Kansas State signs Chris Klieman to new 8-year, $44 million contract

Associated PressMay 16, 2023, 11:20 AM EDT

Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal/USA TODAY NETWORK

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas State signed head coach Chris Klieman to a new eight-year contract that will pay an average of $5.5 million annually and could keep him tied to the defending Big 12 champion Wildcats through the 2030 season.

The $44 million deal replaces a contract due to end after the 2026 season that paid Klieman an average of $4 million annually.

“What we have been able to accomplish in our first four years here is due to the culture that our players and staff have been able to create,” Klieman said in a statement. “I am excited to continue to lead this football program and put a product on the field each year that can compete at the highest level.”

Klieman added that Kansas State, which is situated about 2 hours from Kansas City and must overcome some geographic disadvantages when it comes to recruiting, has everything it needs to consistently contend for championships.

That includes a new indoor training facility that just opened next to Bill Snyder Family Stadium, which itself has undergone millions in renovations over the years, putting it in the upper echelon of major college football stadiums.

“Chris has done an unbelievable job building a program in four years that not only has won a Big 12 championship but even more importantly, one that players have taken great pride in and helped sustain a championship culture,” said Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor, who hired Klieman away from North Dakota State to replace the retired Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder.

“We want to continue the momentum that he and his staff have fostered,” Taylor said. “We are excited that Chris will be the leader of out football program for many years to come.”

The 55-year-old Klieman won four national titles in five years at North Dakota State, which plays a step down in the Football Championship Subdivision, but many still wondered whether that success would translate to college football’s highest level.

Turns out it does.

Klieman went 8-5 and reached the Liberty Bowl in his first season, slipped to 4-6 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and went 8-5 again the following year with a win in the Texas Bowl that provided momentum into last season.

Led by All-American running back Deuce Vaughn and defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, a first-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs, the Wildcats beat TCU in the Big 12 title game – before the Horned Frogs went on to the College Football Playoffs. It was the first conference title for Kansas State since 2012, when Snyder was in his second tenure in Manhattan, Kansas.

Klieman is 30-20 in four seasons with the Wildcats, while his overall college coaching record of 102-33 puts him among the best winning percentages in history. The 30 wins are the most by a Kansas State coach over their first four years.

Kansas State should contend for another Big 12 championship this season.

The Wildcats return quarterback Will Howard, all five starting offensive lineman and several playmakers on defense, including linebacker Daniel Green and safety Kobe Savage. They added Florida State transfer Treshaun Ward to replace Vaughn at running back, Iowa wide receiver Keegan Johnson and one of the best freshman classes in school history.

Kansas State opens the season Sept. 2 against Southeast Missouri State.

Bryce Young throws for 5 TDs, Alabama tops Kansas State in Sugar Bowl

Associated PressDec 31, 2022, 5:40 PM EST

Andrew Wevers/USA TODAY Sports

NEW ORLEANS — Bryce Young‘s decision to opt in to the Sugar Bowl only enhanced his chances of cashing in as a pro.

Young passed for 321 yards and five touchdowns in a game that other top NFL prospects might have skipped, and No. 5 Alabama responded to an early two-score deficit with 35 straight points to defeat 11th-ranked Kansas State 45-20 on Saturday.

“For me it was just about doing everything I can to help the team,” Young said. “We had pride in how we played and how we prepared – us wanting to finish, us wanting to push ourselves and hold each other accountable.”

While a number of pro-bound college stars sat out bowl games that were not part of the College Football Playoff, the Crimson Tide and Wildcats had their best prospects on the field for the Sugar Bowl and they made a number of memorable plays – from Young’s pivotal passes to Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn‘s 88-yard touchdown run to interceptions by Alabama’s Jordan Battle and Brian Branch.

“These guys sent a message to everybody that you create value for yourself by playing football,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “It speaks volumes of your character when you choose to be a part of your team and you can be counted on to be part of your team, regardless of the circumstances.”

With the game in hand in the fourth quarter, Young was ceremoniously substituted out, raising his right hand to Alabama fans who loudly rose to their feet as the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner trotted to the sideline.

Kansas State coach Chris Klieman asked a member of Alabama’s staff to thank Young for playing.

“That’s what college football is about. I was happy Bryce played,” Klieman said. “That was really good for college football and really good for kids to see.”

Jermaine Burton caught three passes for 87 yards and a touchdown for Alabama (11-2). Tide running back Jahmyr Gibbs had 142 yards from scrimmage – 76 rushing and 66 receiving. Young’s other touchdowns went to Isaiah Bond (6 yards), Cameron Latu (1 yard), Ja’Corey Brooks (32 yards) and Kobe Prentice (47 yards). Jase McClelland added a 17-yard scoring run.

“We had a little bit of a taste in our mouth that if we had a dominant performance, it would show people that we probably did deserve to do a little better than we did in terms of the playoff picture,” Saban said. “But I’m most proud that there was a team out there that cared.”

Kansas State (10-4) entered its first Sugar Bowl on a four-game winning streak and was riding high after knocking off No. 3 TCU – a CFP team – in the Big 12 title game.

Although Battle’s leaping interception of Will Howard ended K-State’s opening drive on the Alabama 21, the Wildcats scored the Sugar Bowl’s first 10 points, surging in front on Ty Zentner’s 41-yard field goal and Vaughn’s long run.

Alabama was on the brink of punting a third time when Young, on third and 10, stepped up in a collapsing pocket and flicked a short pass to Gibbs, who was cutting across the middle and turned up field for 60 yards. Young stepped up similarly to avoid pressure on his touchdown pass to Bond soon after.

Young threw over the top to Burton for 47 yards to setup his scoring pass to Latu that put Alabama in front for good.

Kansas State drove to the Alabama 2 late in the first half – converting two fourth-downs along the way – only to fail on fourth-and-goal when Howard threw out of reach of tight end Ben Sinnott, who was breaking open after Will Anderson fell while trying to cover him.

“I would have done it again,” Klieman said. “I’m never going to second-guess myself.”

Young needed just 51 seconds to produce another touchdown, completing passes of 12, 28 and 22 yards before hitting Burton from 12 yards out to make it 21-10 at halftime.

“That was a huge swing in the game,” Saban said.

Kansas State paid for another risk when its onside kick to open the second half was recovered by Alabama, which scored shortly after on Young’s strike to Ja’Corey Brooks in the corner of the end zone.

“We came here to win, man,” Klieman said. “We didn’t come here to try to keep this thing close.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas State: Howard finished 18-of-35 passing for 210 yards. Vaughn rushed for 133 yards on 22 carries. Jordan Schippers had a late 1-yard TD run.

Alabama: The Tide upended the narrative that it doesn’t get up for low-stakes bowl games, having lost by two touchdowns in each of its previous two Sugar Bowls that were not part of the BCS or CFP. Alabama has now won 10 Sugar Bowls in 17 appearances.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: Opens its 2023 campaign at home against Southeast Missouri on Sept. 2.

Alabama: Hosts Middle Tennessee on Sept. 2 to begin its 2023 season.

No. 3 TCU loses 31-28 in OT to Kansas State in Big 12 title game

Associated PressDec 3, 2022, 4:41 PM EST

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas — Ty Zentner kicked a 31-yard field goal in overtime as 13th-ranked Kansas State beat No. 3 TCU 31-28 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday, leaving the Horned Frogs to wait another day to find out if they had already done enough to get into the four-team College Football Playoff.

The Wildcats set up the winning field goal after TCU (12-1) had the opening possession of overtime and Kendre Miller was stopped short on consecutive plays from inside the 1.

Deuce Vaughn ran for 130 yards and a touchdown and Will Howard threw two TDs for the Wildcats (10-3, No. 10 CFP), who six weeks earlier had jumped out to a 28-10 lead early in the second quarter before TCU scored the game’s last 28 points.

That was one of five games the Horned Frogs (12-1, No. 3 CFP) won when trailing after halftime. But they couldn’t do it again with the chance to guarantee being the first Big 12 team other than Oklahoma to make the playoff.

TCU, the first Big 12 team to complete a regular season undefeated since Texas in 2009, could still get into the playoff. While their case was helped when fourth-ranked Southern California (11-2) lost 47-24 to Utah in the Pac-12 championship game Friday night, the Frogs now have to wait until the final CFP rankings come out Sunday.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said before the game that TCU, with first-year coach Sonny Dykes, already deserved to be in the playoff.

“You look at their strength of schedule. You think about how they’ve performed all year long,” Yormark said. “I think regardless, they should be in, for sure.”