K-State Q&A: Big 12 football conspiracy theories, KU quarterbacks, recruiting and more

I have spent way too much time thinking and writing about Big 12 football tiebreakers this week.

So I am going to kick off this Kansas State Wildcats mailbag by ... typing a few more paragraphs about how the conference office will go about selecting two teams for the league championship game in the event that the standings remain jumbled.

Sigh.

Let me start by saying that I don’t think there was any foul play going on when the Big 12 clarified (or changed) its tiebreaker rules to prioritize head-to-head results. It is much more likely that the conference did a poor job of explaining or interpreting its tiebreakers than the alternative. I seriously doubt that Brett Yormark decided the Big 12 needed to alter its rules midseason just to give Oklahoma State an upper hand over Kansas State and Oklahoma. Maybe I would buy into the conspiracy if it blocked both OU and Texas. But not this.

I think we can all agree that if K-State, OSU and OU end up in a three-way tie for second place then the Cowboys are the team that most deserves to win a berth in the championship because it beat both the Wildcats and the Sooners this season. No one should feel outraged about that.

Many were confused about how why they weren’t favored in that tiebreaker.

Still, it was embarrassing for the conference when one of its top officials read the tiebreaker rules and told us in the media that head-to-head results wouldn’t matter in that scenario. That gave many false hope that K-State was best positioned to win that particular tiebreaker. To back track for any reason a few days later, and then refuse to answer questions about it, was ridiculous.

Funny thing is, everyone’s griping about Big 12 tiebreakers may end up being for naught.

What are the odds that chalk wins over the final two weeks of the season? Oklahoma State could lose at Houston this weekend. Kansas could upset K-State in Lawrence. Texas could go down at Iowa State. Oklahoma will probably beat BYU, but nothing can be taken for granted.

There is a scenario in which eight teams tie for first place with 6-3 conference records and the tiebreaker comes down to which team played the most difficult conference schedule. If that were to happen, there is a chance that KU and K-State will play in Arlington, Texas. I kid you not.

There is also a chance that the top two teams in the standings finish ahead of everyone else and all this tiebreaker chatter is made moot.

For a team like K-State, the goal should simply be to win its remaining games against Kansas and Iowa State. It has no control over what happens next.

With that, it’s time for another K-State Q&A. Let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.

It would be amazing if the Big 12 decided its tiebreakers by dropping head football coaches into a ring and forcing them to fight each other in a cage match.

That honestly seems like a better system than what is currently in place.

You might be on to something with this question.

Hopefully I am not just being biased here, but I would favor Chris Klieman in a fight against most of his Big 12 peers. He is still fit for his age and he used to play defensive back at Northern Iowa. He knows how to hit.

Brent Venables is another former defensive player. He was once a walk-on at K-State and worked his way all the way up to where he is now. He might be the toughest competition.

Mike Gundy and Steve Sarkisian were both quarterbacks. They are both really skinny now, so I don’t know how long they would survive in that environment. I wouldn’t put it past Gundy to sneak in a wrench and use it on his opponents, though.

For some reason, I think Lance Leipold could hold his own. Joey McGuire has enough intensity to last a few rounds. Neal Brown is young and scrappy.

One thing I think we can all agree on: Matt Campbell would finish last, unless the Iowa State hat he is always wearing doubles as a weapon like in the Netflix show “Peaky Blinders.”

Kansas still leads the all-time series against K-State with a record of 64-51-5.

The Wildcats have won 14 straight games in the Sunflower Showdown. If they can double that streak to 28 then they will overtake the Jayhawks in 2036.

Of course, many K-State fans like to throw out the overall series record and only count games after Bill Snyder arrived in Manhattan. From 1989 on, K-State holds a 27-7 advantage.

My guess is that Chris Klieman and Lance Leipold will coach against each other for quite a few years in the Sunflower Showdown.

Klieman has a good thing going at K-State and the Wildcats have rewarded him with a very favorable contract. Remember, he gets another year added on if K-State finishes 8-4 or better this season. He’s not looking for reasons to leave.

Leipold is also in a great situation at KU. He has already established himself as the best coach there since Mark Mangino. The Jayhawks have given him a huge extension and promised to renovate their stadium. He will only leave for a great opportunity.

The only college job I can see Klieman leaving for is Iowa.

Maybe there are some Big Ten jobs that interest Leipold.

Both coaches gave Nebraska the cold shoulder last year and have said they have no interest in the open Michigan State gig.

Maybe I’m being naive here, but it’s possible both coaches retire at their current jobs.

Jalon Daniel has announced his intentions to return to the field and play for Kansas next season, but I don’t think he is a candidate to play against K-State on Saturday.

He hasn’t played or practiced in weeks. I just don’t see how the Jayhawks could roll him out there against the Wildcats even if he badly wanted to play.

I am expecting to see Jason Bean or Cole Ballard.

After the game, I can tell you that I will be eating both pumpkin pie and pecan pie to celebrate Thanksgiving. I hate to choose them and inevitably end up eating both.

If I work up a really big appetite I might even save room for a small slice of coconut cream pie.

There is no such thing as too much pie on Thanksgiving, right?

It will be very interesting to see what Will Howard decides to do after the conclusion of this season.

He could return for one more year with the Wildcats. He could turn pro and make a run at the NFL. Or he could transfer and finish out his college career with a different school.

Some assume this will be Howard’s final season in Manhattan, given that he has already won a Big 12 championship here and he recently broke the school’s career record for passing touchdowns. It’s also awkward to think about how the Wildcats would choose to rotate him and Avery Johnson at quarterback for another season.

This is also the final season for some of his best friends on the team like Ben Sinnott and most of the offensive line. Does he really want to grind for another year without them?

Then again, if he keeps playing the way he has recently (880 yards, 12 touchdowns) and he wants to come back how do the Wildcats say no?

You’re right. K-State football recruiting hasn’t been all rainbows and sunshine like it was during the last recruiting cycle.

Oklahoma swooped in and landed Michael Boganowski out of Junction City. It’s always tough to lose a heralded recruit in your own backyard.

Grant Brix, a four-star lineman out of Iowa, still hasn’t made a decision between K-State, Nebraska and Oklahoma. It will be another frustrating miss if he picks the Huskers or the Sooners. But it would be a major win if the Wildcats can land him.

K-State currently sits at No. 71 nationally in the 2024 recruiting cycle, per the On3 team rankings database. That number translates to No. 15 (out of 16) in the new Big 12. That is obviously not great for the Wildcats.

But I will point out that K-State has landed some nice recruits, especially from within its home state. The Wildcats beat strong competition for Kaedin Massey. Gus Hawkins, John Price and Callen Barta look like solid additions.

Besides, recruiting isn’t over until transfer season nowadays.

It’s too early to judge this recruiting class one way or the other.

K-State already has a home-and-home series set up with Washington State.

I suppose the Wildcats could go ahead and add Oregon State to the mix, too. They will need to replace Colorado on some of their future schedules.

My guess is K-State won’t want to play the Beavers because they are so good at home. It would be cool to see the Oregon State chainsaw, though.

It’s way too early to speculate on how many “super seniors” K-State will retain next season.

Those decisions won’t be made until after the season.

But here is a rundown of the biggest seniors who are eligible to return for another season:

• Will Howard

• Treshaun Ward

• Khalid Duke

• Uso Seumalo

• Brendan Mott

• Austin Moore

• Kobe Savage

• Keenan Garber
  
  

There is even an outside chance that Daniel Green could be eligible for yet another season at linebacker.

If the right combination of seniors decide to stick around for another season, I will say that K-State could be both experienced and talented on defense.