K-State Schedule Preview, Nov. 30: A Lot Could Be Riding On Season Finale Against Iowa State
If the season plays out how many college experts expect, Kansas State’s regular season finale at Iowa State’s Jack Trice Stadium on Nov. 30 will act as a playoff game.
A road win by the Wildcats could put them in the Big 12 championship game, and from there, a possible spot in the 12-team College Football Playoffs.
Regardless of what is on the line, this will be a difficult test for K-State. A year ago, the Cyclones came to a snowy Manhattan and shocked K-State with a 42-35 victory.
What made the loss an even more bitter pill to taste was it came on Senior Night for the Wildcats.
“The locker room is pretty down right now,” K-State head coach Chris Klieman said on the school’s athletic website after the game, “especially all those seniors who put so much time and effort into this. We so wanted to go undefeated at home. It hadn't happened in a long time.”
The returners for K-State most likely will remember that feeling and would like nothing better than return the favor to Iowa State this season.
“It's a shame," Klieman said after the game. “I was so hoping for those seniors that they had the opportunity to win. What we talked about in the locker room was this one is going to hurt.”
Many times, in sports, the pain felt from a loss propels a team to greater heights the following season.
Beating the Cyclones in Ames will be a tough chore for K-State even though the Wildcats have dominated the series for nearly two decades, winning 12 of the last 16. But in recent years, Iowa State has won four of the last seven.
Returning safety Marques Sigle knows exactly went wrong.
“It was as simple as tackling,” Sigle said after the game. “We just weren't finishing. And they were.”
Missed tackles this time might mean a spot in the Big 12 championship game might slip through the Wildcats’ fingers.
David Boyce is a contributing writer to K-State On SI. He can be reached at davidboyce95@gmail.com.
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DAVID BOYCE