MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Chris Klieman needed no better reminder of the monumental task ahead of him Wednesday than the one sitting in the front row of his introductory news conference at Kansas State: Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder.

Klieman was hired this week to replace what Wildcats athletic director Gene Taylor called “a legend.” Snyder won 215 games during two tenures lasting 27 seasons, and a large statue of him sits just outside the recently renovated football stadium that now bears his name.

“I’ve looked up to Coach Snyder since the early ’80s, growing up in Waterloo, Iowa,” he said. “Coach was working for Hayden Fry and I’d go attend his camps and stand in the quarterback line and spin it around and talk to him a little bit.

“I know the shoes I have to fill,” Klieman added, turning toward Snyder in a packed auditorium. “I’m going to make you proud, Coach.”

Klieman was hired after winning three national titles in his first four seasons at North Dakota State. And he will have a chance to continue the pursuit of a fourth when he returns to Fargo to lead the Bison in Friday night’s national semifinals against South Dakota State.

It will cap what has been a whirlwind week.

Klieman accepted the job Monday night, right in the midst of a practice, then took a late flight to Kansas State on Tuesday. He was greeted by fans at the airport, had a team meeting with returning players and spent Wednesday morning in a series of staff meetings. The early signing period begins Dec. 19.

He planned to spend the rest of the week with North Dakota State while simultaneously laying the groundwork at Kansas State, including the piecing together of a coaching staff.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be here,” he said. “I’m even losing my voice.”

Klieman’s hiring has been met with tepid response from who wonder whether a coach with little experience in major college football can succeed.

“I’m still going through my email,” said Taylor, who also hired Klieman to succeed Craig Bohl at North Dakota State. “I had about 300 and now I’m down to about 120. What I love about it is our fans passion and they care a great deal, which is what makes this a special place.”

Klieman said he understands their concerns. But after helping the Bison beat the Wildcats as their defensive coordinator in 2013, he made it clear that “football is football.”

“Our whole team is already on board and we are ready to get back here in January,” said Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson, who attended the press conference. “What sticks out to me the most is how much he talks about winning and wanting to win national titles here.”

Taylor emphasized that Klieman has great credentials, including a sterling 67-6 record with the Bison that includes wins over such Power Five programs as Iowa. But it ultimately came down to fit, and Taylor thought Klieman was the best candidate for Kansas State.

There are no doubt challenges at Kansas State, many of which Snyder was able to overcome. The school has a local airport but is a long drive from a major metropolitan area, and only a handful of Division I recruits are produce within the state each year.

Klieman also has little experience recruiting Texas, Oklahoma and other Big 12 hotbeds.

But he also went head-to-head with big-name schools in recruiting at North Dakota State, and he pointed out that three years ago he coached quarterback Carson Wentz, the No. 2 pick in that draft.

“You don’t always need five-star recruits,” Klieman said, “but you need guys that have great character, leadership and hold each other accountable. Make no mistake about it, when you put guys between the lines there is no one looking across the field wondering what star recruit a guy was.

“I know many people in Oklahoma and Texas,” he added, “so I will be getting a hold of them soon to help me out.”

Klieman acknowledged the challenge of being the head coach of two programs simultaneously, but he learned a bit about how to handle it from Bohl, who left North Dakota State to take over at Wyoming.

“We still have some work to do at North Dakota State and part of the reason I’m here is because of the support I have there,” Klieman said. “I love every one of those kids, but they know this is a great opportunity and wanted me to do this today and be ready for a game on Friday.”

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Chris Klieman, a proven winner with a championship pedigree, has been named the 35th head football coach in Kansas State history, Athletics Director Gene Taylor announced Monday.

Klieman has won five conference championships and three national championships in five seasons as the head coach at North Dakota State, and he currently has the Bison in the FCS Semifinals with a perfect 13-0 record prior to taking on South Dakota State in Fargo on Friday night.

Klieman has done all this despite losing 23 seniors and welcoming seven new assistant coaches prior to his first season at NDSU in 2014. That season, the Bison went 15-1 and won the national championship before going 13-2 with another national championship in 2015, 12-2 with a semifinal appearance in 2014 and 14-1 with a third national title last season.

“I’m very excited to have Chris Klieman lead our program,” Taylor said. “He is a perfect fit for us, both from a personal standpoint and as a head coach. He’s a tremendous teacher who I had the pleasure to hire at NDSU and watched him turn into a very successful coach. He will bring a ton of energy and excitement. His teams play extremely hard, disciplined football. He’s a winner. That’s all he does is win, and we’re excited to have Chris, Rhonda and the entire Klieman family join our K-State family. They will be a great fit not only for Kansas State Football and Kansas State Athletics, but also the entire community of Manhattan.”

Klieman has agreed to a six-year contract with a base salary of $2.3 million in 2019 with a $200,000 increase each year.

“This is an absolute dream job,” Klieman, a four-time finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award as the FCS Coach of the Year, said. “I’m so happy and thrilled to follow a legend in Coach Snyder. I’ve followed him from afar, went to his camps while playing in Waterloo, Iowa, and played against his Kansas State team when I was at Northern Iowa. The opportunity to follow in an icon’s footsteps is something I don’t take for granted and don’t take lightly. I know I have huge shoes to fill, and I’m excited to carry on his legacy. I have prepared my entire life for this opportunity and had great experiences at many institutions, most notably North Dakota State where we’ve had unmatched success over the last eight years. I can’t express how pleased I am and thank President Myers, Gene Taylor and the search committee for trusting in me and handing over the keys to this great program.”

Klieman holds a 70-13 record in his six seasons overall as head coach, including a 67-6 mark at North Dakota State. His 84.3 winning percentage as a head coach is the third-highest mark by an active coach among all NCAA Divisions, while it is the top mark among current FCS coaches by nearly seven percent.

Klieman’s record is even more impressive considering 37 of his 67 wins at North Dakota State (55.2 percent) have come over ranked opponents, while he has two wins in two tries over FBS competition – a 34-14 win at Iowa State in his first game at the helm of NDSU and a 23-21 triumph at 11th-ranked Iowa in 2016. His teams have also been stellar in protecting home field as evidenced by his 42-3 home record at NDSU, which includes a current 18-game home winning streak.

The Bison have won the Missouri Valley Football Conference each of his five years as head coach and have put together a collective 36-4 (90.0 percent) record against conference foes since 2014. He was named the Bruce Craddock MVFC Coach of the Year in 2017, while he was the 2014 Rawlings Football/American Football Monthly FCS Coach of the Year.

“We’re pleased to welcome Coach Klieman to Kansas State University,” President Richard Myers said. “Athletic Director Gene Taylor conducted a high-quality, thorough search and we are confident Chris puts us in a great position for future success. We look forward to introducing Coach Klieman to the K-State family and know he will receive the tremendous support for which we have become nationally known. This is a great time to be a Wildcat!”

Klieman’s teams have been a model of success, ranking highly in many of the key statistical categories throughout his tenure. The Bison scoring offense has ranked in the top 10 each of the last three seasons – including a current ranking of sixth at 41.5 points per game – while their total offense mark has ranked in the top 20 the last two years with a current clip of 460.0 yards per game to rank 18th.

Klieman, who came up through the coaching ranks on defense, has always produced on that side of the ball as NDSU currently ranks in the top 15 in scoring defense (2nd; 11.1), total defense (4th; 278.8), rushing defense (12th; 106.6) and passing defense (10th; 172.2). The Bison have ranked in the top six in scoring and total defense in four of his five seasons as head coach, including a No. 1 national ranking in total defense a year ago (237.4).

Elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach at NDSU on December 15, 2013, Klieman’s defensive units during his two-year run as coordinator each included top-10 rankings in scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense and passing defense. Highlighting that run were No. 1 rankings in scoring defense in both 2012 and 2013, and total defense in 2012, the latter when he was named the Football Scoop FCS Coordinator of the Year. NDSU also led the nation in scoring defense when he was the defensive backs coach in 2011.

Klieman began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Northern Iowa, from 1991-92 before being promoted to an assistant coach in 1993. He went on to Western Illinois as an assistant coach from 1994-96 before serving as a GA at Kansas in 1997 and an assistant coach in 1999.

Kleiman then moved on to Division III Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, where he was the defensive coordinator from 2002-04 before taking over as head coach for the 2005 season. He returned to Northern Iowa in 2006 as an assistant coach before being elevated to defensive coordinator for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

A native of Waterloo, Iowa, Klieman was a three-time All-Gateway Conference defensive back at Northern Iowa and four-year letterwinner from 1986-90. He graduated from UNI in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in health education and a master’s degree in physical education in 1992.

— K-State Athletics —

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Martins Igbanu made a big play, and then partied with some of his classmates.

Igbanu connected for a go-ahead jump hook with 1:51 remaining, and Tulsa edged No. 16 Kansas State 47-46 on Saturday.

Curran Scott scored 14 points for Tulsa (7-3), and Igbanu had nine points and six rebounds. The Hurricane got their second straight victory against the Big 12, also topping Oklahoma State 74-71 on Wednesday.

Kansas State had one last chance in the final seconds, but Barry Brown Jr. rimmed out a floater on a drive into the lane. Several tips misfired and the Tulsa students stormed the court to celebrate.

“To see the students come storming the court was very exciting,” Igbanu said. “I’ve watched that happen for a lot of other teams on television and always wanted to be a part of something like that. They gave us great energy tonight.”

Xavier Sneed had 13 points and 10 rebounds, but the Wildcats (6-2) shot 30.5 percent (18 for 59) from the field. They also committed 16 turnovers.

“I can’t even put into words how proud I am of the effort and intensity we played with,” Tulsa coach Frank Haith said. “We fought our butts off and executed so well. It was at a high, high level and I’m really proud of how we did it.”

Kansas State star Dean Wade finished with two points on 1-for-6 shooting. Brown and Kamau Stokes combined to shoot 4 for 24.

The Wildcats also struggled with Tulsa’s matchup zone last season, shooting 31.6 percent (18 for 57) in a 61-54 loss.

“Tulsa is so good at rotating and keeping you contained,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “You have to make some shots and I thought we had some open ones tonight. But every time you think you have something going, you’re just not able to get in any comfort zone and rhythm.”

The Hurricane also struggled offensively, shooting 38 percent (19 for 50) and committing 15 turnovers. They were outrebounded 42-34 by the Wildcats.

Tulsa opened a 45-40 lead on a long 3-pointer by Jeriah Horne with 4:19 left. But Kansas State came right back.

Sneed made two 3-pointers to help the Wildcats to a 46-45 lead with 2:24 left, setting the stage for Igbanu’s big play.

“They have one of the top defenses in the nation,” Haith said. “You had to work hard for everything and finish through contact. Fortunately we made one more play than they did.”

LOOKING BACK

It was Tulsa’s first win against a ranked team since an 82-77 victory against No. 16 Southern Methodist in Dallas on Feb. 10, 2016. It was its first victory over a ranked team at home since a 77-67 win against No. 9 Wichita State on Nov. 17, 2015.

MORE POWER

Weber was not pleased with the performance of the 6-foot-10 Wade.

“He wasn’t aggressive enough,” he said. “He’s the biggest guy out there and he didn’t use his strength or length to finish around the hoop. But he’s a good player and he’ll battle through this.”

BIG PICTURE

Kansas State: The Wildcats made 4 of 32 3-pointers in the 2017 loss and were slightly better against the zone this time at 5 of 19. Kansas State played physical defense without fouling in the second half, committing just one team foul.

Tulsa: The Hurricane is proving to be one tough team at home, having won 13 consecutive games at the Reynolds Center and 22 of 24 overall.

UP NEXT

Kansas State has a week off before opening a four-game nonconference homestand against Georgia State on Dec. 15.

Tulsa concludes its 2018 home nonconference slate against New Orleans on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State junior running back Alex Barnes and senior right tackle Dalton Risner were each named First Team All-Big 12 performers the Associated Press announced Friday.

Risner was a first-teamer by the AP for a second-straight year and earned his third accolade from the organization overall, while Barnes was a first-time honoree by the Associated Press.

Barnes finished as the Big 12’s regular-season rushing champion at 112.9 yards per game to go along with 12 rushing touchdowns. A product of Pittsburg, Kansas, Barnes was even better in conference play as he averaged 125.2 yards per game with 11 scores.

The junior concluded the 2018 season with 1,355 yards to rank fourth in school history and seventh nationally at the end of the regular season. He hit the 100-yard rushing mark seven times to tie for third in school history. He also improved his career rushing total to 2,616 yards to rank fifth in K-State history, while his 12 career 100-yard games are tied for second.

Risner, who has been named an All-American by the Walter Camp Foundation (second team), Pro Football Focus (first team), Sports Illustrated (second team) and The Athletic (second team) this week, was one of the top offensive linemen in the country this year. One of three players named the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year by the league’s coaches, Risner led an offensive unit that finished third in the Big 12 by averaging 182.6 rushing yards per game, which included a 184.2-yard average in conference games to rank second.

Risner started all but one game for the Wildcats over the last four years, including the final three seasons at right tackle.

— KSU Athletics —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior right tackle Dalton Risner was named to the prestigious Walter Camp All-America team, the Walter Camp Football Foundation announced Thursday during The Home Depot ESPN College Football Award Show.

With his recognition, Risner becomes the second Wildcat offensive lineman in school history to earn All-America accolades in consecutive seasons, joining Nick Leckey in 2002 and 2003. It is the first time Risner has been named a Walter Camp All-American, while it is the second-straight year the organization has honored a Wildcat (D.J. Reed, KR).

The All-America accolade is one of many for Risner this week as he was named a First Team All-American by Pro Football Focus and was a second-team honoree by Sports Illustrated and The Athletic.

A product of Wiggins, Colorado, Risner was one of three players to be named the 2018 Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year, while he was a First Team All-Big 12 performer. He led an offensive unit that finished third in the Big 12 by averaging 182.6 rushing yards per game, which included a 184.2-yard average in conference games to rank second.

The Wildcat rushing attack averaged 208.6 yards and 2.3 rushing touchdowns per game in the final seven contests after averaging 146.2 yards and 0.8 rushing touchdowns in the first five, a majority of the former going over Risner’s right tackle position.

Risner finished his career by starting 50 of the Wildcats’ 51 games over the last four years. He was a Freshman All-American in 2015 after starting all 13 games at center before moving to right tackle the last three years, each of which ended with All-Big 12 honors.

— KSU Athletics —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior right tackle Dalton Risner, the 2018 Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year, led five Wildcats that were named to the Coaches’ All-Big 12 teams, the conference office announced Wednesday.

Risner was a first-team recipient for a third-straight season, while running back Alex Barnes and defensive back Duke Shelley were named to the second team. Punter Devin Anctil and defensive end Kyle Ball were both honorable mention selections. Shelley earned his second All-Big 12 honor from the league’s coaches as he was an honorable mention last year, while Barnes, Anctil and Ball picked up their first-career accolades.

A product of Wiggins, Colorado, Wiggins is the second Wildcat to earn Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year honors, the first being B.J. Finney in 2014. He was joined as an Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2018 by Oklahoma’s Dru Samia and West Virginia’s Yodny Cajuste.

Risner is the fourth offensive lineman in conference history to earn First Team All-Big 12 accolades in three-straight seasons, while he is the fourth player in school history to accomplish the feat, joining defensive tackle Will Geary (2015-17), Finney (2012-14) and linebacker Mark Simoneau (1997-99).

Risner led an offensive unit that finished third in the Big 12 by averaging 182.6 rushing yards per game, which included a 184.2-yard average in conference games to rank second. The Wildcat rushing attack averaged 208.6 yards and 2.3 rushing touchdowns per game in the final seven contests after averaging 146.2 yards and 0.8 rushing touchdowns in the first five.

A majority of that rushing yardage went to Barnes, the Big 12’s regular-season rushing champion at 112.9 yards per game with a league-high tying 12 touchdowns. The Pittsburg, Kansas, native was even better in conference play as he averaged 125.2 yards per game with 11 scores.

Barnes’ season rushing total of 1,355 yards ranked fourth in school history and seventh nationally at the end of the regular season. He topped the 100-yard rushing mark on seven occasions to tie for third in school history. His impressive junior campaign improved his career rushing total to 2,616 yards to rank fifth in K-State history, while his 12 career 100-yard games is tied for second.

Shelley concluded his senior campaign with a team-high three interceptions despite missing the final five games of the season due to injury. His interception total included two against Oklahoma State, while he had one the previous week at Baylor. The Tucker, Georgia, native finished his career with eight interceptions – just outside the school’s top-10 list – while his 39 career passes defended ranked seventh. He also had two pick-sixes in his career to tie for fourth in school history.

Anctil had a great finish to the season as he punted the final six games, averaging 43.6 yards per punt with 10 landing inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and six that traveled at least 50 yards. His average would lead the Big 12 if he met the required minimum amount of games played. His six punts of at least 50 yards are the most by a Wildcat since 2013, while his five punts downed inside the TCU 20-yard line were the most by a Wildcat in a single game since 2014.

Ball completed the 2018 season with 16 tackles, including 4.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, while he also batted away two passes. The Prairie Village, Kansas, product carded a season-high seven tackles at Oklahoma, while his sacks came against UTSA and Oklahoma State.

Coaches’ All-Big 12 Teams (Kansas State)
Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year: Dalton Risner (joined by Oklahoma’s Dru Samia and West Virginia’s Yodny Cajuste)
First Team: Dalton Risner (OL).
Second Team: Alex Barnes (RB) and Duke Shelley (DB).
Honorable Mention: Devin Anctil (P) and Kyle Ball (DE).

— K-State Athletics —

AMES, Iowa (AP) — For Iowa State, it felt like yet another inexplicable loss to Kansas State might be inevitable.

Then a fumble flipped in the air and fell right into Mike Rose’s hands, and the Cyclones’ bad luck against the Wildcats seemed to wash away.

David Montgomery ran for three touchdowns, including the winner with 4:34 to go, and 25th-ranked Iowa State rallied from 17 down in the fourth quarter to stun Kansas State 42-38 and snap a 10-game skid against the Wildcats on Saturday night.

Montgomery had 149 yards rushing for the Cyclones (7-4, 6-3 Big 12), who clinched their best-ever finish in the Big 12.

Down 38-21, Iowa State scored twice in just 1:44 early in the fourth — on Brock Purdy’s short TD pass and a 21-yard fumble return by Rose after Willie Harvey forced it — to pull to 38-35.

The made a stop, and Montgomery’s 18-yard touchdown run gave Iowa State an improbable lead.

“This team has never disappointed me,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. “We’re not flashy. We’re not pretty. But you better not count us out.”

Kansas State’s (5-7, 3-6) fate was sealed when a long pass to Dalton Schoen deep in Iowa State territory glanced off his fingertips with 1:20 left.

The Wildcats took control by going 92 yards on eight plays after picking off Purdy, opening up a 31-21 lead on Skylar Thompson’s 9-yard TD pass to Chabastin Taylor late in the third. K-State’s Kevion McGee then intercepted Purdy again, and Isaiah Zuber’s second TD grab of the game made it 38-21 early in the fourth.

Purdy redeemed himself down the stretch though, finishing with 337 yards passing and two touchdowns in what Campbell said was his best game yet.

Thompson threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Alex Barnes rushed for 184 yards and a TD for the Wildcats. Barnes rushed for at least 100 yards in his last four games, the longest such streak for a Wildcat since Darren Sproles had a five-game streak in 2003.

“I’ve never lost a ballgame that way. I’ll have to dissect it,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. “I can’t tell you what my feelings are right now.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Iowa State: The Cyclones revival since the start of last season had been sparked by their defense. But the cracks that began to show in a win over Baylor and a loss at Texas developed into sink holes against the Wildcats. Iowa State’s offense, bailed out so often by their teammates on the other side of the ball, finally returned the favor — and the defense showed up when it mattered.

K-State: If this proves to be Bill Snyder’s final game, what a brutal way to go out. All the Wildcats had to do was protect a 17-point lead with 12 minutes to go bowling, but they couldn’t do it.

SNYDER’S STATUS

K-State’s 5-7 record is the worst since Snyder came back in 2009. Speculation has been rampant that the 79-year-old Snyder might step down, but he didn’t address those rumors after the game. “That’s the last thing on my mind right now,” Snyder said when asked about his status.

WHY THE CYCLONES FELL BEHIND

Tarique Milton fumbled away a punt just before halftime, and it took the Wildcats 16 seconds to go 34 yards for a touchdown; a 6-yard pass from Thompson to Isaiah Zuber to make it 21-14. Kansas State, which struggled in the red zone all year, scored on all six of its trips inside Iowa State’s 20.

DID THE BUTLER DO IT?

On the previous series, Iowa State appeared to take a 20-14 lead on a short TD pass from Purdy to Milton. But Hakeem Butler was called for offensive pass interference, and Connor Assalley then shanked a 38-yard field goal attempt. Butler also had a sure TD bounce off his hands late in the fourth quarter, but Montgomery bailed him out shortly thereafter. “David is the best player in the country to me,” Butler said. “I tell him that every day, and he proved that.” Butler finished with 144 yards on five catches.

HE SAID IT

“The chances of the ball just falling right in his lap like that and then returning it for a touchdown and quick scores like that after we were up 17 points, that was frustrating. We couldn’t really get it going after that,” Thompson said about Rose’s fumble return.

UP NEXT

Iowa State hosts Drake of the FCS in a makeup for its canceled opener.

Kansas State’s season is complete.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Dean Wade knew Kansas State was in need of a spark, and he took it upon himself to provide it.

Wade scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, Barry Brown added 16 and No. 12 Kansas State beat Lehigh 77-58 on Saturday.

“The first half we weren’t playing with any emotion or energy so my main focus was to do that,” Wade said. “I just wanted to be aggressive, but smart.”

The Wildcats (6-0) controlled the second half after the Mountain Hawks hung around and trailed by two at halftime.

“I think we wore them down as the game went on,” coach Bruce Weber said. “I told our guys these guys are pretty good and I didn’t think we played very good defense in the first half.”

Kamau Stokes scored 10 points, including two first-half 3-pointers, but the Wildcats continued to struggle with their long-distance shooting at home, making 6 of 20 3-point attempts.

James Karnik had 15 points and eight rebounds for Lehigh (4-2), and Pat Andree scored 12. Lehigh compiled 16 turnovers and made just nine field goals in the second half, shooting 28 percent. Lehigh shot 54 percent in the first half.

The Wildcats scored 18 points off Lehigh’s turnovers.

“Our defense is always something we take pride in,” Brown said. “We just focused on getting stops every time and we were able to get some easy baskets off those.”

Brown converted a three-point play to give K-State a 50-40 lead with 14 minutes remaining. That was part of a 12-5 run by the Wildcats that gave them a 57-45 lead.

Kansas State led 37-35 at halftime as neither team build a lead larger than five in the first 20 minutes. The Wildcats struggled against the Mountain Hawks’ matchup zone.

“We don’t see that very often and it’s even a hard thing to practice,” Weber said. “We needed to move the basketball and look inside and keep it going. They got us a little stagnant at times, but once we settled down we were able to find some things.”

Kansas State is off to its best start since 2004-05, when it won its first eight games. The Wildcats face Marquette next Saturday in their first road game of the season.

“This is a chance to take a big step as a team, but Marquette is a very good team,” Weber said. “They beat Louisville and played Kansas well, so it’s going to be a tough test.”

STAR WATCH

Brown recorded the 200th steal of his career and is now second in Kansas State history behind Jacob Pullen, who had 210 from 2007-11.

BIG PICTURE

The Wildcats have struggled with all three nonconference opponents this year, but have managed to win all three with big runs in the second half. They will need to come out with more urgency when Big 12 play begins.

Lehigh had an impressive start to the season with wins over Siena and Princeton, but couldn’t get over the hump against Power Five schools K-State and Miami.

UP NEXT

Lehigh hosts Arkansas State on Dec. 1.

Kansas State will take on arguably its toughest test of the season thus far when it travels to Marquette on Dec. 1.

— Associated Press —

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Thanks to a 4-for-4 effort last week in Kansas State’s 21-6 victory over Texas Tech, sophomore place kicker Blake Lynch has been named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

It is Lynch’s first-career weekly conference honor, while the Wildcats now have four player-of-the-week accolades this season. Isaiah Zuber was the special teams player of the week following the South Dakota game, while Alex Barnes (offensive) and Duke Shelley (defensive) were honored following the Oklahoma State win.

Lynch tied his career high and tied for second in school history with his four field goals against the Red Raiders, which came from distances of 20, 34, 41 and 22 yards. He is the third player in school history to make at least four field goals in a game twice in a season, joining Jamie Rheem (vs. Texas and Utah State in 1999) and Martin Gramatica (vs. Texas A&M and Kansas in 1998).

This season, the Goddard, Kansas, product is 13-of-15 on field-goal attempts, including a perfect 13-for-13 mark from under 50 yards. His current 86.7-percent mark ranks third in school history for a season, while he is four field goals shy of entering K-State’s top-10 list for field goals made in a season.

Kansas State travels to Ames, Iowa, on Saturday to take on Iowa State inside Jack Trice Stadium. The Wildcats, who are in search of their all-important sixth win of the season to extend their bowl streak to nine-straight seasons, and Cyclones kick off at 6 p.m.

— K-State Athletics —