K-State Q&A: Chris Klieman, Avery Johnson, Wildcat football predictions and more

Don’t look now, but Chris Klieman is quickly becoming one of the longest tenured football coaches in the Big 12.

Now that Mike Gundy is no longer at Oklahoma State, the dean of Big 12 coaches is Utah head man Kyle Whittingham. He has been with the Utes since 2004.

Behind him are Matt Campbell at Iowa State and Kalani Sitake at BYU. They were both hired by their schools in 2016.

After that is Klieman, who has been in charge of the Wildcats since 2019.

It is hard to imagine Oklahoma State or the Big 12 without a character like Gundy. Not only did he win (until recently) at a high level with the Cowboys, he did so with amazing consistency. Who else could lead OSU to 18 straight bowl games?

But no amount of history or entertaining sound bites can save a coach from 11 straight losses against FBS opponents, including a 69-3 loss at Oregon and a 19-12 loss to Tulsa. Gundy wasn’t even able to finish out the season.

We are living in a new and unforgiving world of college football.

So much so, that I wonder how many Big 12 coaches will be able to last two decades at the same job moving forward. Gundy and Whittingham might be the last of their kind.

Klieman will need to stay at K-State until 2039 to hit the 20-year mark.

That’s enough of an introduction for this week’s mailbag. Let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.

Give me one good reason why I should trust Kansas State to bounce back against UCF this weekend? After everything I’ve seen so far this season, the only thing I can envision is a loss. - Jeff M. via e-mail.

Hey, I get it. Optimism is hard to come by when your team is off to its worst start since 1989.

But there are several reasons to have confidence in the Wildcats this week.

For starters, this is the first normal game they have played all year. Iowa State was in Dublin. North Dakota was one jet-lagged week later. Army is a tricky team to prepare for. And Arizona was a Friday road game. That opening schedule was not conducive for a 4-0 run.

Now the Wildcats get to host UCF at home fresh off a bye week.

The Knights are riding high after three straight wins against hapless opponents. The Wildcats are desperate for a win.

On paper, this is a great spot for the home team.

Starting running back Dylan Edwards is also expected to be at full speed for Saturday’s game.

This is the first time we will see K-State rested and healthy at home. The outcome may surprise you.

It seems when Avery Johnson runs, it is either a sweep or he’s running for his life because of the lack of protection. Army’s quarterback was successful running against us by dropping back as if to pass and then running up the middle, like we used to do. Why don’t we do that? Or am I missing something? -@kstatefanfirst via X.

The problem with asking Avery Johnson to take off running on a delayed QB draw is that the defense is prepared for it.

That is a fantastic play if the defense is in man coverage and the secondary is selling out to stop the pass. But everyone knows that Johnson is fast and that he will run for big yardage if he sees that kind of defensive alignment.

Big 12 defenses are smart enough to spy Johnson with a linebacker and to play zone defense against him. That way, even when he leaves the pocket and looks to scramble someone has eyes on him. Jayce Brown has been K-State’s only offensive weapon this season. If you can stop him and keep an eye on Johnson then it’s not hard to make the Wildcats punt.

From a schematic standpoint, the best thing K-State can do to help Johnson get going as a runner is to give him a lead blocker. That would work better than the RPO plays he has mostly been giving to his running back this season.

From an execution standpoint, Johnson needs to be more assertive and make defenders miss in space. He is never going to catch a defense off guard, but he can scramble outside the pocket and go one-on-one with a tackler. If he can start making that guy miss then the offense will be much better off.

Of course, it’s worth pointing out that the Wildcats have struggled to run the ball (period) this season. K-State’s running backs haven’t done much on the ground either.

But getting Johnson going would help quite a bit.

Said K-State offensive coordinator Matt Wells: “I love it when he runs, and everybody else does too ... I think his legs are a weapon. He needs to use those and be aggressive.”

Can we turn it around enough to make a bowl game? -@Snyder_cat via X.

Is it possible? Yes.

Is it likely? No.

K-State has never started a season 1-3 and rallied to make a bowl game before. The Wildcats have fought back from 2-4 (twice) and 3-6 (once) to win six games and reach bowl eligibility. But all three of those instances were close shaves. And those teams had bigger margin for error because they won early.

A lot will depend on what happens against UCF on Saturday. If the Wildcats play inspired football and win then a path to bowl eligibility feels a bit more realistic. But if they lay another egg and lose then the season is most likely over. Well, it wouldn’t be over. Chris Klieman’s team would still have seven more games, but K-State would only be playing for pride.

I expect K-State to be favored in at least three of its remaining games — UCF, at Oklahoma State and Colorado.

If the Wildcats win all three of those, then they will need to win two more (potentially as underdogs) against Baylor, TCU, Kansas, Texas Tech and Utah.

On paper, K-State has enough talent to win any of those games. But it’s hard to know what to expect from this team at the moment.

The best thing to hope for as a K-State fan is a strong game on Saturday, and then take it from there.

Any word on Asa Newsom? -@Coachjc03 via X.

The K-State linebacker was on the field for games against Army and Arizona. He has two tackles on the season.

His role should continue to grow as he gets healthier.

While I haven’t given up on the football season and remain optimistic, should I believe the men’s basketball team hype once again? Or should I just cancel every streaming service that currently carries Big 12 sports as it’s close to a monthly car payment? -@ChadFullington via X.

Hopefully you can find some middle ground with your expectations for Jerome Tang and his rebuilt basketball roster.

Should you start booking travel to the Final Four? No.

But it’s way too early to stop watching the Wildcats entirely.

The beautiful thing about college basketball is that one or two good players can change everything. Just look at how good K-State was during its lone season with Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson and then compare that to the past two seasons without them.

There is a lot to like about Memphis transfer PJ Haggerty and Serbian youngster Andrej Kostic. Those two should give the Wildcats one of the best backcourt duos in the Big 12.

Question is: Will K-State have enough talent at other positions to contend for the NCAA Tournament?

College basketball statistician Bart Torvik has K-State ranked No. 61 in his preseason database, which is a slight downgrade from last season. But I’m not sure his ratings system fully accounts for European newcomers like Elias Rapieque, Dorin Buca or Kostic.

So the Wildcats could easily exceed those expectations.

However, Tang and his coaching staff haven’t instilled much confidence of late. Who’s to say they won’t underachieve with another expensive roster?

The hope is that new assistant Matthew Driscoll can overhaul the offense and give the Wildcats a fresh new look.

Will that be enough to get K-State back to March Madness? For now, I have no prediction. I haven’t seen this team practice or play. But it’s way too early to go all-in or abandon ship.

Weekly recommendations

Streaming: My dad’s favorite football team is the Kansas City Chiefs. His second favorite football team is anyone who happens to be playing against the Dallas Cowboys. Growing up in Texas during the 1990s, the Cowboys were considered to be insufferable in our home. I mention that now, because even though I have never been much of a Dallas fan I very much enjoyed the Netflix documentary about Jerry Jones and his team. I watched every episode.

Drink: It’s almost pumpkin beer season. I need to make room in my fridge for a six pack before October arrives.

Food: Candy corn and peanut mix. I know candy corn is a polarizing treat. But it’s hard to hate on when you mix it with a bowl of peanuts.

This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

Kellis Robinett

The Wichita Eagle

Kellis Robinett covers Kansas State athletics for The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star. A winner of more than a dozen national writing awards, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.