Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman choked up multiple times and had to be comforted by athletic director Gene Taylor during his postgame news conference following the Wildcats’ heartbreaking 51-47 loss to No. 12 Utah on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
A three-minute opening statement started with Klieman calling the Wildcats’ effort the greatest he’s ever been a part of, and made reference to the calls for his job amid what’s been a disappointing season.
After three minutes, Klieman sat back in his chair and tried to gather himself. Taylor walked up to Klieman and put his arm around him.
‘You ain’t going anywhere, bud,’ Taylor said, overheard on the microphone. ‘Understand that. We’ve got your back. We’ve got your back.’
Kansas State dropped to 5-6 overall and 4-4 in Big 12 play with the defeat, when many expected the Wildcats to compete for a conference title in 2025. The Wildcats have been ravaged by injuries, but they showed in Saturday’s defeat they’re still fighting plenty. They can earn bowl eligibility when they host Colorado on Nov. 29 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The Wildcats gained 574 yards of offense against the Utes, with a program-record 472 coming on the ground. Joe Jackson set the program single-game record with 293 yards and three touchdowns.
Utah erased a 12-point deficit in the final seven minutes, with Devon Dampier running in a 1-yard touchdown with 56 seconds left for the game-winner.
‘I’d go to friggin’ battle with these kids any day,’ Klieman said. ‘That was a top-10 team in the country, one of the best offenses and defenses in the country that we just rushed for 472 yards on because we told the guys we were going to commit to running the football, we told the guys to buy into and believe in it.
‘Our kids bought into it, and we stuffed it down their throat the entire game, and we lost. I’m crushed because of that, but I’m gonna stand up here with my friggin’ pride and say that we’ve battled our ass off against a really good team and I’m crushed.’
What is Chris Klieman’s buyout?
Klieman has one regular-season game remaining in his seventh season as the Wildcats’ coach. A bowl appearance would be the program’s fifth-straight. Klieman is signed through the 2032 season, and if he were to be bought out after the season, he’d be owed nearly $30 million.
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
