Watch Coach Klieman’s Press Conference | Listen to Coach Klieman’s Press Conference | Listen to Player Breakout Interviews
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman and select players met with members of the media on Monday inside the Vanier Family Football Complex to preview the regular-season finale at Iowa State on Saturday inside Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa. Links to video and audio of Klieman’s press conference – which was streamed live on ESPN+ – are above in addition to an audio link of player breakout interviews. A transcript of Klieman’s opening statement is below.
CHRIS KLIEMAN, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
“Good afternoon, everyone. It is hard to believe that we are at game 12 and the last regular season game. I am really excited about this week. We get the opportunity to go to Iowa State, and it’s going to be a great environment and great atmosphere.
The game has meaning. I thought that going back and looking at the film, I thought our guys played very well on Saturday in all phases. Getting off to a fast start was important. I thought we dominated the defensive line against their offensive line up front to be able to shut down the run. Then I thought our offense played really well. I thought we played really well in the o-line. We blocked really well at wide receiver and tight end, and then we are able to rush the football with great success with our running backs and with the quarterback, which opens up a lot of things.
The other thing is we didn’t turn the football over, which is huge. We were able to get one big turnover for those guys, then we were 2-for-2 on fourth down with two really good calls by Coach (Conor) Riley and some kids made some plays, and they were 0-for-5 on fourth down in critical times. So, that’s another five turnovers that were impactful. So I’m excited. We had really good energy, good focus, but now we've got to put it together and go to Ames.”