K-State is off to a dismal start. So why is Chris Klieman ‘dang proud’ of his team?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- K-State dropped to 1-2 after a 24-21 loss to Army, its worst start since 2009.
- Army dominated time of possession, running 62 of the final 75 plays in the game.
- Coach Chris Klieman remains optimistic despite fan frustration and early setbacks.
Kansas State football fans everywhere were hitting the metaphorical panic button after they watched the Wildcats agonizingly drop a home game 24-21 to Army on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
It’s been a long time since K-State began a season this poorly.
Not only are the Wildcats (1-2, 0-1 Big 12) in last place of the conference standings, but they are off to their worst start in nearly two decades. You have to go all the way back to 2009, when Snyder came out of retirement in an attempt to “calm the waters” after the Ron Prince era, to find the last time that K-State lost two of its first three games.
Making matters worse, K-State would be winless right now if not for a last-minute touchdown drive from quarterback Avery Johnson in a 38-35 win over North Dakota.
It has become clear that this is a deeply flawed team that had no business being in the preseason top 25. This could be a long year for the Wildcats.
But at least one person still has high hopes for K-State — its head coach.
“I’m dang proud of that football team that we have in there,” Chris Klieman said. “I’m disappointed in the loss, just like everybody else is, just like the fan base should be. We put so much into that, because it’s going to be hard to win college games, and that’s the way the season is going to go.
“I told the guys, ‘I’m the leader of this group. It ain’t sunny and 70 every day, and when it ain’t sunny and 70, who’s got to stand up? It’s got to be me.’ I know that we have a good football team. They can hammer me to death about not getting this win. I’m going to come back tomorrow, and I’m going to give it my all with those guys, because those guys deserve it.
“That was a weird game, and we had a chance to win it. Some freaky things happened, and we didn’t. But I’m proud of our guys.”
It was such a “weird” game that Klieman said a 99-yard touchdown from kickoff returner Bryce Noernberg ended up hurting the Wildcats because it kept the K-State offense on the sideline while Army and its triple-option attack unbelievably monopolized possession for 62 of the game’s final 75 plays.
To make things worse, Army pulled off an ingenious surprise onside kick that K-State had no prayer of stopping. On the play, Army rocketed a line-drive kick straight at the front line of K-State’s return team. The ball ricocheted off one of them dodgeball style and the Black Knights recovered.
“Not only does it hit our guy square, it’s like a 90 mile an hour fastball from 10 yards,” Klieman said. “It doesn’t go backwards to our line. It goes right to their own. Sure enough, now they’ve got another possession and our offense is sitting on the sideline. Now we’re going to play about 45 plays in a row (on defense).”
K-State led 13-0 late in the second quarter, but Army dominated the rest of the way.
The Black Knights outgained the Wildcats 332 yards to 247 and possessed the ball for nearly 41 minutes. Johnson completed 15 of 25 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown, but that hardly mattered as the K-State defense allowed Army to win the game 3 yards at a time.
“It was weird,” Johnson said. “They would get to third down and fourth down, so I would get up ready to go back on. And then when they get the first down you kind of just have to reset your mind and try to stay in it.”
Where do the Wildcats go from here?
Good question. Technically, they still have much to play for. Nonconference losses won’t hurt K-State’s chances of competing for a league championship or a berth in the College Football Playoff. If Klieman can get things turned around fast, this team can still achieve its preseason goals.
But the Wildcats have already lost two games. Up next is a road trip to Arizona on Friday. Will anyone be surprised if they drop that game, too?
Klieman will do his best to try and rally his team and bounce back from a disappointing start.
Defensive tackle Damian Ilalio will follow his head coach. He also thinks the Wildcats can turn things around.
“We’re going to come together,” Ilalio said. “We’ve been in tough spots before. I’ve been in tough spots before with this team. In 2022, people didn’t think we were going to win a Big 12 championship after the first couple games. The season is not over yet. There’s definitely a long way to go and we have got a lot of things to fix. But it’s not over at all.”
This story was originally published September 7, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "K-State is off to a dismal start. So why is Chris Klieman ‘dang proud’ of his team?."