Time to be reasonable

Football

Kansas State lost to Texas 33-30 (OT) in a hard-fought contest that may have helped decide this season’s Big 12 title game matchup.

I have nothing to say about the game that has not already been said (and better) by others, including Jon Morse in his recap. I will add only this one quote from Chris Klieman that should give our fanbase not only a measure of the man himself but also of the program as it exists in 2023:

If I had it all over again, we would have done it again. We needed to end that game when we had the chance.

Had the outcome been different, the entire fanbase would be applauding Klieman’s guts, calling him a genius. Instead, some (hopefully marginal) factions actually want him fired, and for that, I can only ask that people touch grass.

Maybe this makes me a bad (read: bandwagon) fan, but after the Wildcats dug themselves a huge hole in the first half, I checked out of the game and found more productive ways to spend my Saturday afternoon.

Maybe this makes me a bad (read: complacent) fan, but I was not—on the whole—disappointed by the outcome. Kansas State fought hard and almost won, and while I concede that’s not good enough, it’s also not nearly enough to get me to rage quit the team, as some of my fannish brethren claimed on social media after the game.

Maybe this makes me a bad (read: naive) fan, but I’m not calling for any heads to roll. If you think Will Howard—who was pretty much responsible for yesterday’s nearly victorious comeback—needs to be benched, I’m just going to make like Ben Sinnott and not give that discussion any quarter. Worse, if you think Klieman needs to be fired, you need to say the words “coaching carousel” to yourself repeatedly to exorcise your delusions.

There are still eminently winnable games on the schedule, and I don’t think anyone in this fanbase needs reminding that 10 wins is still an accomplishment, even for a program that already met that milestone last season.

Step away from the ledge, breathe. Onwards.

Rowing

To round out the fall season, the Kansas State rowers participated in the Jayhawk Jamboree in Lawrence. The Novice 4+ A boat won their race, while the Novice 8+ and Varsity 8+ boats both finished second. All in all, four Wildcat teams won medals in their final head race of the fall.

The rowers will be back in the water in March.

Volleyball

The volleyball edition of the Sunflower Showdown did not go Kansas State’s way in Lawrence. On Friday, the VolleyCats lost a tight five-setter to #14 Kansas (25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 19-25, 15-12), and then dropped a 3-0 match (19-25, 24-26, 23-25) on Saturday to lose the series.

Izzi Szulczewski had her third double-double in the last four matches, getting 26 assists and 14 digs in the last match, while teammate had 14 kills for the match.

The team next takes on current NCAA champion Texas at Morgan Family Arena on Wednesday night. First serve is set for 6:30 PM.