K-State Q&A: Is Iowa State a must-win game? How have transfers fared for Wildcats?
A bunch of Bill Snyder memories rushed through my head when I read the story about the Oklahoma football team shutting down all media interviews this week in response to a pair of reporters at the OU student newspaper spying on practice from a nearby building with binoculars.
No way that would have happened on his watch.
Kansas State’s former football coach was so paranoid about spies stealing information from his practices that I was once told to move along while tying my shoe outside of Bramlage Coliseum after some basketball interviews. I was unaware football practice was even going on at the time. But, sure enough, there was action going on a few hundred yards away behind a black tarp that covered the fence surrounding the football stadium specifically to prevent anyone from seeing inside.
There was no way I could have gleaned anything from there. But it didn’t matter. I had to leave ... pronto.
Another time, I remember Snyder refusing to start a practice before the Cotton Bowl until everyone inside the suits at AT&T Stadium moved away from the field. That included Jerry Jones.
I once joked with fellow reporters that we should invest in a drone to spy on practices, but we agreed Snyder had anti-air missiles ready to shoot it down. He might have.
He really hated the idea of anyone watching K-State football practice. A Fiesta Bowl representative once took me out to a K-State practice in Arizona and made sure I got to watch 15 minutes of action, per the game’s media policy. Not just stretching, either. Real life practice.
Snyder asked us to leave, and the bowl rep said no. Not until I got my 15 minutes. Let’s just say Snyder was not pleased.
Other than that, I never got many looks inside K-State practice.
If Lincoln Riley wants to make sure that kind of snooping doesn’t happen again in Norman, he shouldn’t punish Oklahoma media by denying them interviews with players. He should hire Snyder as an anti-spy consultant.
Now, it’s time for another K-State Q&A. Let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
No, I don’t view this is a must-win game for the Wildcats.
Is it an important game? You bet. K-State needs to beat Iowa State if this team hopes to make a run at eight or more victories during the regular season.
Is it a must-win game? No. The Wildcats can still have a winning season with a loss.
Let me explain why. K-State’s next four games after Iowa State are the four easiest conference games on the schedule — at Texas Tech, TCU, at Kansas and back home for West Virginia. Those teams have a combined record of 9-12 and just two conference wins between them.
Texas Tech doesn’t play defense, TCU can’t stop the run, KU is never a challenge and West Virginia has lost three in a row.
Win or lose on Saturday, there’s no reason why K-State can’t win its next four games.
Maybe I will feel differently if Iowa State wins by an unexpected score like 55-0. But I doubt that happens. This game should be close like most traditional Farmageddon matchups.
If Skylar Thompson stays healthy, it’s hard for me to see this team missing a bowl game.
When K-State slid into “the abyss” last season, it did so without Thompson in the lineup and a depleted defense that kept losing players to COVID. They had also already played KU, TCU and Texas Tech. It’s easy games were over.
That won’t be the case this season.
I really liked Kansas State’s 32-28 victory at Iowa State in 2014. That’s probably not the answer you were expecting. But that was a really well played game with Jake Waters leading the Wildcats to a come-from-behind victory in his home state. And it happened in Week 2, so the game felt more important than usual.
But there have been more exciting endings.
My favorite one of those came the following year when K-State rallied from 21 down to beat Paul Rhoads and the Cyclones 38-35 and ended a six-game losing streak. The Wildcats appeared so doomed in that game that former offensive coordinator Dana Dimel (now the head coach at UTEP) told me he began packing up his things in the fourth quarter only to bring them back out when a late fumble from Iowa State surprisingly gave K-State another shot.
K-State scored 10 points in the final 42 seconds to win. You don’t see that every day.
Man, y’all are on a roll with questions about possible Farmageddon trophies.
I will be really impressed if someone asks about them again next week.
You know I’m in favor of a KSU/ISU rivalry trophy. Naming it after Harold Robinson and Jack Trice would be cool. No objections from me.
Unpopular opinion: I liked the purple pants K-State wore under Ron Prince, and I would totally be in favor of all-purple uniforms every once in a while.
Another unpopular opinion: I don’t mind when Iowa State wears black ... Even when the Cyclones choose to do so during a home game against Iowa.
As long as you’re not going completely wild with orange uniforms or something that isn’t remotely close to your color scheme, I am a fan of alternate uniforms.
They’re fun. Deep down, most of us are fashionistas about them, too.
When will K-State try something new in the uniform department?
Not until Chris Klieman trusts K-State players to win while wearing them. I know he has publicly blamed COVID and manufacturing delays at Nike for sticking with the Wildcats’ traditional uniforms the past two seasons. But that’s just a cover.
K-State experimented with new helmets and white uniforms in 2019, Klieman’s first year on the job. And K-State went out and lost every time the coaching staff made changes to the traditional uniforms.
So I guess you could say superstition is getting in the way.
It’s the opposite of the men’s basketball team and their two-tone uniforms. The Wildcats always seem to win in those.
Now, I think we will see new football uniforms at some point. I know they have looked at some options and new merchandise sells really well in Manhattan. But they might have to break them out against a FCS opponent next season or in 2023 to make sure they get a win and create some good vibes.
I would call it a “push.”
But let’s run down the list of K-State’s transfers and see for ourselves.
Julius Brents: Win. He hasn’t been as good as some expected since arriving from Iowa, but he is still the best cornerback on the roster and had a nice interception against Spencer Rattler two weeks ago.
Timmy Horne: Win. A good addition to the defensive line and a team captain.
Daniel Imatorbhebhe: Push. A step down from Briley Moore, but he has made some nice plays in the passing game.
Cincere Mason: Push. Adding depth in the secondary is always a good thing, but he’s nothing more than a solid backup at safety.
Eric Munoz: Loss. His impact has been negligible at linebacker.
Reggie Stubblefield: Push. He makes plays whenever he’s on the field, but he’s not on the field all that often.
Kade Warner: Loss. Other than bringing his dad, Kurt Warner, to Manhattan for games I’m not sure how much he is helping the Wildcats.
Russ Yeast: Win. He stepped in immediately as a starter at safety.
Mark K-State down for three wins, three pushes and two losses.
I would love it if french fries and tater tots and hash browns and any other form of fried potato had the nutritional value of kale. I would have an eight pack.
As for your K-State question ... Yes, I think the Wildcats should consider sprinkling in a few more 4-2-5 looks on defense, especially against teams that use the 3-3-5 themselves like Iowa State.
Without Khalid Duke and Bronson Massie available to play the hybrid defensive end/linebacker position that the 3-3-5 is built around, I think K-State would benefit from at least occasionally using four defensive linemen. Heck, five might even be a good idea against a running back like Breece Hall.
K-State isn’t going to surprise any Big 12 teams with three defensive linemen. But they might catch some opponents off guard by switching back to the 4-2-5 for a few snaps each game.
I asked defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman a version of this question on Thursday, and he said he is evaluating all options. I think we see a little more 4-2-5 moving forward.
I skipped the open basketball practice before the Oklahoma football game, because I wanted to get a good look at Skylar Thompson as he warmed up and pass along some video to my Twitter followers.
But I do plan to watch Saturday’s scrimmage at Bramlage Coliseum.
I have heard good things about all three of K-State’s transfers. Bruce Weber says Missouri transfer Mark Smith might already be the best player on the team, which means he has either improved a ton since leaving Missouri or K-State is in a world of hurt.
Markquis Nowell is a terrific shooter and Ismael Massoud can play both the three and the four.
The Wildcats should shoot and score much better this season. We will have to wait and see how they look on defense.
This story was originally published October 15, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Is Iowa State a must-win game? How have transfers fared for Wildcats?."