K-State Q&A: Bruce Weber, the worst loss in Bramlage history, bowl games and more
When I sat down with Blair Kerkhoff to record a podcast following Kansas State’s humiliating loss to Fort Hays State earlier this week, I expected him to ask me if it was the worst defeat of the Bruce Weber era.
I was prepared to answer yes, while pointing out that losses to Northern Colorado, Texas Southern, Tulsa (x2) and Oklahoma (by 30 in 2017) all deserve honorable mention. But that’s not what he asked.
He wanted to know if it was the worst loss ever at Bramlage Coliseum. That threw me for a loop. I hadn’t really thought about it that way. But after doing a little research, I’m prepared to declare that it was the worst loss in arena history. A few other games come close — Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara, Southern Mississippi, Long Beach State, Western Carolina and the EA Sports All-Stars (if you want to count exhibitions). But none of those losses can top the debacle from Tuesday night, in which the Wildcats trailed a Division II team by 21 points.
It was the first time a Division II team had beaten a Division I team on the road in a regular-season game in 20 years, according to ESPN research.
Yikes.
I’m not sure it was the worst loss of the modern era for K-State, because it’s awfully hard to top the 93-52 loss at UMKC back in 2003. But it’s in the discussion.
K-State’s most recent loss has stirred up quite a bit of interest in the men’s basketball team, albeit for the wrong reasons. That means we have lots of questions to cover this week. So let’s get right to them. Thanks, as always, for your participation.
No. I honestly can’t think of a time over the past decade that would even be close to what we’re seeing right now.
K-State has lost five straight games on the football field, including a 45-0 loss to Iowa State and a 69-31 beat down against Texas. Not long ago, the Wildcats owned both of those teams.
We have seen a 1-4 start on the basketball court, including the team’s first loss to a in-state school not named KU or Wichita State since 1945.
Even the women’s basketball team lost by double-digits at home to Idaho State this week, though Jeff Mittie’s team bounced back nicely against No. 22 South Dakota State on Thursday.
There have been times since I started covering the Cats when the football team was mediocre, but the men’s basketball team made up for it by making the NCAA Tournament. There were times the basketball was hard to watch, but the football team made up for it by playing in a bowl game.
Right now, nothing is going right. In a sign of how not great things have gone lately, the “Not Great Bob” GIF currently pops up as the most frequently used GIF on my phone.
The 3MAW days of 2012-13 seem like ages ago.
You are correct. Ken Pomeroy currently predicts the Wildcats to finish the season with a 6-21 record, including a 2-16 mark in Big 12 play.
But he also gave the Wildcats a 100% chance of beating Fort Hays State earlier this week, so (as much as Jesse Newell would argue otherwise) his fancy algorithms don’t know everything.
I’m not sure there is a strong argument to be made about betting on this team to win more than six games, as it has already lost by double digits to Drake, Colorado, UNLV and Fort Hays, but I will play along.
First off, there is nowhere for this team to go but up.
Second, upcoming games against Milwaukee, Iowa State, Jacksonville and Omaha are all winnable. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Wildcats will have five wins by the end of the month.
Third, this team hasn’t played a single game with its full roster. K-State was without Kaosi Ezeagu, Montavious Murphy and Luke Kasubke against Fort Hays. And it didn’t have Carlton Linguard in any of its first four games. If this group can get healthy, it can improve.
Fourth, the biggest problem with this team is defense. As I wrote earlier this week, this is by far the worst defensive team of the Weber era. But coaching defense is usually Weber’s strength. K-State has enough shooters to win games this year. If the defense comes along even a little bit, things will improve drastically.
Fifth, neither Iowa State nor TCU look very good. The Cyclones lost their last game at home to South Dakota State. The Horned Frogs already have two losses. That gives K-State at least four opportunities for victories in Big 12 play.
Sixth, some Big 12 teams may overlook the Wildcats or have to play with weakened rosters due to Covid, creating more paths to victory for Weber’s squad.
If K-State continues to play the way it has, all bets are off. But if the Wildcats use the Fort Hays loss as a wake-up call and start improving there is potential for more than six wins this season.
Sadly, I had to think about this question.
But I’m going to say “yes.” It’s way to sad to say “no.”
With 27 opportunities, plus the Big 12 Tournament, surely the basketball team can scrape together five wins somewhere.
It depends on the situation.
No athletic director anywhere wants to pay a coach millions of dollars to not work in the middle of a pandemic. Money is tight right now. Athletic departments are laying off employees and asking others to take pay cuts. It’s a bad time to make big changes.
But if things go badly enough, it can still happen.
The only major basketball coaching change during the last cycle was with our old friend John Currie parting ways with Danny Manning at Wake Forest.
On the football side, South Carolina ponied up the cash to fire Will Muschamp. There are also openings at Vanderbilt, Utah State, South Alabama and Louisiana-Monroe. Southern Mississippi recently hired a new coach, too.
Coaches are safer than usual when it comes to job security, but they aren’t immune.
Less than a month ago, I would have told you there was no amount of losing that could cost Weber his job this season. But he is testing that theory with the Wildcats off to a 1-4 start, punctuated by the most humiliating loss in recent memory.
His future will depend on how the team finishes the rest of the season.
No one was expecting much from K-State hoops this season, so Weber’s job in 2020-21 is about building a foundation and setting up hope for the future more than piling up victories. He can still do that. If the Wildcats respond with some victories and it looks like the team is going places (even with an awful record) then his job is probably safe.
But if this team only wins something like three games and the future looks hopeless, then K-State athletic director Gene Taylor might have to consider other options.
Losing to Fort Hays opened the door to just about any possibility.
His buyout is $2 million until April 31, 2021. It drops to $1 million the following day.
I probably should have ignored this question, but I feel like it’s going to be asked repeatedly until I answer it.
So here’s your info: Brad Underwood’s buyout at Illinois is $8 million*, according to reports following his latest contract extension.
That would seem to be too much money for just about any school to lure him away from Illinois right now.
*Full disclosure: I originally listed an incorrect figure on his buyout that was based on an out-of-date report. The information listed above is correct.
I asked Weber about Kasubke the other day, and he said the freshman guard is nearing a return from his preseason toe injury.
He is running in practice. The next step will be to see how he can handle jumping.
Weber has previously said he could see Kasubke playing at some point in December, and that still sounds like a possibility.
K-State could definitely use him. He is a great shooter and a smart basketball player.
The only thing I drank during Kansas State’s loss to Fort Hays was bottled water. Tempting as it may have been to order a $8 Bud Light from the concession stands at Bramlage Coliseum during that slog, the professional in me wouldn’t allow it.
But I do enjoy the occasional holiday beverage when I’m not covering a K-State event.
Egg Nog is the best Christmas drink there is, especially when you drink it out of a “Christmas Vacation” style moose mug.
But I also very much like Christmas beers. Boulevard Nut Cracker, St. Arnold Christmas Ale, Harpoon Holiday Ale, Sam Adam’s Winter Lager, Shiner Holiday Cheer are some of my favorites.
I’m easy to please, though. If you brew a beer and put it in a Christmas bottle I’m probably going to like it.
You “saw somewhere” that Klieman wants to accept a bowl invitation?
You want to know if it is possible for K-State to play in a bowl with a 4-6 record?
Erik, my man, you’re killing me!
Anyone who follows me on Twitter or who has read my many stories about Klieman’s bowl intentions, and K-State’s bowl projections and Gene Taylor’s thoughts about the postseason already knows the answers to all of your questions.
But I digress ...
Yes, it is very likely that K-State will end up playing in a bowl game later this month, even with a 4-6 record because there is no win requirement for eligibility this season.
The Big 12 has partnerships with seven bowl games, and the Wildcats finished seventh in the conference standings. That means K-State is going bowling.
Odds are good that it will end up in the First Responder Bowl on Dec. 26 in Dallas. That’s the seventh bowl in the Big 12’s pecking order.
But there is also a chance it could play in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Dec. 26 in Phoenix, if both Iowa State and Oklahoma qualify for playoff-affiliated bowls.
Klieman and Taylor are both on record as saying they want K-State to play in a bowl game. They are expecting to receive an invitation and to accept it.
Now, there’s always a chance K-State could be unable to play in a bowl game because of Covid issues. There’s also a chance some more bowl games will get canceled, and that could force the Wildcats to stay home.
But the plan is to play one more game.
Is playing an extra game right now a bad idea? Maybe. The Wildcats were down to a Walking Dead roster by the end of last week’s loss to Texas and there isn’t much fan enthusiasm surrounding a bowl trip during a pandemic.
You can definitely argue that it’s best for K-State to call it a season rather than pave forward and play in a bowl game.
But that’s an entirely different debate.
It doesn’t take a very deep dive to identify the differences between Klieman’s first and second seasons with the Wildcats.
Year 1: Skylar Thompson stayed healthy behind a senior-laden offensive line and the defense was above average. That allowed K-State to surprise some teams on its way to eight victories.
Year 2: Thompson was lost for the season after three games while playing behind an offensive line made up entirely of new starters. The defense was gutted by transfers, COVID-19 and injuries. And the Wildcats couldn’t close out games against Arkansas State, Oklahoma State or Baylor. That left them 4-6.
It’s difficult to properly evaluate K-State coaching right now. Could Klieman and his assistants have done better? Of course. But winning games with a freshman quarterback, backup linebackers and walk-on safeties would be a challenge for Vince Lombardi.
Next year will depend a great deal on which seniors return to the roster and what transfers they add. If the Wildcats can get some help from fifth-year players and bring some young players along they could bounce back rather quickly. Otherwise, they may need some time.
We have seen from some talented Klieman recruits already (namely Deuce Vaughn) but the Wildcats have lost much of their 2019 recruiting class to the transfer portal. So more are needed.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 5:00 AM.