Kansas State hopes to end bizarre losing streak with alternate uniforms at Rate Bowl
Kansas State’s upcoming football game against Rutgers at the Rate Bowl just got a lot more interesting ... for some.
Anyone who pays attention to uniforms or believes in superstitions will be extremely curious to see the final score on Thursday at Chase Field in Phoenix.
Why? Because K-State football coach Chris Klieman has revealed that the Wildcats will wear alternate uniforms this bowl season.
They are trading in their traditional color scheme for a new one. Instead of wearing silver helmets and silver pants with purple jerseys (their customary home uniform combination), K-State football players will wear white helmets and white pants with purple jerseys (an alternate uniform they have only worn twice before).
“It’s really cool that we get to do that,” K-State offensive lineman Taylor Poitier said. “We rarely get to wear those types of uniform combos, and we are really excited to wear it. We are going to look pretty cool out there.”
“I was waiting for them to (announce it) it all week,” added linebacker Desmond Purnell. “I am happy they came out. They look very nice.”
This is a big deal for two reasons:
1. A segment of K-State football fans are obsessed with the idea of wearing more alternate uniforms.
2. The Wildcats have lost their past six games in alternate uniforms.
Does a curse hang over the K-State football team when it wears something new? Perhaps the result of this bowl game will provide an answer.
Who says bowl games aren’t as meaningful as they used to be?
K-State has modified its uniforms only seven times since 2009, and the Wildcats haven’t won a game in alternate gear since 2013. Klieman has mixed things up four times since he took over as coach in 2019 and the Wildcats have gone 0-4 in those games, with losses to Baylor (2019), West Virginia (2019), Navy (2019) and Tulane (2022).
All four of those losses under Klieman featured white helmets, which led some fans to blame the results on uniforms.
Coincidentally or not, K-State hasn’t deviated from its traditional look since that loss to Tulane two years ago.
“I’ve heard about that a little bit,” Purnell said. “But I don’t think that’s going to do anything. It’s about how we how we come out there and how we play.”
The Wildcats may be tempting fate by wearing white helmets and white pants next week. But Klieman doesn’t care. He says he is not a superstitious person.
He had a special reason for switching things up.
“I talked to a couple of the older guys that are going to play their last game and I asked them their opinion on it,” Klieman said. “I had the idea, I went to a few of those older guys and they said, ‘Let’s do this.’”
Just like that, Klieman was on board.
He wants K-State football players to look good, feel good and play good in Phoenix.
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 2:09 PM with the headline "Kansas State hopes to end bizarre losing streak with alternate uniforms at Rate Bowl."