida, so that would be fun.
Should the Wildcats exceed my expectations, they could be looking at an invite to the Alamo Bowl. If they only win six or seven games, they will be looking more at the Liberty, Cheez-It or First Responder bowls.
Winning out, and earning a spot in the Big 12 championship game, would open the door for a New Year’s 6 bowl invite.
Wyatt Hubert deserves a spot on the All-Big 12 defensive line. He has been K-State’s best defensive player this season and already has four sacks.
I think A.J. Parker can also make the team at cornerback. He has been K-State’s best defensive back and has three interceptions in seven games.
I’m struggling to find a first-teamer on offense. Skylar Thompson has been good, but not better than Jalen Hurts. Thompson also ranks ninth in the league in passing yards. That’s not enough. Scott Frantz and Nick Kaltmayer have been solid on the offensive line, but I’m not familiar with the rest of the offensive linemen across the conference.
Senior punter Devin Anctil is probably the best bet, as he leads the Big 12 in punting average. He has a shot at All-America honors, but there are other good punters out there.
Chris Klieman is actually a really boring Halloween costume. As long as you wear K-State gear and a headset you’ve pulled it off. I hope that’s not enough to win you a costume contest anywhere, even in Aggieville.
Some better ideas:
- Bill Snyder with a lackey walking behind him the entire night holding a wired headset. I’ve seen plenty of Snyder costumes over the years, but none quite that accurate.
- Former K-State linebacker Travis Ochs holding a Nebraska helmet by the facemask.
It’s the best comedy show on Netflix. You should definitely give it more than six episodes.
BoJack Horseman is the rare show that is good for multiple reasons. Some episodes are so funny you have to hit the pause button because you’re laughing so hard. Others keep you coming back for drama and plot. A few are on the sad side. It’s a show that takes chances and is different.
I love the balance. Secondary characters like Mr. Peanutbutter, Todd Chavez and Vincent Adultman make the show go like the early years of the Simpsons.
K-State’s 66-56 exhibition victory over Washburn was a good argument for just about any alternative to multiple preseason games.
That was like watching paint dry.
Bruce Weber opted for a pair of exhibition games because he has a young team this season and he wanted to get his players accustomed to playing in front of crowds. But I’m all for the Wildcats playing one exhibition next season and meeting another quality team at a neutral site for a “secret scrimmage.”
The only people that wanted to be at Bramlage Coliseum on Wednesday night were wearing Washburn uniforms.
I don’t have any hot takes from that game, other than that it was super boring.
But there were some minor concerns. K-State finished with 13 assists and 21 turnovers, which is terrible against any opponent, let alone a Division II squad from Topeka.
The Wildcats also only made two shots from beyond the arc, which won’t get it done against better teams.
But I’m willing to shrug off those miscues because of the setting. Intensity will solve a lot of problems starting next week.
This story was originally published November 1, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Big 12 fines, basketball and the biggest Sunflower Showdown in years."