Why K-State coach Chris Klieman will never overlook FCS opponent like Southern Illinois
Kansas State’s home opener against Southern Illinois on Saturday is the type of football clash that some might call a trap game.
The Wildcats are coming off an emotional victory over Stanford and harder matchups are looming right around the corner with Nevada and Oklahoma State up next on the schedule.
Still, there is very little chance the Wildcats overlook the Salukis.
They would have to tune out their head coach and forget all about losing their home opener to Arkansas State last season for that to happen. But, just in case they needed any extra motivation, Chris Klieman reminded K-State players at the beginning of the week that six FCS teams upset FBS teams over the weekend. One of those upsets even included a ranked team, with Montana beating Washington.
“Those things aren’t flukes,” Klieman said. “Maybe some teams didn’t play as well as they could have, but it’s not a fluke to beat a Power Five team. Those are good (FCS) football teams, and we’re going to face another one that’s got 16 six-year guys who have played a bunch of football there. They have confidence in what they’re doing, and they’re well coached.”
Few college football coaches appreciate FCS football more than Klieman.
Before K-State hired Klieman three years ago, he was winning FCS championships at North Dakota State. The Bison are members of the Missouri Valley Conference in football, and so is Southern Illinois. After going head to head with the Salukis for years at a previous job, it’s easy for him to talk them up during team meetings.
Klieman went so far as to call Southern Illinois “one of the best Missouri Valley teams he has even seen” during his weekly news conference on Tuesday.
One reason he may have said that: Southern Illinois beat North Dakota State last season.
Senior K-State quarterback Skylar Thompson heard those words. After watching Southern Illinois, which is currently ranked eighth in the FCS top 25, throttle Southeast Missouri State 47-21 behind 460 passing yards and four touchdowns from quarterback Nic Baker, he compared their entire team to a FCS transfer who played for the Wildcats last season.
“It’s a team full of Briley Moores,” Thompson said. “They are all guys that have chips on their shoulders, that are really talented and have something to prove.”
Some teams might not bring maximum effort for a FCS opponent. But K-State seems unlikely to fall into that trap.
“Even though they are from the FCS, they’re a good football team,” K-State linebacker Wayne Jones said. “They’re well coached and they’ve got talented guys. We’re going into each week with a 1-0 mentality, and I think that will allow us not to overlook anybody.”
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Why K-State coach Chris Klieman will never overlook FCS opponent like Southern Illinois."