Kansas State coach Chris Klieman is using tough love on the Wildcats after two losses
No one is more upset about the way Kansas State has started this football season than head coach Chris Klieman.
That much was made crystal clear when he held a team meeting on Saturday following a 29-21 loss at Oklahoma State, which dropped the Wildcats to 3-2 and 1-1 in the Big 12.
“He was fired up,” K-State wide receiver Seth Porter said. “He was very fired up, and I think he should be. He is demanding a lot from us as players. He is demanding a lot from the coaches as a staff. I think it is good. It shows that he cares. He expects a lot more from us, because he knows we are capable. He was fired up, but it was deserving.”
It has been rare to see an angry version of Klieman stomping around the K-State football complex over the past five years, mostly because there hasn’t been much for him to get angry about. The Wildcats are 33-22 under his guidance, with three bowl appearances and one Big 12 championship.
There’s no need for Hulk when Bruce Banner is getting the job done.
But victories aren’t coming easily for the Wildcats at the moment. K-State has lost two of its past three games, and it needed an epic performance from running back D.J. Giddens (293 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns) to begin conference play with a win over UCF at home.
Many hoped the Wildcats would get back on track with a strong showing against Oklahoma State, especially as a 12-point road favorite. Instead, more questions emerged for the team after Will Howard threw three interceptions and the Cowboys won despite only scoring one touchdown on offense.
Klieman didn’t have anything positive to say about his players or his assistant coaches following the loss, which is also rare for him. He was still in a bad mood when K-State held a team meeting and began preparing for its next game at Texas Tech.
“It was rough, mainly because we know we can be better collectively,” Klieman said. “There wasn’t really any finger pointing, because I feel like all phases need to be better. All positions within the units can be better.”
Time will tell if that coaching tactic leads to a victory over the Red Raiders. But, for now, his words and emotions, appear to have been well received.
“A lot of the things that happened in that game were on us and in our control,” Howard said. “I have said over and over to the guys, I truly believe that there is no team out there than can beat us. We are the only ones that can do that. If we aren’t playing to our standard, anyone can beat us. We just have to get back to what we were doing.”