K-State bowl projections: These postseason games will have interest in Wildcats
With three games remaining in the regular season, it’s too early for Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman to worry about his team’s bowl destination.
That is one reason why the Wildcats (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) have mostly downplayed the significance of securing postseason eligibility last week. With three conference games remaining, they have bigger goals in mind.
“We absolutely need to move on,” Klieman said earlier this week, “but I’m happy for those seniors that came back or the seniors that are deciding what they’re going to do. They know that on their last go round, they’re going to get a chance to play postseason football. I think that’s really important to those guys. In the same respect, I think we can still have a really special season.”
Still, it’s never too early to begin speculating on where the Wildcats will end up playing this holiday season.
Four bowl games have emerged as the early leaders — the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, the Liberty Bowl, the Texas Bowl and the Cheez-It Bowl.
Here is a look at how the Wildcats could end up playing in one of them.
Cheez-It Bowl
When: 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 29
Where: Orlando, Florida
The Wildcats narrowly missed out on a invitation to this bowl when Camping World was its sponsor in 2019 when game organizers decided to go with Iowa State instead, despite K-State finishing with a better overall record and beating the Cyclones.
Perhaps this is the year K-State will play in its first Florida bowl game.
K-State will need to continue its winning streak for that to happen. The Cheez-It Bowl gets second pick of Big 12 teams that don’t qualify for the playoff or a New Year’s Six Bowl. That means the Wildcats will need to finish third in the conference standings or hope multiple Big 12 teams qualify for major bowls.
It could happen, but K-State is currently fifth in the Big 12 standings and will probably need nine victories to get serious attention from the Cheez-It Bowl, which is played against an ACC opponent.
Texas Bowl
When: 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 4
Where: Houston
This feels like a more realistic postseason landing spot for K-State. National experts from The Athletic and ESPN are projecting that the Wildcats will play in the Texas Bowl against a SEC opponent, perhaps Arkansas or Auburn.
The Texas Bowl picks immediately after the Cheez-It Bowl. K-State could become an attractive option if it wins two of its final three games but is unable to leap frog Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Iowa State in the league standings.
K-State last played in the Texas Bowl in 2016 and had a good experience, defeating Texas A&M 33-28 in front of 68,412 fans.
It will probably take more than seven victories to play in the Texas Bowl. Only one Big 12 team playing in a major bowl could make this a harder destination to reach.
Liberty Bowl
When: 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 28
Where: Memphis, Tennessee
Most bowl projections currently have K-State playing a SEC opponent in the Liberty Bowl this December.
On paper, that is the most realistic postseason destination for the Wildcats. The Liberty Bowl is where the Big 12’s fifth-best team is supposed to play. But those predictions don’t take into account the fact that K-State has visited Memphis twice since 2016.
K-State lost to Navy in the Liberty Bowl during Klieman’s first season as coach in 2019. It also lost to Arkansas in the Liberty under Bill Snyder in 2016. There isn’t much enthusiasm from K-State fans about returning to Memphis. Odds are the Liberty Bowl would also prefer a different Big 12 team.
Don’t expect K-State to play in this game for those reasons. If it can be avoided, the Liberty Bowl will look elsewhere. No one in purple will complain if Texas jumps K-State in the bowl order to play in this game. The Longhorns have never played here.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
When: 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 28
Where: Phoenix
K-State has a long history with this bowl game. The Wildcats have played in it under many different names — Copper Bowl, Insight.com Bowl, Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Cactus Bowl.
They will end up here if they are unable to move up the Big 12 standings and/or the Liberty Bowl passes over them to select a different team like Texas. It seems unlikely K-State will fall any lower in the Big 12 order than this. The Armed Forces Bowl/First Responders Bowl will only become options for the Wildcats if they lose their remaining three games and get passed by both Texas and West Virginia.
The game will be played against a Big Ten opponent in downtown Phoenix. K-State has good memories in that setting, as it defeated UCLA 35-17 in the 2017 Cactus Bowl.
Latest bowl projections from national experts
Sporting News: Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs. Virginia
ESPN: Texas Bowl vs. Arkansas or Liberty Bowl vs. Mississippi State
USA Today: Liberty Bowl vs. Arkansas
The Athletic: Texas Bowl vs. Auburn
CBS Sports: Liberty Bowl vs. Mississippi State
Bowl Season: Liberty Bowl vs. Arkansas
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 12:17 PM with the headline "K-State bowl projections: These postseason games will have interest in Wildcats."