Bob Lutz: K-State bowl bound at 5-7? It could happen and we’re all for it

With a win Saturday to get to 6-6, Kansas State can secure a bid to one of the 40 bowl games coming to a near-empty stadium near you.

And with a loss Saturday against West Virginia, one that would drop the Wildcats to 5-7, they can still get to a bowl game.

There aren’t enough worthy teams to fill all of the bowls and, although that’s been the case for many years now, college football bowl games remain popular for people sitting at home during the holidays with nothing better to do.

Most of them, at least.

There are some bowl games worth watching. Usually six or seven, maybe eight in a good year.

Yet they keep expanding, having long ago bled over into occasional mediocrity and now skirting on the border of ineptitude.

A 5-7 team — remember, at least a couple of those wins probably were against twinkies, cupcakes and ho-hos — has no business in a bowl.

This is another case in which my age might be getting the best of me. My formative years were spent anticipating New Year’s Day, when my parents and I watched the Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl with a bowl of popcorn in our laps. And that was it. The bowls were over the day they began. Life was good.

Now the bowl season begins in mid-December and ends a week into January. There are bowls on television networks I never heard of.

Two bowls have been added for 2015 — the Arizona Bowl, which is simple enough, and the Cure Bowl, which will help cure insomnia in this country.

There is the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl, in which the winning team gets a payout of $49.99.

Back to Kansas State, which will undoubtedly accept a bowl bid whether or not the Wildcats win Saturday’s game against West Virginia.

My gut reaction is to rip into K-State for this. But I’m not going to do that. I’m going to surprise you with my belief that if the Wildcats want to keep this forgettable season alive, then by all means be my guest.

If it means another game in which Bill Snyder can coach, who am I to rain on K-State’s potential Liberty Bowl parade?

We cannot be sure how many more games the 76-year-old Snyder will coach. He said this week that he won’t make any decision about his coaching future until after this season. So, by all means, let’s prolong the season.

Of course, I hope Snyder makes the best decision for him. Selfishly, though, I hope he continues to coach for at least another couple of years, or as long as he remains healthy.

I know the Wildcats have had a tough season. But they were in games with Oklahoma State, TCU and Baylor, and used another Snyder miracle to beat Iowa State. And, of course, K-State thumped winless Kansas for a gentle reminder about who still rules football in this state.

What Snyder has done at K-State, during both of his coaching stints, is as incredible today as it was 20 years ago. He’s a coaching genius who has built a powerhouse football program while a beautifully expanded stadium that bears his name has gone up around him.

This has been an amazing marriage between a coach, a town, a university and a fan base. So if Snyder doesn’t mind potentially taking a 5-7 team to a bowl, so be it.

K-State could resolve this with a win Saturday over West Virginia at Snyder Family Stadium. The Mountaineers are the best team in the Big 12 not named Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor or TCU, and have followed up a four-game losing streak to the aforementioned big four of the Big 12 by beating Texas Tech, Texas, Kansas and Iowa State.

This West Virginia-KSU game feels bigger than it is for some reason. Perhaps it’s an anxiety that Snyder, scheduled to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in New York next week, could be at the end of the line.

Pardon me while I slip on my Hollywood scriptwriting hat for a moment.

Snyder goes into the hall of fame, coaches in a bowl game and rides off into the sunset. That, folks, is a wrap.

And that’s probably why there is more uneasiness than normal as the end of Kansas State’s season approaches. That it will not end Saturday, most likely, is reassuring to many. There probably will be at least one more game, no matter what happens against West Virginia, for us to celebrate Snyder and his amazing career.

This consternation may be over nothing, too. There’s no hard evidence that points to Snyder’s retirement. The last time he tried to retire, after the 2005 season, he was soon miserable and itching to get back to his 20-hour-day routine. Three years later, he did.

But no one’s motor runs forever. Snyder might feel worn down. Or he might not. He doesn’t send out clues for us to analyze.

Snyder will be coaching Saturday. We know that. And he’ll probably be coaching one more bowl game.

With all this uncertainty, thank goodness for 40 bowls.

This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: K-State bowl bound at 5-7? It could happen and we’re all for it."