No. 16 Kansas State and Arizona State are going to clash in one of the most important Big 12 games of the season this weekend with major implications as a result.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Wildcats, Sun Devils and Iowa State all have identical records of being 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the conference, with the three programs tied for third place in the Big 12 behind BYU (9-0, 6-0) and Colorado (7-2, 5-1).
Whoever wins the tilt between K-State and ASU will continue to make an argument about a potential College Football Playoff spot and put pressure on either BYU, Colorado or both to falter with the conference championship nearing. The top two teams in the conference at the end of the season will play in the Big 12 title game.
For the program that loses, its chance to earn a CFP position is practically gone and will give teams around it the opportunity to leapfrog in the standings.
For Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman, he understands the difficult challenge vs. Arizona State and the significance of the game on Saturday.
“We are playing a really good Arizona State team, a hot team that’s playing well and finding ways to win. We got to play our best football,” Klieman said at a press conference this week.
The Wildcats are coming off of a bye week after being stunned by Houston (3-3, 4-5), falling to the Cougars 24-19 on Nov. 2.
For Arizona State, the Sun Devils were able to dig deep without star running back Cam Skattebo and find a way to beat UCF (4-6, 2-5) 35-31 last Saturday. Skattebo, who has already rushed for 1,000-plus yards this season, missed the game against the Knights with an undisclosed injury.
Now that Skattebo is projected to return against his team, Klieman admitted he has watched his film and praised how vital he is to the Sun Devils’ offense.
“He’s a stud, he’s a downhill guy but he’s got enough quickness, he’s got great hands out of the backfield, he’ll pass protect. He is a fun kid to watch,” Klieman said. “He breaks tackles, you are not going to arm tackle him. He has had a tremendous year, one of the best years in the Big 12. He deserves all of the accolades that he is receiving and he is a terrific player.”
Expanding on the offense that ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham has at his disposal, Klieman believes both quarterback Sam Leavitt and wide receiver Jordyn Tyson are highly talented and are some of the best at their positions in the conference that K-State has faced so far.
“I really like their quarterback [Leavitt], I think he is a perfect fit for what they are doing,” Klieman said. “I think coach [Kenny] Dillingham has done a phenomenal job. They have had some success in the transfer portal. Second year in that system, those guys are playing with a lot of confidence. They have a wide receiver [Tyson] that is as good as we have seen in the league, he is making play after play.”
Before joining Kansas State in 2019, Klieman worked at North Dakota State since 2011, a place two ASU coaches have familiarity with. Arizona State defensive coordinator Brian Ward was the defensive back coach at NDSU in 2010, a year before Klieman was hired. Klieman worked alongside current Sun Devils linebacker coach A.J. Cooper from 2011-13 when Cooper was the defensive end coach and special teams coordinator for the Bison.
Having prior connections with two coaches who made a lasting impact at North Dakota State, Klieman knows what both Ward and Cooper have brought to a program like Arizona State.
“I know a lot of the defensive guys. I know their defensive coordinator and the linebacker coach Brian Ward and A.J. Cooper, they are great coaches, they are great human beings,” Klieman said. “They are playing at a high level, I know they probably didn’t play as well as they wanted to against UCF. I know Ward and Coop, they will have those guys firing on all cylinders.”
Arizona State and Kansas State go toe-to-toe on Saturday at 5 p.m. MST in Manhattan, Kan.
ASU football superstars both set to return, play in crucial battle vs. No. 16 Kansas State
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Mercury, Suns and ASU Athletics for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
