Chris Klieman says Kansas State's response will speak volumes after tough loss vs. BYU

Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman kept things pretty short and sweet in his post-game press conference, speaking to the media for only about five minutes after the game.

After a tough loss against unranked BYU in Provo, Utah, late Saturday night, Klieman gave credit to BYU for the win but admitted it was truly the Wildcats who beat themselves in that game.

"We told them (Kansas State players) they weren't going to beat themselves, we had to beat them," Klieman said in a post-game press conference. "Instead, we beat ourselves."

The Wildcats seemed to have control of the game with about two minutes left, leading 6-3 and getting the ball back before the two-minute timeout. One bad play turned into another, which turned into another, which turned into another, and suddenly, Kansas State was in a snowball effect.

It all started with a fumble scoop-n-score for BYU after a solid hit by the defense that knocked the ball out of Giddens' high-and0tight grip on the ball. That one could have been credited to the defense adn the Wildcats just needed to get back on the field and focus on putting some sort of points on the board before the half to get some momentum.

Instead, the offense went back onto the field, and Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson threw the second interception of his career, and BYU had great field position. Then, suddenly, the defense was broken. coverage, and the Wildcats, instead of going into the half being up 6-3 or even just being down 10-6, were down 17-6.

That didn't necessarily seem like the biggest deficit in the world, but, then Johnson threw his third career interception right out of halftime. The Cougars proceeded to score on the nest drive and now the Wildcats needed to do something. After being forced to punt, special teams then allowed a punt return for a touchdown and it just felt like the game was out of hand at that point.

"We got embarrassed, and that has not happened here with the exception of the COVID year and we got embarrassed tonight," Klieman said.

This is probably Kansas State's worst loss, except for the COVID season, in the Chris Klieman era. For being known as a very disciplined team, the Wildcats were making very uncharacteristic mistakes on the field and with the number of penalties they committed.

Klieman talked about how the coaching staff and the rest of Kansas State will be able to see what this team is truly made of after a loss like this. Great teams are built during adversity, and that night was the very definition of adversity.

"We've got guys that love K-State and have invested a ton in this program and have invested a ton in this year," Klieman said. "So I'm excited to see how we respond and I know the leaders will stand up."

A lot of people want to put this loss on Johnson, even though the Wildcats did not play well in any phase of the game last night. Klieman is the first to stand up and take this blame, and he says Johnson will as well, but it definitely is not all on the young quarterback.

Johnson did not have his best game, but a punt return for a touchdown and a defensive touchdown began to put the game out of hand for K-State, forcing Johnson to try and play Superman.

Klieman was not shy is sharing his feelings for Johnson and how he knows he will be able to bounce back.

"I love the kid, he's a competitor, he's a fighter, he is going to learn from everything the offense is going to," Klieman said. "You can't put this on, Avery; I know it's easy to do, and people will pile on him and pile on me, that's fine, we both can handle it."

Johnson is still so young and is carrying a power conference team on his shoulders. Some people forget he is just 19 years old and is in just his first season as a starter, there are bound to be growing pains.

"He's a winner; he's hard on himself, I know that, but I'm looking forward to him responding because I know because he is that kind of kind and I just absolutely love him," Klieman said.

This was a tough one for the Wildcats, but they can't lick their wounds for very long as they have a big matchup against Oklahoma State this week, who is also coming off a loss this weekend.