Report card from K-State football’s loss at Utah and a look ahead to Colorado
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- K-State lost 51-47 at Utah, surrendered a late lead and missed bowl clinch opportunity.
- K-State established rushing identity, totaling school-record 472 yards led by Joe Jackson.
- Defense failed to force stops in crunch time; win over Colorado will secure 6-6 and bowl.
The Kansas State football team has suffered several agonizing losses this season, but a 51-47 defeat at Utah on Saturday inside Rice-Eccles Stadium stood out above the rest.
“That’s probably one of the toughest locker rooms I’ve had to walk into,” K-State quarterback Avery Johnson said. “There were just a bunch of emotions flying around. We had a lot of guys that laid it out on the line tonight and played super hard. To be in it the whole time, have a lead late in the game and come up short, it really hurts. It’s a roller coaster of emotions.”
Indeed, there is no such thing as a moral victory for the Wildcats at this point in the season.
A win would have clinched bowl eligibility for K-State (5-6, 4-4 Big 12) and allowed the Wildcats to make a statement against one of the nation’s best teams. Instead, Utah (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) escaped as a 17.5-point favorite and pulled off a comeback win.
Let’s dive into those topics and more with analysis from the Utah game, plus a look ahead to Colorado ...
Player of the game: Joe Jackson
Which Kansas State football player owns the school record for rushing yards in a game?
It’s not Darren Sproles, Deuce Vaughn, DJ Giddens, Daniel Thomas or any other great running back who has played for the Wildcats in previous years. It’s Joe Jackson.
The K-State offensive line gave him big holes to run through, and he took advantage with 293 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Stat of the game & quote to note
As a team, the Wildcats rushed for a school record 472 yards. Their previous high for the season was 266. On average, teams weren’t rushing for 150 yards this season against Utah.
As for the quote ...
“It’s one of the greatest efforts I’ve been a part of as a coach. It’s hard to say this, because we lost the game, but we’re down so many players. I know a lot of people thought we’d come over here and lay down.” — Chris Klieman.
K-State football grades
Offense: A. On paper, it didn’t look like K-State was going to have much success moving the ball against a stingy defense without Dylan Edwards, Jayce Brown and other notable playmakers. But Chris Klieman found a rushing identity behind the K-State offensive line and the Wildcats gained big yardage with several explosive runs. Avery Johnson only threw for 102 yards and the offense went four-of-12 on third down. They could have done more. But it was still a dream day on the ground.
Defense: C. This was a polar opposite from last week. The Wildcats played well enough on offense to beat Utah. But the defense couldn’t get enough stops. To be fair, the Utes have scored at least 45 points in each of their past four games. It’s what they do. But K-State could have won this game with a slightly better effort on defense. Utah gained 551 yards and moved the ball at will during crunch time.
Special Teams: B. Luis Rodriguez connected on both of his field goals and Simon McClannan averaged 44 yards per punt.
Coaching: B. Very few people gave K-State a chance in this game. So Chris Klieman deserves credit for putting the Wildcats in a position to pull off the upset. But K-State has now lost five one-score games this season, including Saturday’s collapse. That reflects poorly on the head coach. All those close losses seem to have taken a toll on him. So much so, that he got emotional trying to defend himself against fan criticism during his postgame news conference.
Next up for K-State: Colorado
The Wildcats have one more chance to clinch bowl eligibility.
K-State will host Colorado at 11 a.m. Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in a game that will be televised on FS1. With a win, the Wildcats will finish the regular season 6-6 and play in a bowl for the sixth time under Klieman.
That may not mean much to some. But Johnson made it clear that he is “as motivated as ever” to end the regular season on a high note.
“There’s a bunch of things you get if you win six games,” Johnson said. “You get a bowl game, you get extra time to work on your craft. You get extra time to get young guys kind of accustomed to K State football. There’s a lot of practices that we can get in that will help us jump start next season.”
K-State is favored by 17.5 points against Colorado.
The Buffaloes are nearing the end of a disappointing season. They are 3-8 and have lost four straight games, including a 42-17 defeat against Arizona State this weekend.
This story was originally published November 23, 2025 at 10:38 AM.