KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes escaped significant ligament damage when he dislocated his right kneecap and there is optimism the reigning NFL MVP could be back on the field in about a month.
Mahomes had an MRI exam Friday that showed the ligaments were intact, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team was still sorting through the results and putting together a timetable for his return.
The Chiefs play Green Bay a week from Sunday, then face the Vikings and Titans before a Monday night matchup against Tennessee on Nov. 18. The Chiefs (5-2) have their bye the following week, so it is possible they hold Mahomes out until their game against Oakland on Dec. 1.
“The kid had the MRI and we don’t have all the information. That’s what I can give you,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Friday. “Once we get the information, we can give you everything that kind of happened and what’s going on down the road. The whole deal.”
Mahomes was hurt during the Chiefs’ 30-6 win in Denver on Thursday night while sneaking for first down on fourth-and-short deep in Broncos territory. Everyone jumped up from the pile but Mahomes, who quickly reached for his right knee as trainers rushed onto the field.
Physicians used what is called a reduction maneuver to guide the patella back into place, and Mahomes was helped to his feet and shooed away a waiting cart. As players from both teams gathered to pat him on the back, Mahomes limped off the field and to the locker room with little assistance.
Mahomes was only in the X-ray room for a couple minutes before he was ruled out.
The Chiefs led 13-6 when Mahomes left and journeyman quarterback Matt Moore, who was signed just before the season when backup Chad Henne broke his ankle, finished the game. Moore wound up going 10 of 19 for 117 yards, a good chunk of it coming on a 57-yard scoring strike to Tyreek Hill.
“It’s hard to do, really the whole thing he’s done, coming in late to us,” Reid said. “Then it’s hard to be a relief pitcher. He’s done it before. There’s a certain way to prep for that and he understands that. It paid off for him. The best part is we didn’t have to change up a lot of things. The hard thing is if the guy comes in, the backup, and you have to change the whole offense.”
Reid indicated that Moore would be the starter going forward, and that rookie Kyle Shurmur — the son of longtime NFL coach Pat Shurmur — could be elevated from the practice squad as the backup.
“I shorted some throws and missed some stuff, some stuff I think the quarterback should hit,” Moore said, “but I kind of got into a little rhythm there as the game went on and Coach Reid had a nice flow going on with play calls and made me feel comfortable as we went on down.”
Henne is making progress and could be ready to come off injured reserve in Week 8.
Moore and the Chiefs have the benefit of a few extra days by virtue of playing Thursday night, though Reid said he was following through on his plan to give the team a few days off. The team will reconvene after the weekend before a Sunday night showdown against the Packers.
By that point, the Chiefs could have wide receiver Sammy Watkins back from a hamstring injury, and left tackle Eric Fisher (groin) and left guard Andrew Wylie (ankle) could be close to returning.
“Again, I don’t think we’ll have to change the whole offense,” Reid said, “but definitely that is part of being a coach and knowing your players. You want to put them in the best position for what they do best, then work on those things to get them better on the things they don’t do best.
“We’ll look at what (Moore) does best and talk and put together a good game plan.”
IRVING, Texas (AP) — Kansas has been tabbed as the favorite to win the Big 12 men’s basketball title, the season after the end of the Jayhawks’ NCAA record run of winning the conference 14 years in a row.
League coaches picked Kansas to finish ahead of Baylor and Texas Tech, which last year made it to the NCAA championship game before losing to Virginia in overtime. Texas was picked fourth in the poll released Thursday, followed by West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Kansas State and TCU.
Kansas coach Bill Self returns three starters, including senior center Udoka Azubuike, who was picked as the Big 12 preseason player of the year.
Texas Tech and Kansas State were the Big 12 co-champions last year. Iowa State won the league’s postseason tournament after beating Kansas in the championship game.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State men’s basketball team held their annual media day on Wednesday afternoon (October 16) inside the Ice Family Basketball Center, as eighth-year head coach Bruce Weber and the team previewed the 2019-20 season that tips off next week with the first exhibition game.
The Wildcats, who have posted consecutive 25-win seasons for the first time in school history and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, return nine lettermen in 2019-20, including four (Xavier Sneed, Makol Mawien, Cartier Diarra and Mike McGuirl) with starting experience. The team also welcomes five newcomers, including a heralded freshman class of Antonio Gordon, DaJuan Gordon and Montavious Murphy, as well as a junior college All-American and national assists leader David Sloan.
Earlier in the day, Sneed received several accolades, as he was named one of 20 preseason candidates for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as well as a preseason honorable mention All-Big 12 selection by the league coaches. Sneed is the Wildcats’ top returner in nearly every statistical category, including scoring (10.6 ppg.), rebounding (5.5 rpg.), assists (1.9 apg.), steals (1.4 spg.) and minutes (30.7 mpg.). He became the 31st 1,000-point scorer in school history in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, while he needs just 40 rebounds to become just the 15th Wildcat with at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career.
In addition to Sneed, the Wildcats return the trio of Mawien, Diarra and McGuirl as well as senior Pierson McAtee, juniors James Love III and Levi Stockard III and sophomores Nigel Shadd and Shaun Williams.
Mawien, who has started all 71 games in his career, enters his senior season with the fifth-highest career field goal percentage (56.1; 204-of-364) after averaging 7.0 points on 52.6 percent shooting with 4.9 rebounds per game in 2018-19. Diarra tallied double figures in 5 of his last 7 games played, a span in which he averaged 11 points on 49 percent shooting, including 50 percent from 3-point range. McGuirl, who played a pivotal role in the run to the Elite Eight as a true freshman in 2017-18, saw action in all 34 games a season ago with a pair of starts.
Stockard, regarded as one of the team’s most improved players, returns after connecting on 55.6 percent from the field in 32 games as a sophomore in 2018-19. McAtee received a scholarship in the off-season after walking on for the past three seasons, while Love and Shadd are finally healthy after struggling with injuries for most of their careers. Williams played in 30 games as the team’s lone freshman a season ago.
The team must replace one of its most prolific senior classes in school history of Barry Brown, Jr., Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade, who accounted for 4,533 points in their respective careers, the third-most by a trio in Big 12 history and the most in school history.
K-State plays the first of two exhibition games at Bramlage Coliseum on Friday, October 25 against Emporia State at 8 p.m., CT before hosting Washburn on Wednesday, October 30 against Washburn at 7 p.m., CT. The regular-season opener will be Tuesday, November 5 against NCAA Tournament foe North Dakota State at 7 p.m., CT.
MEDIA DAY QUOTES
K-STATE HEAD COACH BRUCE WEBER
On how the team is doing…
“You know, I think if you talk to any coach in the country, they’ll probably say “we have really good days and we have some really bad days.” Ahead of time, one of my keys is that we have to have consistency and we’ve got to have dependability. We knew last year, the guys we had back and who was going to be there every day and that’s what you really talked about, consistency, efficiency, and dependability with those guys. And you’ve got experienced guys back that have played, five guys that played good minutes in the Elite Eight and a Big 12 Championship team. But now, as everyone knows, their roles are different and now, can they be consistent and can they be dependable and that’s the key, I think, for our season. They work very hard, I would say out of, this is 15 today, out of 15 there was probably one where you were really disappointed that they just didn’t have the energy but that’s expected, that’s everybody and it’s a long stretch and this middle part, until we get to that first exhibition, probably is the toughest stretch. The first 10 you’re excited, you’ve got to get going, then it’s kinda “the dog days” in the middle, and then obviously you get two exhibitions and a game right around the corner. So it helps you kind of get refreshed and ready for that. I’ve been pleased with the guys. I really believe that the older guys have set a great example, good leadership and help create a culture of effort and they’ve had those other guys playing their butts off which is really important for continuing to make progress and keep the culture that we’ve developed.”
On what he needs from Makol Mawien from a production standpoint…
“I think that efficiency is very important because you just kind of alluded to it with those stats (scoring was up, rebounds were up, turnovers were up, field goal percent was down, blocks were down from the previous season) and it’s something that we brought up with him. Obviously, with the turnovers, some of it was that he got double teamed because people knew him a little more and he didn’t deal with that very well. He wanted to do more himself, which now he put himself in some binds. For him, it’s that fine line of figuring out when to go and when not to go and he’s got to really work on getting open shots because he can shoot, his field goal percentage history is evident of that and if we can get him to figure out how to get open shots, he’ll make them. But the other part to me is just, you know, the best game was the last game last year, when he had to, he got a double-double and that rebounding has got to be there. He can make a name for himself if he goes and he blocks shots, rebounds, things that no one else likes to do, but if he can do those things, it’s going to help him and it’s going to help us.”
On the upside of DaJuan Gordon…
“He’s got to get stronger and he knows it. Barry Brown was very motivated when he got here and got after it every day. DaJuan’s got that same mold, he loves it and he texts me in the middle of the night, “What about this?” He’ll send me videos of plays from practice, “What should I have done?” But the strength, the physicality, he’s going to have to endure that. He’s going to really have to do a good job taking care of his body so that he can be productive not only here, but at the end of the season. He does some of those intangibles, you know, tip dunks, steals, all those little things he just does those instinctively and it’s something you can’t teach so if he’s going to do those things, he’s got to keep his body, he’s got to get stronger and he can’t get tired. He’s gone through that already, if you talk to him, I’m sure he’ll tell you that this is hard and he’s got to adjust to it and he’s got to keep making progress with that part of it.”
On what he has planned for the starting 4 and the 5 behind Mawien…
“I think probably the nicest surprise, and I think I believe I told you guys this summer, Levi (Stockard) had made really nice strides. Then he got hurt, he sat for about a month or so, then it took him a little while but this last stretch of practice, he’s done a lot of really nice things. We just looked at it, he’s our leading rebounder in the last two weeks, he’s our second leading scorer in practice in the last week so he’s done a lot of really nice things for us. So that gives you a little hope, a little more depth, whether you play two bigs at times with Mak and him, or that gives you a backup at the five if you start Mak at that five. The two young guys play their butts off, they’re not perfect by any means, I think they complement each other, each one of them has their own strength in Antonio (Gordon) and Montavious (Murphy) so they’re going to get some minutes, there’s no doubt, and we might have to grow a little bit and learn and have some setbacks because they are young. And then at other times we can go small ball. We’ve had a bunch of the NBA people come through and I was talking to the Clippers last week and asking about Rodney (McGruder) and when you look at their roster it’s very guard heavy and wing heavy and they just said we’re going small ball. We’re playing (Kawhi) Leonard and (Paul) George at the three and four. And then we’ve got the others, our one and twos. And then we’re gonna play one big. That’s the way basketball is now. Now, can our guys, can we do a good job with that and use that at times to give us a different weapon and a different strength.”
On whether David Sloan is in a position to start at point guard…
“I don’t know, I think he’s got the ability, he started to make some strides, he’s someone who sat out the whole summer. He’s had to catch up physically, conditioning-wise, defensively is his biggest setback but he’s a great passer which, you know, a lot of stats aren’t transferrable from high school to college or from junior college, but one thing that usually is is assists and rebounds. He’s lead the nation in assists, he passes the ball, a little forces it sometimes, we’ve had too many turnovers, but he’s probably one of our leading assist guys in this first stretch, got to get better on defense, but there’s a chance that he gets another look. He’s going to play, there’s no doubt, but you can play him and Cartier (Diarra), X (Sneed), he could come off the bench, just a lot of different looks and the thing that we like, and we talked about as a staff this morning, when we move the basketball, we can score. And we’ve got some guys that are willing passers so that’s been really positive in this early stretch of practice.”
On Cartier Diarra improving as a scorer…
“One of the NBA guys said yesterday “Who’s going to score for you?” and he’s got to. He’s capable, and to me it’s just consistent. He’s had his days, he doesn’t practice for four weeks, we put him in at Iowa State and what’d he get? He had 15 or 16 points in the Big 12 tournament. So he’s capable of it, now it’s, can he do it consistently and he’s going to have to, if we’re going to be successful it’s got to be 12 to 16 every day and then he can have his big games in that stretch. But he’s capable of scoring in a lot of ways, he’s just got to learn not to try to go every time and rely on his teammates. Sometimes he’s got to create, sometimes it’s got to be for others, sometimes it’s got to be for himself. I’ve been really happy with his progress the last, I would say seven or eight days. He was overdoing it early, trying to do too much and now I think he’s figured out, I’ve got other guys that I can pass it, I can create for them. It’s hard to stay in front of him and we can use that in a lot of different ways.”
On Xavier Sneed becoming a more vocal leader…
“He has, he really has. I think he’s starting to feel more comfortable with himself. He realized that he has to do it. It has not been an easy spring, summer, fall for him. There’s a lot of, and I think that I talked to you guys before this summer, the stress, the pressure that he went through going through all of the workouts, making that decision, you could see that he was mentally drained when he got here at the start of summer but even now, it’s hard for seniors, this is it and I keep emphasizing it to all of our guys, especially the older guys, worry about today. Worry about what you can control today, the process. You can’t worry about the future, you don’t know what’s going to happen and I want him to smile, I want him to be happy. If he’s happy, talking, enjoying it then, you know, I think he can be a very good player, one of the better players in the league.”
On the pressure on DaJuan Gordon…
“I hope he doesn’t have pressure. His pressure comes from within, he’s so driven. What I talked about before, this is a dude who’s sending me video as a freshman from workouts and practice. He wants to do well, he comes in the office, we’re trying to get him consistently after class to come eat because he’s not a great eater, he just never had that opportunity. He’s driven. I would say consistently giving us 20-22 minutes where he’s going to be a stat filler. He’s going to have steals, he’s going to have deflections, he’s going to have rebounds. Probably the thing he’s made the most strides in is his 3-point shooting. I think he might be our leading 3-point shooter in our practices percentage wise. Now, he isn’t shooting as many as some of the other guys but he’s been pretty good and consistent. So be a stat stuffer, do all of those things. Go three for four from the field, one of them’s a tip in dunk, one’s a layup, and then you make a three and if he can do all of those things it’s going to help us.”
On the change since he’s started in AAU and high school..
“Well it’s changed drastically in my 40 years and when I started, it’s hard for young guys to imagine, there was no AAU. And the young guys that grew up in it, played in it, now they’re recruiting to it, that’s all they know. I think that the NCAA this summer, the goal was to start making a little bit of change to go back with the academies, with the high school events in the summer. I was surprised, I was on a teleconference with a group of coaches, NABC, our coaches association did some teleconference just to get feedback from the summer. I was surprised how much the young guys liked the high school events because they were the ones that were fighting it and even my guys, they were like “why are we doing this coach?” And then “it’s pretty cool to see other high school teams and see their coaches and all that, it was a really good weekend coach.” So I think that was positive. Obviously, with AAU, the mass numbers, you can see a lot of people, see them against better players, I hope we can get a little mixture of both, I think that’s the goal of the NCAA. The academy, they got a lot of negative publicity because they didn’t get the top players and hopefully we can work with AAU, hopefully we can work with the shoe companies and Academies could be a very positive thing because we had college coaches, Tim Miles and Steve Lavin and Gary Waters and all these guys working as division two head coaches and that coaching, and the influence, the knowledge and wisdom that they can give these kids I think can be very helpful. Change is hard and it’s not just going to come over night. I know the NCAA is committed to a three or four year plan to see if these things can be more valuable and help us with recruiting and help the state of the game also, I think it’s really important and obviously the influence of certain elements of the game that cause predicaments in recruiting.”
XAVIER SNEED, SENIOR FORWARD
On what’s the feeling heading into this season without Kam (Stokes), Barry (Brown), and Dean (Wade)…
“We have a whole championship DNA. It’s self-replacement, so coming everybody self-replacing, everybody has to step up and take on that next mantle.”
On the biggest focus for him this offseason…
“Consistency. Being consistent on all parts of the court and being an all-around player.”
Thoughts on the newcomers…
“They’re learning the system well, they’re doing all a great job, great conditioning, getting up and down the court well right now. Still learning of course, but they’re doing a great job of coming in and getting ready to go.”
On who could have a breakout season…
“It’s a lot of guys on the court that could have a breakout season. You’ve got Mike, start with Mike McGuirl. A lot of people sleep on Cartier (Diarra) as well and he’s going to have the ball a lot more in his hand so you’ll see a lot more plays going on for him as well. Mak (Makol Mawien) as well. So there’s a lot of guys that could have a breakout year for us.”
MAKOL MAWIEN, SENIOR FORWARD
On what the coaches have stressed as the biggest area to improve…
“The first year I didn’t do too well rebounding, the next year we improved as a group but I’m still trying to improve in the rebounding area and just scoring the ball down low area. And through it all keep being a great defensive player on ball screens and on the post and wherever I may be.”
On if scoring comes secondary to defensive and rebounding…
“I would say that we’re just a defensive team and that’s what helps us win games and that I think the focus on defense and leading by example, which I try to do, is the best way to go about.”
PIERSON McATEE, SENIOR FORWARD
On what practices have been like…
“It’s been a great three weeks now of practices we’ve had. Like every start of the season you’re going to have your lumps, but I’d rather take them now then when we get into the season. I’m excited. We’ve got the young guys getting in there and getting involved. We’ve been helping them along with plays and different things. It’s easier for returners to pick back up on. I’m excited to keep growing and keep molding together so we can see where we’re at come the first couple games and throughout the year.”
On losing Barry (Brown), Dean (Wade) and Kam (Stokes)…
“Obviously those guys are very good players. I came in here with Barry, Dean and Kam, and loved having them here. This is what college basketball is about. It’s about turnover, it’s about what you can do next year. We’ve got pretty sure, at least five guys with solid returning minutes coming back. From an Elite 8 run two years ago to Big 12 championship run this last year, those guys may not have been front page face guys, but they were contributing solid minutes, solid on and off the court. To be able to learn from those guys and them be teaching the younger guys has been a huge step. I feel like a lot of guys have taken that.
CARTIER DIARRA, JUNIOR GUARD
On what kind of role he plays in an up-tempo style offense…
“I want to be off the ball more. I don’t want all the passing. I want to get some easy points and assist my teammates and stuff like that. If I can get off the ball, that’s my plan.”
On how much of a role David Sloan plays in getting Diarra off the ball…
“He plays a big role. If you check his last two years in JUCO he averaged 10 assists. In practice he’s good at finding open men. He’s good with the kickbacks. What I like to do is catch and shoot, so if he sets me up as a shoot, I’m going to give him an assist and get me some points and help the team win. He’s doing a really good job at being a good point guard too.”
On what position he feels like he’s natural in…
“I’m going to say a combo. I know I can score the ball really well, but I also like to pass the ball. That’s the best mix for me. I feel like I’m a really good shooter. I guess yes a combo, but of course the biggest thing always is just finding ways to make my teammates look good and feel good and get the tension off myself so everybody won’t be doubling and putting all the pressure on me, and understanding I have teammates just as good as me.”
LEVI STOCKARD III, JUNIOR FORWARD
On how often he expects to see the floor with Mak (Mawien)…
“I’ve seen it in practice a couple of times. It works pretty well. We play good together sometimes.”
On the new guys, particularly Montavious Murphy and Antonio Gordon…
“They are really talented. They have to pick up on the game a little bit more.”
On something in his game he’s tried to focus on during the off season…
“I’ve worked on being in better shape to be able to get up and down the court and work on the standing game longer.”
On faster tempo offense and how has preparation been…
“It’s constant. I constantly have to tell myself ‘you have to go, go go.’ We’ve had some practices where we just run.”
On the new uniforms…
“Their tough, man. At first, I didn’t think they’d look good, but I put them on and I like them.”
MIKE MCGUIRL, JUNIOR GUARD
On how big of a part of the team is having defensive stoppers…
“It’s been such a big part of who we’ve been in the past and Barry (Brown), as everybody knows, was a great individual defender, great stopper. Carrying that over and carrying that on and that’s what made us successful last year that’s why we won a Big 12 Championship because of defense and so sort of being able to bring that stuff this year with some people gone is going to be very important to our success.”
On how many positions can you play and worked at in practice…
“I mean at one point I’ve played 1-5 since I’ve been here honestly because against Kentucky, my freshman year I was at the end of the game I played the 5. But my freshman year I played the 1 when I first came in and then last year I played a lot of the 4, I’ve played the 2, I’ve played the 3 a lot too so I’ve seen all spots but that’s not who I am I’m just, wherever they need me I can play that spot. I’m not a 5 or really a 4 but, wherever I’m needed on the court I can play that spot.”
On what’s impressed him most about DaJuan Gordon since he got on campus…
“His competitiveness, his fire to get better. He’s in here working, trying to get better at all times he really cares about basketball more than almost anybody I’ve ever met and seeing his passion, it’s inspiring from a young player you don’t see it very much. People come in they’re in the gym for the first week and then they get tired and their body wears out and he’s fighting all of that, he’s giving this his everything and that’s what really impressive about him.”
DAVID SLOAN, JUNIOR GUARD
On how frustrating this summer was dealing with the injury…
“It was definitely very frustrating, I wanted to be out there. And now I feel like I’ve picked on a lot of stuff quicker than I thought I would so it kind of helped me a lot.”
On finally being at the Power 5 level…
“To me I look at it as people say ‘creating your own path. Write your own story’. I feel like I did that. Just going to the Juco level it motivated me a lot more and then just finally being here I feel like I accomplished something but I feel like I still got more in the tank.”
DAJUAN GORDON, FRESHMAN GUARD
On how he’s adjusting to this level of play…
“I feel like I’m getting more adjusted to speed. It’s way faster than high school. I feel like it’s getting adjusted to the speed, and being able to play with the team and trusting them.”
On being critical of self…
“I just ask what I did wrong and what I need to do to improve.”
On what he feels like he’s doing right…
“Playing hard. Trying to guard the best guy in practice every day. And picking the right shots. I feel like I turn the ball over a little too much, but other than that I feel like it’s good.”
On what does good enough look like to you…
“Just playing. It isn’t about starting or anything like that. I want to play, I want to be in it to make moments at the end of the game.”
On what position he’s most comfortable in on the court…
“Around the two, shooting guard. If he put me at a point guard I’d try. I haven’t played it since my sophomore year of high school, but I’d try. “
On the most interesting transition going from high school to college…
“The speed of the game and having more freedom. In high school you have to go to that class, or still miss class and be on the team. If you miss class, or don’t get off of work or you miss practice, you have to go home. So you just have to be there. If not somebody could take your spot. It’s not like high school where you’re the best player and could still play.”
ANTONIO GORDON, FRESHMAN FORWARD
On if the adjustment coming to K-State been harder or easier than expected…
“I expected it to be hard when I came here so I think the adjustment has been going pretty smooth but just been working hard, trying to work my way up onto the court, and just play my hardest everyday in practice.”
On what skill he most admires of Montavious Murphy…
“His best skill? Probably down in the low post doing a little pump fake and getting people up on their feet, finishing around the rim and then his defense is incredible.”
On an impressive play that has stuck out in practice…
“Dejuan, Dejuan (Gordon) dunked on Mike (McGuirl), it was crazy, my mind was blown. It was off a vert too, he’s going to get mad at me for saying it but it was crazy.”
MONTAVIOUS MURPHY, FRESHMAN FORWARD
On the environment at K-State…
“The environment here is amazing. People love one another. When you go out every day you can just tell people have a love for one another. It’s amazing.”
On what’s been the biggest adjustment so far to learning the system and who’s helped him the most…
“Definitely the veterans. I try to learn the best I can from them, because I know the things that they’ve done for this program. I’m looking forward to just build off of that. It’s amazing.”
On what his role has been so far…
“I work a lot on the four spot. I’m making sure I get that down because it’s a big thing. The biggest thing is making sure to get everything right.”
On if he feels like he’s in a position to potentially take the starting spot…
“Honestly, I really don’t know, but if the case comes, that’s a great opportunity. If it doesn’t just know I can do anything I can off the bench.”
———— TOM GILBERT
Director for Men’s Basketball Communications | K-State Athletics
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Fans can catch a first glimpse of the 2019-20 Kansas State men’s basketball team on Saturday morning, as the Wildcats will hold an open practice and scrimmage at Bramlage Coliseum prior to the TCU football game.
Doors to the arena will open at 10 a.m., for the practice session with the scrimmage set to start at 11 a.m.
Fans will be able to pick up roster cards (limited supply), schedule posters and cards on the Bramlage concourse.
Armed with nine returning lettermen, including starters Xavier Sneed, Makol Mawien and Cartier Diarra, the Wildcats are just 10 days from the start of their season with the first of two exhibitions set for 8 p.m., on Friday, October 25 against Emporia State. The second exhibition will be at 7 p.m., CT on Wednesday, October 30 against Washburn, while the regular season opener is set for Tuesday, November 5 against North Dakota State at 7 p.m.
K-State is offering several season and mini-plan ticket options, including the Flex Season Ticket, Big Game and Pick 5 mini-plans as well as Wildcat 4 Packs and Bramlage Bundles, to provide affordability and flexibility. Season tickets are also still available starting at $345, or just $100 for young alumni who have football season tickets.
Former Kansas State guard Barry Brown has signed a contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the organization announced on Monday.
Brown, who appeared in seven games for the Timberwolves in the 2019 MGM Resorts NBA Summer League in Las Vegas from July 5-15, is expected to spend a majority of his time with their G-League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves, during the upcoming 2019-20 season.
Minnesota’s current 20-man roster has to be trimmed to 15 by Monday, October 21 with the regular season set to start on Tuesday, October 22. The Timberwolves open the season against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, October 23. The G-League Wolves, who play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, tip their season off on Friday, November 8.
Brown is third Wildcats to play for Minnesota, joining Askia Jones (1994-95) and Michael Beasley (2010-12).
CATS SQUARE OFF AGAINST HORNED FROGS IN MANHATTAN Coming off a bye week and looking to right the ship, Kansas State hosts TCU in a 1:30 p.m., contest on Saturday inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game will air on FSN with Justin Kutcher (play-by-play), Petros Papadakis (analyst) and Shane Vereen (analyst) on the call. The contest can be heard across the 39-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst) and Matt Walters (sidelines) calling the action. The game can also be heard on SiriusXM (S: 211, X: 202, Internet: 965) in addition to the TuneIn app.
A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State just concluded its second bye week through the first seven weeks of the college football season. The Wildcats will finish the 2019 season with seven-straight games as they join TCU and Northwestern as the only three Power 5 teams to play each of the final seven weeks.
K-State opened the Chris Klieman era with three impressive victories – highlighted by a 31-24 win at No. 23 Mississippi State – before dropping its first two Big 12 games.
The victory at MSU marked the first time in program history that K-State won a road game against an SEC team that was in the league at the time of the game. K-State had previously been 0-11 in such games.
K-State has rushed for 1,089 yards (217.8 yds/gm) through its first five games. It marks just the eighth time since 2000 – but just the second since 2013 – that the Wildcats hit the 1,000-yard rushing mark in the first five games of the season.
Over the last 20 years, only three K-State teams – 2000 (1,180), 2003 (1,094) and 2012 (1,314) – had more rushing yards over the first five games than the 2019 squad.
The Wildcats also have 13 rushing touchdowns after tallying only 20 rushing scores a year ago. Of the 13 scores, 11 have come from running backs after the group accounted for only 13 last season.
Quarterback Skylar Thompson has thrown for 822 yards and five touchdowns with one interception, while three receivers – Dalton Schoen, Phillip Brooks and Malik Knowles – each have at least 10 catches and 100 yards on the year.
The K-State defense enters the week ranked second nationally on third downs (20.8%), fourth in first downs allowed (76) and 22nd in scoring (19.0 pts/gm).
The Wildcats have surrendered only 2.20 third-down conversions this year to rank second in the nation behind Wisconsin (2.17).
Linebacker Da’Quan Patton (24 tackles) is one of four Wildcats with at least 20 tackles.
Seventeen different Wildcats have at least a half tackle for loss, led by Wyatt Hubert’s 4.0, while Hubert also leads the team with 2.0 sacks.
Cornerback AJ Parker has a team-high two interceptions.
A LOOK AT TCU
TCU enters this week’s game at 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 play after a 49-24 defeat at Iowa State on October 5.
Against the Cyclones, TCU found itself in a 28-3 hole with nine minutes left in the third quarter before getting it to within two possessions at 35-24 early in the third quarter. However, Iowa State scored two touchdowns in the final seven minutes to put the game away.
TCU, like many teams in the Big 12, had an impressive non-conference victory as it went to West Lafayette, Indiana, and routed Purdue, 34-13.
The Horned Frogs enter this week ranked 13th nationally in rushing at 241.8 yards per game, led by Darius Anderson, who has 532 yards and six touchdowns this season.
Sewo Olonilua is second on the team with 215 yards, while former K-State quarterback Alex Delton has rushed for 100 yards.
Delton has split time at quarterback with freshman Max Duggan, who is 64-of-113 for 742 yards and nine touchdowns with no interceptions. Delton is 25-of-48 for 312 yards and a pick.
Jalen Reagor has a team-high 15 catches for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Pro Wells also has three receiving touchdowns, while Te’Vailance Hunt has a team-best 210 receiving yards.
Garret Wallow enters the week ranked second in the Big 12 and sixth nationally with 11.0 tackles per game, which includes 10.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Ross Blacklock also has 2.5 sacks, while a pair of TCU defenders have two interceptions.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
TCU leads the all-time series, 7-5, as the Horned Frogs have won each of the last two meetings and four of the last five overall.
The Horned Frogs lead the series, 4-3, since TCU joined the Big 12 prior to the 2012 season.
K-State is looking to avoid tying its longest losing streak to TCU (1984-86), while the Wildcats are in search of breaking a two-game home skid to TCU.
The Wildcats’ last win in the series was in 2016 in Fort Worth as K-State ended the regular season with a dominating 30-6 victory, a game that featured a 336-yard rushing output by the Wildcats.
K-State’s last victory over TCU in Manhattan was November 16, 2013, when the Wildcats saw leads of 17-7 at halftime and 30-28 in the fourth quarter erased before Jack Cantele connected on a 41-yard field goal with three second left for a 33-31 victory.
SCHEDULING ODDITY
Kansas State and TCU both enter this week’s game coming off a bye week. It is the first time following a bye that the Wildcats will play another team coming off a bye since 2012 when they defeated Kansas, 56-16.
Both teams were off last week due to the fact that this week’s game was originally scheduled to be played on Thursday, October 17. However, the teams mutually agreed last January to move the game to Saturday.
FAMILIAR FACE
The Wildcats will see a familiar face across the field on Saturday as quarterback Alex Delton suits up for TCU.
A product of Hays, Kansas, Delton spent the 2016-18 seasons at K-State, playing in 20 games with six starts. He threw for 1,202 yards and five scores over his three seasons to go along with 868 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.
Ironically, Delton’s first career start for the Wildcats came two years ago when they hosted the Horned Frogs.
ONE OF THE BIG 12’S BEST
Kansas State ranks third all-time in Big 12 wins since the league’s inception in 1996 with 113, trailing only Oklahoma and Texas.
The Wildcats also rank third in the conference in winning percentage since round-robin play began in 2011. They sit at .595 (44-30), trailing only Oklahoma (.824; 61-13) and Oklahoma State (.657; 48-26).
A NEW ERA
The new era of K-State Football under Chris Klieman has opened with a 3-2 record through five games.
Klieman, who was named the 35th head coach in school history on December 10, 2018, is just the fourth head coach in K-State history to start 3-0.
He can also become just the fourth head coach to begin a tenure with at least four wins in the first six games.
Additionally, Klieman-led teams had won 24-straight games prior to the loss at Oklahoma State.
A WINNING HISTORY
A proven winner with a championship history, Chris Klieman came to Manhattan after capping his five-year stint as head coach at North Dakota State by winning his fourth national championship in 2018.
Klieman guided the 2018 Bison to a perfect 15-0 record, making NDSU just the fifth team in FCS history to go undefeated and untied on the way to a national championship.
A native of Waterloo, Iowa, Klieman has a career record of 75-15 (.833), as he went 69-6 in his five seasons at North Dakota State, 3-7 in one year as the head coach at Division III Loras College in 2005 and 3-2 so far at K-State.
Klieman’s overall winning percentage ranks seventh among all active NCAA coaches – regardless of division – and tops among active FBS coaches.
YOUNG PUPS
K-State’s roster features 59 total freshmen (true and redshirt), which equates to 47.2 percent of its total squad.
The 59 freshmen are the eighth most in the nation.
The Wildcats played 20 total freshmen (combined true and redshirt) in their season opener, which ranked seventh in the nation.
In week two against Bowling Green, the Wildcats played 32 freshmen.
FEW FLAGS
One staple of Kansas State football throughout the years has been limited penalties, and the 2019 Wildcats have continued that trend.
K-State enters the week ranked second in the Big 12 and 22nd nationally in fewest penalties per game (5.20), while it is second in the league and 16th in the country in fewest penalty yards per game (42.8).
CONTROLLING THE TEMPO
K-State has showcased a balanced offense in the opening four games, highlighted by a 217.8-yard average on the ground to rank fourth in the Big 12 and 27th in the country.
The Wildcats had 573 yards of total offense against Nicholls, which tied for the seventh most in school history and were the most ever in a season opener.
With 521 yards against Bowling Green, K-State eclipsed the 500-yard total offense mark in the first two games of a season for the first time ever.
RACKING UP RUSHING YARDS
The Wildcats showed at the outset of the season its ability to run the football, a mark that now stands at 217.8 per game.
Kansas State has 1,089 total rushing yards this season, marking the eighth time since 2000 but just the second since 2013 the Wildcats have hit the 1,000-yard mark in the first five games of the season.
K-State carded over 300 yards rushing in each of the first two games, marking the first time since at least 1965 that the Wildcats went over the 300-yard mark twice to open a season.
RUNNING TO PAYDIRT
Six different Wildcats have tallied rushing touchdowns this year for a team total of 13. Last year, K-State had 20 total rushing touchdowns in 12 games.
K-State running backs have accounted for 11 rushing touchdowns this season after the position group only had 13 in 2018.
Transfer running backs James Gilbert (4) and Jordon Brown (3) lead the team in rushing touchdowns, while Harry Trotter and Skylar Thompson each have two.
DEFENSE RANKING HIGHLY • K-State ranks second in the Big 12 and 22nd nationally in scoring defense (19.0 pts/gm), while the Wildcats are first in the league and fifth nationally in passing yards allowed (155.4 yd/gm).
Kansas State finished in the top 25 nationally in scoring defense only twice since 2003. In terms of pass defense, K-State has not finished better than 40th in the country since 2003 when it ranked seventh.
GETTING OFF THE FIELD • The K-State defense has excelled in terms of getting off the field on third down during the first five games of the year as the Wildcats rank second in the nation in third down defense (20.8%) behind Wisconsin (15.7%).
The Wildcats are allowing only 2.2 third down conversions per game to rank second nationally to the Badgers (2.2).
Kansas State have averaged 4.0 defensive drives per game in which the Wildcats did not allow a first down (3-and-out, turnover, etc.) to tie for fifth in the nation.
LIMITED SNAPS • Thanks to its efficiency on third downs, the K-State defense is one of the nation’s leaders in fewest defensive snaps played.
K-State has defended against just 280 plays in its five games as its 56.0 defensive snaps per game rank first in the nation, just ahead of a tie for second between Utah and Wisconsin (56.7).
SCORING IN THE THIRD PHASE • Kansas State has been far and away the best team among FBS programs over the last 15 years when it comes to scoring via a kickoff or punt return.
The Wildcats have a combined 49 kickoff- and punt-return touchdowns since 2005, 19 more than any other FBS school during that stretch.
After only having one in 2018 – a punt-return score in the season opener – Malik Knowles got things going in 2019 with a 100-yard kickoff return at Mississippi State.
DEFENSE IN THE THIRD PHASE • On the flip side, K-State has been just as consistent in terms of kickoff coverage as the Cats have not allowed a kickoff-return touchdown in the last 80 games, the last being against Louisiana on September 7, 2013. During that stretch, K-State has defended against 303 returns.
K-State has ranked in the top 30 nationally in kickoff return defense each of the last five seasons, including a No. 2 national ranking in 2017.
The Wildcats enter this week ranked 17th in that department by limiting opponents to just 16.92 yards per return.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Big 12 Conference and ABC/ESPN announced Monday that Kansas State’s October 26 Homecoming game against fifth-ranked Oklahoma will kick off at 11 a.m., and be televised by ABC.
K-State has won five of its last seven Homecoming games, including a 31-12 win over Oklahoma State last season. The Wildcats are looking for their first home win over Oklahoma since 1996 and first in the series since a 31-30 triumph over the 11th-ranked Sooners in 2014 in Norman.
Kansas State takes on TCU this Saturday in a 1:30 p.m., contest inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium, a game that will be televised on FSN.
All K-State football games can be heard on 107-9 FM and 1420 KJCK.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — There were plenty of people standing on the Houston Texans sideline that felt they had something to prove against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Just about all of them succeeded, too.
Deshaun Watson threw for 280 yards and a touchdown while running for two more, outdueling Chiefs counterpart Patrick Mahomes, who was famously picked two spots ahead of him in the 2017 draft.
Carlos Hyde ran for 116 yards and a touchdown against the team that traded him to Houston in the preseason, when the Chiefs decided there was no room for him in their own backfield.
Most importantly, Bill O’Brien proved he could beat a team pegged a Super Bowl contender, leading the Texans to a come-from-behind 31-24 victory after losing three of his last four to Kansas City.
“They care about the team. They seem to have fun with each other. We’ve just got to keep it going,” said O’Brien, whose losses to the Chiefs include a postseason defeat. “We just had a really good win against a good team, but we’re 4-2 and 4-2 gets you nowhere.”
Better than being 3-3, though.
That was still a possibility until DeAndre Hopkins made a sliding grab on fourth-and-3 from the Kansas City 27 with just under 2 minutes to go. That allowed the Texans to run out the clock and deal the Chiefs (4-2) their second consecutive loss — both at Arrowhead Stadium.
“It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to deal with all the adversity and the up and down and flow of the game and to be able to fight for 60 minutes,” Watson said. “That’s what we did. We kept fighting and kept pushing and kept encouraging. This locker room, everyone is always fighting to the end regardless of the score. We don’t look at the scoreboard. We’re going to play 60 minutes every game.”
Mahomes, hobbled once again by a sore left ankle, finished with 273 yards passing and three TDs while throwing his first interception of the season. Two of the scores went to Tyreek Hill, who returned for the first time since breaking his collarbone in a Week 1 win in Jacksonville.
“We just have to flip a few things,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “The margin of winning and losing in this league is minute. We were this close to coming out of this thing with a win.”
It wasn’t a pretty game for either side. They combined for 21 penalties totaling nearly 150 yards, and that didn’t include close to a dozen flags that were offsetting, overruled or declined.
It was Kansas City that started hot, engineering drives of at least 90 yards twice in the first quarter. Hill finished the first with a 46-yard reception — the first touchdown throw in a first quarter by Mahomes since Week 1 — while Damien Williams finished the second with a 14-yard TD catch.
In between, Hyde coughed up the ball on Houston’s first offensive play.
But the big running back soon atoned for his mistake. Hyde battered the Chiefs’ porous run defense the rest of the game, punctuating a big first half against his ex-team with a short touchdown run.
“It was big for him to come in here and do what he did,” Watson said.
The Texans then took the lead into the locker room after Mahomes was strip-sacked with 20 seconds left and Houston recovered, and Watson waltzed into the end zone on the very next play.
It wasn’t the last time he reached pay dirt.
Mahomes hit Hill again in the third quarter to give the Chiefs the lead back , but the Houston quarterback answered with a 12-play, 93-yard drive consuming more than 8 1/2 minutes. By the time he spun into the end zone and converted the 2-point try, the Texans had a 31-24 lead with 6:17 to go.
Kansas City went three-and-out on its next possession, and a defense that has been maligned for most of Reid’s tenure with the Chiefs failed to make a stop once again.
“We haven’t played a perfect game on defense,” Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark said, “and we’re not going to play a perfect game, but we need to play a bit better. We need to eliminate the rush. When you eliminate the rush, you can have more fun.”
By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer
