K-State Q&A: How the Wildcats can beat Navy and build for future at Liberty Bowl
It’s time for another K-State Q&A.
Before we bid farewell to 2019, let’s spend some together looking ahead to K-State’s upcoming game against Navy at the Liberty Bowl with some fun mailbag topics. Thanks, as always, for your participation.
If K-State beats Navy in the Liberty Bowl it won’t go down as the Wildcats’ best postseason victory, but it might rank in the top five.
It would certainly hold up as their most meaningful bowl win in quite some time.
K-State’s last three bowl wins against UCLA, Texas A&M and Michigan were signifcant but not all that impressive. Two of those teams were playing without their starting quarterbacks, one was playing without its head coach and none of them were motivated to play the Wildcats.
Things will be different against Navy. The Midshipmen are pumped to be in Memphis and badly want a victory in this game. A win over K-State would be a statement victory for them.
When was the last time K-State won a bowl game against an opponent that was healthy and excited for the game? You probably have to go back to Arizona State at the 2002 Holiday Bowl or Tennessee at the 2001 Cotton Bowl.
Beating Navy would give K-State a bowl victory over a ranked team, which the Wildcats haven’t achieved since 2001, and probably vault the them into the final top 25, which hasn’t happened since 2014.
So winning in Memphis would be a big deal and rank among the best bowl wins in K-State history along with Wyoming at the 1993 Copper Bowl, Syracuse at the 1997 Fiesta Bowl, Washington at the 1999 Holiday Bowl and Tennessee at the 2001 Cotton Bowl.
Media members aren’t supposed to cheer at football games, but I would break that rule and dance all the way from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium to Beale Street if this game ends in less than 2 hours and 18 minutes.
That’s the kind of game you dream about.
I’m not sure it can happen, given all the forced commercial breaks that take place during college football games. Halftime also tends to run a little long at bowl games. So I’m going to take the over here. But I don’t expect the game to last a full three hours.
These teams are going to run the ball ... a lot. I’m excited to see how quickly they can make the clock run.
The only thing Chris Klieman likes more than a touchdown drive is a long touchdown drive that keeps the ball away from an opposing team for more than seven minutes.
That’s all well and good against Big 12 teams that throw the ball and try to run 100 plays in every game, but he shouldn’t put much value in time of possession in this game. Navy, with its triple-option offense, tries to control the clock even more than K-State does, making this is an unusual situation for the Wildcats.
For once they are the fastest-paced team in a game that has to worry about how long it must wait before it will see the ball again after a punt.
The most important thing in this game will be touchdowns. It doesn’t matter if K-State scores them in two plays or 15 plays. It just needs touchdowns. A quick start and an early lead would also be beneficial. Navy is well equipped to play from ahead. Not so much from behind.
Two quick scoring drives to start the game might actually be more beneficial than two long scoring drives to start the game.
Possession time wasn’t much of a factor for Memphis (21:21) or Notre Dame (24:00) in their double-digit victories over Navy this season, and they combined to score 87 points against the Midshipmen.
K-State doesn’t need to hold the ball for 40 minutes to win this game.
One thing is for sure: possessions will be at a premium in this game. So the Wildcats will need to value them and take advantage of every scoring opportunity, no matter how quickly they present themselves.
Offense: James Gilbert, because the Wildcats are at their best when they establish the run and let Skylar Thompson pass when it’s most convenient for him to do so.
Defense: Elijah Sullivan, because the Midshipmen are unlikely to pile up yards or points if a linebacker leads K-State’s defense in tackles.
Special teams: Blake Lynch, because I’ve got a feeling this game might come down to a late field goal.
Somewhere around eight.
Navy doesn’t do anything fancy on offense, but it hammers opponents all game long with one physical play after the next. If the Midshipmen get rolling on a 15-play drive, the Wildcats will need to rotate defenders up front in order to stay fresh.
That’s something they have done all season against other teams. No reason to expect it to change here. I suppose K-State could force Navy into nothing but three-and-outs, allowing Scottie Hazelton to leave his main four defensive line on the field all game. Otherwise we will see steady substitutions.
This is as far away from a rivalry game as you can get.
Navy has respected the heck out of K-State this week and provided the Wildcats with absolutely zero bulletin-board material. There is no bad blood between these teams. Navy wants to beat K-State for a Power 5 win and K-State wants to beat Navy for a ranked win.
It’s hard to dislike an opponent filled with players that are preparing to serve our country in the military. Some things only Bojack Horseman can do.
I don’t think that will be much of a factor in this game. The Wildcats have plenty of reasons to be motivated for Navy and the Liberty Bowl. K-State should also have the fan advantage.
But there won’t be an ounce of hatred in this game. That will be a little different.
Thank you for giving me an opening to link to the feature I wrote on Joshua Youngblood this week. The craziest thing about his freshman success with the Wildcats is that he really hasn’t impacted the offense all that much, catching just nine passes for 73 yards and rushing the ball for 55 yards and a touchdown.
His time will come. And he might take his first step toward a bigger role as a receiver at the Liberty Bowl.
K-State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham says Youngblood has been one of the team’s most impressive players during bowl practices, and the Tampa playmaker has benefited from an extra month of film study.
Will Skylar Thompson target him 10 times and treat him as a go-to receiving threat? Probably not. But I can see him getting a few opportunities in the passing game.
The Manhattan Town Center Mall Little Apple Bowl brought to you by The National Bio and Agro-defense Facility ... Or the Little Apple Bowl for short.
I feel like that bowl could do something fun with apples the same way the Orange Bowl does with, well, oranges.
All participants would receive a $200 gift card to the Manhattan Town Center Mall, all-you-can eat privileges at So Long Saloon/Taco Lucha and one free item at the Flint Hills Discovery Center gift shop.
Matt Campbell won 10 games while he was coaching at Toledo and will probably hit the magical nine-win mark at some point nin Ames.
Then again, the Cyclones have already proclaimed him to be the GOAT for going 26-25 in his first four seasons. So they aren’t giving him much incentive to improve on the 7-6 season Iowa State just finished with a resounding loss to Notre Dame at the Camping World Bowl.
There is understandably a lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of K-State’s offensive line. The Wildcats are set to lose five senior starters after the Liberty Bowl, and the only returning player with significant experience is Josh Rivas.
But I don’t expect this unit to suffer a huge dropoff. K-State’s offensive line was solid this season, but not great by any means. I’m expecting about the same next year. The Wildcats should still be average up front.
The coaching staff is head over heels for Cooper Beebe and also likes Noah Johnson. Combine those two with Rivas and the interior of K-State’s offensive line should be just fine. The big question is at tackle. I’m not sure what the Wildcats plan to do there.
They have tried, and so far failed, to recruit an impact blocker with size capable of stepping in as a starter next season, leaving them with Kaitori Leveston and Christian Duffie as potential starters at left tackle and right tackle. Perhaps they can fill in for Scott Frantz and Nick Kaltmayer better than most expect, but they both lack the size of a traditional tackle.
Klieman and his coaching staff may need to hit the recruiting trail hard for more options before signing day arrives in February.
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 5:00 AM.