K-State football draws inspiration from past as Wildcats look to win future games
Frustrating as it was for Kansas State to lose its past two games on last-minute plays, there were no signs of panic when the Wildcats gathered for a team meeting earlier this week.
They have been here before.
“We have seen it all,” junior quarterback Skylar Thompson said. “We have had some really great wins and some bad losses this year, too. We just have to get back to what makes us K-State and play with confidence and have fun. More importantly, just finish the season strong for the seniors. They deserve it.”
K-State players and coaches don’t have to look far into the past for an example of how to bounce back from a losing streak. The Wildcats began the season with three straight victories and then followed that up with back-to-back losses against Oklahoma State and Baylor.
Odds of a quick turnaround seemed slim with upcoming games against TCU and Oklahoma, but they found a way to beat both opponents and then knock off Kansas to reach No. 16 in the playoff rankings.
The last time K-State lost two in a row, it responded with three straight victories.
Repeating that pattern is the top goal with remaining games against Texas Tech and Iowa State, then a bowl game. The Wildcats think it’s within reach.
“The biggest thing was just belief,” senior center Adam Holtorf said. “The belief in the locker room and the belief among the players that we are still a good football team. We still had opportunities to go out there and improve and just stuck with it. That is a huge key now, too. Everyone stick together, have each other’s back and work and continue to improve.”
K-State football coach Chris Klieman thinks his team is on track to do exactly that.
“That’s the challenge of being able to right the ship and being able to stay positive,” Klieman said. “We came in here (Monday) and just kind of told the guys the truth of where we were at. Nobody was yelling or screaming, because I think our guys our busting their tail.”
Effort hasn’t been an issue all season. The Wildcats have appeared to play hard in all six of their victories and all four of their defeats. But they did seem to have a higher level of intensity against TCU as they tried to end a losing streak.
They hope to recapture it this week and have similar results at Texas Tech.
“There is a lot of fire in our whole football team,” Thompson said, “because we have lost two games that came down to one play. We haven’t been making that one play and we have had some things taking place — some lack of urgency, some missed blocks, me missing a throw or somebody missing a route. Just little things that we haven’t been executing, and doing that definitely lights a fire in your belly. You want to make those plays.”