2020 Kansas State Wildcats football team

2020 Big 12 Conference football standings
	Championship: Oklahoma 27, Iowa State 21
	$ – Conference champion; y – Championship game participant; Rankings from AP Poll.

2020 Kansas State Wildcats football
2020 Kansas State Wildcats football
Conference	Big 12 Conference
2020 record	4–6 (4–5 Big 12)
Head coach	Chris Klieman (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Courtney Messingham (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Joe Klanderman (1st season as DC, 2nd overall season)
Home stadium	Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium; (Capacity: 50,000)
	Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

The 2020 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas, and competed in the Big 12 Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Chris Klieman.

After completing their regular season with a record of 4–6 (4–5 in conference play), the program announced on December 16 that it would not pursue a bid to a bowl game, "because of mounting COVID-19 issues on its roster."^[1]

Previous season[]

The Wildcats finished the 2019 season with an 8–5 record, 5–4 Big 12 play, losing the Liberty Bowl to Navy.

Preseason[]

Big 12 media Days[]

The Big 12 media days were held on July 21–22, 2020 in a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2]

Big 12 media poll[]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Big 12 media poll^[3]
1	Oklahoma	80
2	Oklahoma State	6
3	Texas	4
4	Iowa State
5	Baylor
6	TCU
7	Kansas State
8	West Virginia
9	Texas Tech
10	Kansas

Schedule[]

Regular season[]

Kansas State released its 2020 schedule on October 22, 2019.

The Wildcats had games scheduled against Buffalo and North Dakota as out of conference opponents, but these games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4] In fact, the whole season schedule was changed and the finalized one is shown below. The original schedule is shown under Game Summaries.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 12	11:00 a.m.	Arkansas State*		Bill Snyder Family Stadium Manhattan, KS	FOX	L 31–35	11,041
September 26	11:00 a.m.	at No. 3 Oklahoma		Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	FOX	W 38–35	22,700
October 3	2:30 p.m.	Texas Tech		Bill Snyder Family Stadium Manhattan, KS	FS1	W 31–21	10,932
October 10	3:00 p.m.	at TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	FOX	W 21–14	12,208
October 24	11:00 a.m.	Kansas	No. 20	Bill Snyder Family Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	FS1	W 55–14	10,801
October 31	11:00 a.m.	at West Virginia	No. 16	Milan Puskar Stadium Morgantown, WV	ESPN2	L 10–37	10,441
November 7	3:00 p.m.	No. 14 Oklahoma State		Bill Snyder Family Stadium Manhattan, KS	FOX	L 18–20	11,980
November 21	3:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Iowa State		Jack Trice Stadium Ames, IA (rivalry)	FOX	L 0–45	0
November 28	6:00 p.m.	at Baylor		McLane Stadium Waco, TX	ESPN2	L 31–32	11,667
December 5	11:00 a.m.	Texas		Bill Snyder Family Stadium Manhattan, KS	FOX	L 31–69	9,851
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 24) released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:^[5]

Coaching staff[]

Name	Position	Year at Kansas State	Previous job
Chris Klieman	Head coach	2nd	North Dakota State (HC)
Joe Klanderman	DC/S	2nd	North Dakota State (DB)
Courtney Messingham	OC/TE	2nd	North Dakota State (OC/RB)
Van Malone	AHC/PGC/CB	2nd	Mississippi State (DA)
Brian Anderson	RB	2nd	Illinois State (WR)
Collin Klein	QB	6th	Northern Iowa (QB)
Jason Ray	WR	2nd	North Dakota State (WR)
Conor Riley	OL	2nd	North Dakota State (OL)
Steve Stanard	LB	1st	Syracuse University (DE)
Mike Tuiasosopo	DT	2nd	UTEP (DL)
Buddy Wyatt	DE	2nd	Kansas (senior analyst)

Game summaries[]

vs. Arkansas State[]

Arkansas State Red Wolves (0–1) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (0–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Arkansas State	7	7	7	14	35
Kansas State	7	14	0	10	31

at Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS

Date: Saturday, September 12, 2020
Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
Game weather: partly cloudy • Temperature: 70°F
TV announcers (Fox): Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, and Jenny Taft
Pregame line: Kansas State -15

Game information

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Statistics	ARST	KSU
First downs	26	21
Total yards	489	374
Rushes/yards	159	91
Passing yards	330	283
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	25-38-1	18-30-0
Time of possession	25:44	34:16

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Arkansas State	Passing	Logan Bonner	17–28, 204 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Jamal Jones	16 carries, 95 yds
	Receiving	Jonathan Adams, Jr.	8 receptions, 98 yds, 3 td
Kansas State	Passing	Skylar Thompson	17–29, 259 yds, 2 TD
	Rushing	Deuce Vaughn	12 carries, 47 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Chabastin Taylor	4 recptions, 98 yds

Both teams entered the game with a reduced roster due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Arkansas State was down nearly 10 starters and K-State was without approximately two dozen players—however, both teams had enough active personnel to play the game. After the game, Arkansas State announced that it will not play its home opener game Central Arkansas the Red Wolves were unable to assemble a complete depth chart for the game.^[6]

at Oklahoma[]

Kansas State Wildcats (0–1) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (1–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas State	0	7	14	17	38
No. 3 Oklahoma	7	14	14	0	35

at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK

Date: Saturday, September 26, 2020
Game time: 11 a.m. CDT
Game weather: • Temperature:
Game attendance: 22,700
TV: FOX
Pregame line:

Game information

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Statistics	KSU	OKLA
First downs	10	28
Total yards	390	517
Rushes/yards	26-56	35-130
Passing yards	334	387
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	18-25	30-41
Time of possession	27:52	32:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kansas State	Passing	Skylar Thompson	18–25, 334 yds, 1 TD
	Rushing	Deuce Vaughn	8 carries, 35 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Deuce Vaughn	4 receptions, 129 yards
Oklahoma	Passing	Spencer Rattler	30–41, 387 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Seth McGowan	13 carries, 73 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Drake Stoops	3 receptions, 93 yards, 1 TD

vs. Texas Tech[]

Texas Tech Red Raiders (1–1) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (1–1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas Tech	0	0	14	7	21
Kansas State	7	7	3	14	31

at Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS

Date: Saturday, October 3, 2020
Game time: CDT
Game weather: • Temperature:
Game attendance: 10,932
TV: FS1
Pregame line:

Game information

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Statistics	TTU	KSU
First downs	27	20
Total yards	471	404
Rushes/yards	34-204	42-198
Passing yards	267	206
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	34-49-1	12-22-0
Time of possession	31:39	28:21

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas Tech	Passing	Henry Colombi	30–42, 244 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Xavier White	12 carries, 113 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Erik Ezukanma	5 receptions, 77 yards
Kansas State	Passing	Will Howard	7-12, 173 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Deuce Vaughn	16 carries, 113 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Deuce Vaughn	3 receptions, 81 yards, 1 TD

at TCU[]

Kansas State Wildcats (2–1) vs. TCU Horned Frogs (1–1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas State	6	8	7	0	21
TCU	7	0	0	7	14

at Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX

Date: Saturday, October 10, 2020
Game time: CDT
Game weather: • Temperature:
Game attendance: 0
TV: FOX
Pregame line: TCU -11.0

Game information

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Statistics	KSU	TCU
First downs	12	20
Total yards	289	342
Rushes/yards	38-172	37-189
Passing yards	117	153
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	8-19-1	22-38-1
Time of possession	30:15	29:45

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kansas State	Passing	Will Howard	8-19, 117 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Will Howard	13 carries, 86 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Deuce Vaughn	1 reception, 45 yards
TCU	Passing	Max Duggan	19–31, 154 yards
	Rushing	Darwin Barlow	8 carries, 56 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Blair Conwright	6 receptions, 60 yards

vs. Kansas (Homecoming)[]

Kansas Jayhawks (0–4) vs. No. 20 Kansas State Wildcats (3–1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas	0	7	0	7	14
No. 20 Kansas State	7	27	21	0	55

at Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS

Date: Saturday, October 24, 2020
Game time: CDT
Game weather: • Temperature:
Game attendance: 10,801
TV: FS1
Pregame line: KSU -19.0

Game information

First Quarter

KSU TD: Phillip Brooks 55 Yd Punt Return (Lynch Kick) KSU 7-0

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Statistics	KAN	KSU
First downs	18	17
Total yards	320	381
Rushes/yards	39-113	33-129
Passing yards	207	252
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	22-39-1	18-28-0
Time of possession	30:40	29:20

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kansas	Passing	Jalon Daniels	22–39, 207 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Velton Gardner	16 carries, 72 yards
	Receiving	Kwamie Lassiter II	7 receptions, 58 yards
Kansas State	Passing	Will Howard	17–24, 243 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Deuce Vaughn	11 carries, 71 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Deuce Vaughn	4 receptions, 81 yards

Phillip Brooks, sophomore wide receiver, had two punt returns in the first half.

at West Virginia[]

Kansas State Wildcats (0–0) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (0–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas State	0	0	0	0	0
West Virginia	0	0	0	0	0

at Milan Puskar Stadium • Morgantown, WV

Date: Saturday, October 31, 2020
Game time: CDT
Game weather: • Temperature:
Pregame line:

Game information

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Statistics	KSU	WVU
First downs
Total yards
Rushes/yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kansas State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
West Virginia	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs. Oklahoma State[]

Oklahoma State Cowboys (0–0) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (0–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma State	0	0	0	0	0
Kansas State	0	0	0	0	0

at Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS

Date: Saturday, November 7, 2020
Game time: CST
Game weather: • Temperature:
Pregame line:

Game information

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Statistics	OKST	KSU
First downs
Total yards
Rushes/yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oklahoma State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Kansas State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Iowa State[]

Kansas State Wildcats (0–0) vs. Iowa State Cyclones (0–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas State	0	0	0	0	0
Iowa State	0	0	0	0	0

at Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, IA

Date: Thursday, November 21, 2020
Game time: CST
Game weather: • Temperature:
Pregame line:

Game information

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Statistics	KSU	ISU
First downs
Total yards
Rushes/yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kansas State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Iowa State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Baylor[]

Kansas State Wildcats (0–0) vs. Baylor Bears (0–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas State	0	0	0	0	0
Baylor	0	0	0	0	0

at McLane Stadium • Waco, TX

Date: Saturday, November 28, 2020
Game time: CST
Game weather: • Temperature:
Pregame line:

Game information

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Statistics	KSU	BAY
First downs
Total yards
Rushes/yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kansas State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Baylor	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs. Texas[]

Texas Longhorns (0–0) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (0–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas	0	0	0	0	0
Kansas State	0	0	0	0	0

at Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS

Date: Saturday, December 5, 2020
Game time: CST
Game weather: • Temperature:
Pregame line:

Game information

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Statistics	TEX	KSU
First downs
Total yards
Rushes/yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Kansas State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Rankings[]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	NR					RV	RV	22	20	16	RV
Coaches	RV		NR			RV	RV	22	19	16	RV	RV	RV
CFP	Not released															Not released

References[]

^ Robinett, Kellis (December 16, 2020). "Kansas State pauses all football activities because of COVID, won't pursue bowl game". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
^ Rittenberg, Adam. "Big 12 football media days going virtual due to coronavirus". ESPN.com. ESPN, Inc. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
^ "Oklahoma Tops Big 12 Football Media Preseason Poll". big12sports.com.
^ Talty, John. "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
^ "Kansas State Wildcats Schedule 2020". ESPN.com. ESPN, Inc. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
^ Robinett, Kellis (September 15, 2020). "Arkansas State postpones football game due to COVID, days after playing Kansas State". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved September 27, 2020.

[1] Robinett, Kellis (December 16, 2020). "Kansas State pauses all football activities because of COVID, won't pursue bowl game". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved December 16, 2020.

[2] Rittenberg, Adam. "Big 12 football media days going virtual due to coronavirus". ESPN.com. ESPN, Inc. Retrieved 9 May 2020.

[3] "Oklahoma Tops Big 12 Football Media Preseason Poll". big12sports.com.

[4] Talty, John. "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved 30 July 2020.

[5] "Kansas State Wildcats Schedule 2020". ESPN.com. ESPN, Inc. Retrieved 4 February 2020.

[6] Robinett, Kellis (September 15, 2020). "Arkansas State postpones football game due to COVID, days after playing Kansas State". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved September 27, 2020.

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v t Kansas State Wildcats football
Venues	Ahearn Field (1911–1921) Memorial Stadium (1922–1967) Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium (1968–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Iowa State Kansas Nebraska
Culture & lore	Willie the Wildcat "Wildcat Victory" "Wabash Cannonball" "Kansas Wildcats" (march) Marching band Timeline of football in Kansas Aggieville riots 1939 Nebraska game 1998 Big 12 Championship Game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

2020 Big 12 Conference football standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
No. 9 Iowa State y		8	–	1		9	–	3
No. 6 Oklahoma y$		6	–	2		9	–	2
No. 20 Oklahoma State		6	–	3		8	–	3
No. 19 Texas		5	–	3		7	–	3
TCU		5	–	4		6	–	4
West Virginia		4	–	4		6	–	4
Kansas State		4	–	5		4	–	6
Texas Tech		3	–	6		4	–	6
Baylor		2	–	7		2	–	7
Kansas		0	–	8		0	–	9
Championship: Oklahoma 27, Iowa State 21
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll.