Cheez-It Bowl could make history by inviting Kansas State to Florida this postseason
Kansas State has been playing football since 1896, which has given the Wildcats plenty of time to experience just about everything within the wide spectrum of the sport. And yet, during their long history on the gridiron, they have improbably never played a bowl game in the state of Florida.
No Orange Bowl. No Citrus Bowl. No Outback Bowl. No Gator Bowl. No Cheez-It Bowl. No ... well you get the point. There are three other Florida bowl games with goofy names the Wildcats haven’t played in either.
You could say K-State is due for a postseason trip to the Sunshine State.
Perhaps this is the year it finally happens.
“Kansas State is a really interesting team,” said Steve Hogan, the CEO at Florida Citrus Sports, who is the man in charge of selecting teams for the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando on Wednesday, Dec. 29. “That fan base is what you get excited about. We have not had the chance to have them yet, but our view is that they’ve got a strong fan base. That’s our assumption, and they have earned that over time. We have respect for them.”
The Wildcats are one of three Big 12 teams currently being considered for a spot in the Cheez-It Bowl. Hogan said their main competition will come from Oklahoma and Iowa State. But odds are good that only the Cyclones will still be available after the major bowls and the Alamo Bowl make their selections. The Cheez-It Bowl selects next in the Big 12 bowl order, followed by the Texas Bowl.
Assuming both Baylor and Oklahoma State earn invitations to playoff-affiliated bowls, the Sooners would be an obvious pick for the Alamo Bowl.
Bowl executives will face a much tougher decision when choosing between Iowa State and K-State. Both teams finished with identical 7-5 records.
Yes, the Cyclones beat the Wildcats and won an extra game in conference play. But there is no strict selection criteria for Big 12 bowls to follow. For example: Iowa State jumped K-State in the bowl order two years ago despite the Wildcats owning a better overall record and a head-to-head win against their Farmageddon rival.
The Cheez-It Bowl (under a different name) picked Iowa State instead of K-State back then.
“They are very similar,” Hogan said. “There are a lot of options, but we are impressed with Kansas State. Their Stanford game early in the season was a nice win and they won four in a row during conference play. The toughest thing about them from our view would be the head-to-head loss to Iowa State and closing the season with a couple losses. But they had a good season, and, again, their fan base is something that we’re sold on.”
After hosting Iowa State two short years ago, it’s possible the Cheez-It Bowl may not want to bring the Cyclones back to Orlando so quickly. But Hogan said that won’t disqualify them from consideration. In fact, his bowl games have regularly selected teams two or three years after their most recent visits and things have worked out well.
Still, it’s hard to top inviting a team for the first time.
“You want fresh eyes,” Hogan said. “You want a fan base that is excited to try something new. That’s definitely a component. We’re trying to find ranked teams, if we can. We look at records. It’s all important. We’ve been blessed in most years of our Big 12 partnership to have a ranked team up there with eight or nine wins. We like to create interesting matchups. All those things are part of the recipe. But definitely freshness and new experiences are important.”
If K-State ends up in the Cheez-It Bowl, the Wildcats will play an ACC opponent such as Clemson, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh or Wake Forest.
K-State athletic director Gene Taylor doesn’t have a prediction on where the Wildcats will end up. But he said they would love to play in either the Cheez-It Bowl or the Texas Bowl.
“We have never played in Orlando, and I think our fans would travel there,” Taylor said. “We would play a pretty good ACC opponent there or a pretty good SEC opponent in Houston. I’m sure both bowls will be great games.”
If K-State misses out on the Cheez-It Bowl, odds are good the Wildcats will land in the Texas Bowl on Tuesday, Jan. 4 in Houston.
Texas Bowl CEO David Fletcher said his game is currently considering Iowa State, K-State, Texas Tech and West Virginia. The Cyclones have never played in the Texas Bowl, which makes them an attractive choice. The Wildcats have played there twice, most recently in 2016 when they beat Texas A&M.
Fletcher remembers both games fondly.
“We have really enjoyed our relationship with Kansas State,” Fletcher said. “It’s been great to see Chris Klieman making some progress and winning in his third year. They looked good all season long and had some great performances. Obviously things didn’t finish the way they wanted, but their fan base is phenomenal. They always travel great to Houston.”
This story was originally published December 2, 2021 at 1:51 PM.