‘That’s why you come to Kansas State’: Wildcats embrace new mindset as Big 12 champs

It feels like the Kansas State football team has embraced the role of underdog for as long as the Wildcats have been playing football. Nobody expected much of anything from them before Bill Snyder arrived in 1989. And the Big 12 spotlight has always shined brighter on Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas than it ever has K-State, even after its Powercat logo became synonymous with winning. But that might be changing. The Wildcats won 10 games and claimed a Big 12 championship last season. Then they were picked to finish second in the 2023 preseason conference poll with coach Chris Klieman locked into a long-term contract. As junior quarterback Will Howard strolled through AT&T Stadium for Big 12 Media Days, he looked around at the venue where K-State won a trophy last season and proclaimed, “We have a lot of great memories in this place. I’m looking forward to making more.” No other team in the conference has more confidence entering this season. That is usually a good thing. But it also means that teams from across the league will be gunning for the Wildcats. Everyone now wants to beat them just as badly as they used to want to beat Oklahoma or Texas. K-State won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year. They have gone from “the hunter” to “the hunted.” Sometimes, it can be difficult for a team to make that transition. But K-State is embracing the challenge. “I’m kind of excited about it, actually,” Klieman said. Why? “Fortunately, we’ve had past experiences from my previous school that we had to win a championship and then come back and follow up with another championship,” Klieman said. “It’s about always staying hungry, always staying humble and making sure that the guy next to you is focused on the task at hand each week.” Klieman certainly does have a strong record of defending championships. When he was the head coach at North Dakota State, he led the Bison to four FCS championships in five seasons. He successfully defended two titles. You could say he knows how to run it back. His main advice to K-State football players has been about a specific mental approach. “Don’t shy away from it,” Klieman said. “You talk about that. Yeah, there’s expectations, but that’s why you come to Kansas State, to have high expectations and to be the team that people want to beat. That’s how we did it in the past and it really worked because we just kept elevating. That’s what we want to continue to do.” The Wildcats are heeding his advice. “It’s just about changing our mindset,” K-State offensive lineman Cooper Beebe said. “We’ve been hunting teams since I’ve been here. We’ve always been projected at the bottom of the league and now we’re at the top. Things are different now. We have got to bring it day in and day out, because teams are going to be hunting us now. We’re ready for that.” Much is expected from the Wildcats this season. Will Howard is back at quarterback, Beebe is the anchor of an offensive line that returns all five starters and Klieman is back along with both of his coordinators, Collin Klein and Joe Klanderman. Even without Deuce Vaughn and Felix Anudike-Uzomah, that combination of talent is hard to beat in college football. Mindset is one of the few things that has changed. The Wildcats are no longer out to “shock the world.” Now they want to prove their supporters right. K-State is suddenly a favorite. “The great thing is I still feel like we have a chip on our shoulder like we’re the underdog,” defensive back Kobe Savage said. “Obviously we’re being hunted, but I feel like everybody’s still coming in with the same mentality and mindset that we have something to prove. We’re just trying to do it in a slightly different way.