Why Chris Klieman showed rare emotion after Kansas State’s victory at Texas Tech
Some might use the word “ugly” to describe Kansas State’s 30-27 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday.
The Red Raiders outgained the Wildcats by 140 yards and came close to stealing the game in the fourth quarter despite never possessing a lead. K-State players, coaches and fans were sweating until the final whistle on a night when nothing seemed to come easy for either team.
That’s all true. Just don’t try saying any of that to K-State head coach Chris Klieman.
“You think we won ugly today?” Klieman said during his postgame news conference. “We have only got one game left. How much is this going to catapult us? We found a way.”
The Wildcats (7-4, 4-4 Big 12) won an important game that will improve their bowl stock and create some positive momentum heading into their final regular-season game next week against Iowa State by throwing for 246 yards, holding the Red Raiders (4-7, 2-6) to three points in the first half and shrugging off a laundry list of injuries.
Klieman couldn’t ask for more in his first year as K-State’s coach. Perhaps that is why he drifted away from his usual even-keel persona and showed some genuine emotion during his postgame news conference when a reporter suggested the Wildcats did in fact win “ugly.”
“It’s probably never going to be just perfect for us,” Klieman said, “because we are learning our system, and we are beat up and those things. But I’m so excited because the guys are believing that we are getting better. Does it show up every Saturday on the scoreboard? No, but I see it everyday in practice. That’s what I want. We’re not building this thing for one year, we are building this thing five or six years down the road, if Gene (Taylor) will have me here. We need to find a way to win these games. That’s what I’m so excited about. The guys believe.”
That was most evident before Saturday’s game began.
K-State players had many reasons to doubt themselves last week during practice. They were coming off a pair of last-minute losses to Texas and West Virginia. They were road underdogs in this game. And some were predicting them to finish the regular season on a four-game losing streak.
But they stayed positive, worked hard and came to Jones AT&T Stadium prepared for anything. When Texas Tech made it difficult for K-State to run the ball, quarterback Skylar Thompson began heaving the ball down field, completing 14 of 28 passes for 246 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Phillip Brooks (14 yards) and Chabastin Taylor (48 yards) both crossed the goal line and several other K-State receivers drew pass-interference penalties on Texas Tech.
When Texas Tech scored, K-State usually had an answer. One came on a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Joshua Youngblood. On the other side of the ball, Denzel Goolsby came up with an interception in the end zone immediately following a successful punt from the Red Raiders.
“We’re the type of team that is never out of the fight,” Goolsby said. “We take pride in those moments. It is easy to shy away when it seems like they have the momentum, but we are a competitive team. We want to show the world who we are. It doesn’t matter what they do, we are going to step up and make a play ... It just shows how much we believe in each other and in this program.”
K-State had to dig deep to survive a late charge from Texas Tech.
The Wildcats entered the game without defensive starters AJ Parker and Jonatham Durham. Then they lost Walter Neil and receiver Malik Knowles to injuries. They also had to get by for portions of this game without DaQuan Patton, Brooks and several others.
Then the offense flexed its muscles when things mattered most. On the final drive of the night, the Wildcats converted a key third-and-11 with a 17-yard draw from Thompson against an aggressive blitz and then James Gilbert rumbled 18 yards on second-and-9 to ensure they could run out the clock.
It seemed fitting that Thompson helped open up the game-clinching run by throwing a block for Gilbert. By no means was it as pretty as a touchdown pass. Some might call it “ugly.” But it yielded a beautiful result.
“That was a fun play,” Thompson said. “I was just trying to make a play for my team. I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 11:42 PM.