Game 12
Colorado at K-State
Date: Saturday, November 29, 2025
Kickoff: 11 a.m.
Location: Manhattan, Kan.
Stadium: Bill Snyder Family Stadium (50,000)
Series: Colorado Leads, 45-21-1
TV: FS1 (watch)
Eric Collins (Play-by-Play)
Spencer Tillman (Analyst)
K-State Radio: K-State Sports Network; k-statesports.com (Listen)
Wyatt Thompson (Play-by-Play)
Stan Weber (Analyst)
Matt Walters (Sidelines)
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Ch. 211 or 199, and on the SiriusXM App
X Updates: @KStateFB and @KStateStatsInfo
THE TOP 51) Kansas State will look for win number six and bowl eligibility in the final game of the regular season as the Wildcats host Colorado on Saturday in K-Stateās annual Senior Day game. The contest kicks off at 11 a.m. CT, from Bill Snyder Family Stadium and will be shown on FS1 with Eric Collins (play-by-play) and Spencer Tillman (analyst) on the call.
2) Quarterback Avery Johnson anchors an offense that is ranked 11th in scoring among Power 4 teams since September 27 at 33.1 points per game. He is set to make his 26th-career start under center, throwing for 2,270 yards and 18 touchdowns this season in addition to eight rushing scores. He is one of nine quarterbacks nationally with 18 touchdowns through the air and eight on the ground this season.
3) Running back Joe Jackson leads the team with 769 rushing yards and five touchdowns this season as he comes off the best rushing performance in school history. The sophomore totaled 293 yards and three touchdowns, eclipsing Darren Sprolesā school record of 292 yards against Louisiana in 2004. When adding in his 19-yard pass, Jacksonās 312 scrimmage yards ranked second in school history.
4) Linebacker Des Purnell has 63 tackles this season and has been on fire over his last five games by totaling 31 tackles, 5.0 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, two picks, five passes defended and a forced fumble. Cornerback Zashon Rich ranks third in the Big 12 and is tied for 17th nationally with 10 pass breakups, while the Cats rank first nationally in fumble recoveries (13) and second in turnovers gained (25).
5) Kicker Luis Rodriguez is 12-for-14 on field goals and has converted on all 39 extra-point attempts, which is the seventh-longest streak in school history to open a season. Punter Simon McClannan ranks sixth in the Big 12 with a 41.9-yard average. The Cats rank 11th nationally with a 25.92-yard kickoff return average, led by Bryce Noernberg, who ranks eighth in school history with a 29.0-yard average.
STATISTICAL SPOTLIGHTS472 ā Rushing yards last week at No. 12 Utah, a new school record and the second most nationally this season.
293 ā Rushing yards by Joe Jackson last week at Utah, a new single-game K-State record (Darren Sproles, 292 vs. Louisiana, 2004).
27 ā The Wildcats are in search of their 27th bowl appearance all time, including their 14th in the last 16 seasons.
25 ā Number of turnovers the Wildcats have forced this season, which ranks second in the nation.
16 ā Games with multiple touchdown passes over the last two seasons by Avery Johnson, the third most in the nation.
TEAM NOTESRECENT RECAP
ā¢ Behind a record-setting afternoon on the ground, K-State pushed No. 12 Utah to the final seconds in a 51-47 loss in Salt Lake City.
ā¢ Joe Jackson set a new single-game rushing record with 293 yards, part of a new team record with 472 yards on the ground. Both marks are the second most in the country this season.
ā¢ Kansas State forced a season-high five turnovers to push the Cats to a 14-6 win at Oklahoma State the week prior, its first win in Stillwater since 2017 and just the second since 1999.
ā¢ Prior to that, K-State suffered a 43-20 loss to No. 13 Texas Tech, a game that got away from the Wildcats after they had the ball down nine points (29-20) with seven minutes remaining.
ā¢ The game against the Red Raiders came on the heels of a dominating 42-17 win at Kansas, its 17th straight wins over the Jayhawks.
ā¢ Avery Johnson was 11-of-17 for 231 yards and accounted for four touchdowns against the Jayhawks, while Jayce Brown caught four passes for 160 yards, including a 78-yard score.
ā¢ Defensively, the Wildcats forced four total turnovers and pressured quarterback Jalon Daniels most of the day. Kansas averaged just 3.2 yards per snap in the contest.
LOOKING FOR NO. 6
ā¢ Kansas State will be looking for its sixth victory of the year to advance to the postseason for a fifth-straight season and the 14th time in the last 16 years.
ā¢ Entering the 2025 season, K-State was one of just 19 Power 4 programs to play in a bowl game at least 13 times in the previous 15 years.
WINNING BIG 12 RECORD
ā¢ A victory over Colorado on Saturday would give the Wildcats their fourth-straight season with a winning Big 12 record.
ā¢ It would be the longest streak by a K-State team since doing so in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
SEVEN ONE-SCORE GAMES
ā¢ Of Kansas Stateās last 24 games dating back to Week 2 of the 2024 season, 13 have been decided by just one score.
ā¢ Last year, the Wildcats went 4-2 in one-possession games. All four of the victories were fourth-quarter comebacks, which ranked second in the nation to Illinoisā five.
ā¢ This season, K-State has played seven one-possession games but has only come out on the winning side twice. In four of the losses, the Wildcats had the ball with a chance to either tie or take the lead late in the fourth quarter.
ā¢ K-Stateās seven one-score games this year are tied for the most among Power 4 teams (Arizona State, Iowa State ā 7).
TOWARD THE TOP IN CONSISTENCY
ā¢ K-State is one of only 10 Power 4 schools that have won at least nine games in each of the last three seasons, joining Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Tennessee.
ā¢ Among those teams, only Kansas State, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Oregon have accomplished that feat in addition to winning a conference championship during that time frame.
ā¢ The Wildcats are tied for second among current Big 12 teams and 17th among Power 4 teams with 32 total wins since the beginning of 2022.
AMONG THE NATIONāS BEST
ā¢ K-State has a total of 236 victories since 1996, which ranks 22nd nationally.
ā¢ Among active Big 12 teams, the Wildcats rank fourth behind BYU (249), TCU (245) and Utah (242).
A WINNING TRADITION
ā¢ Kansas State has totaled 148 Big 12 victories since the conferenceās formation in 1996, which stands as the most among active programs.
ā¢ In terms of Big 12 road wins, the Cats lead all active programs with 61 wins, followed by Oklahoma State (55) and Texas Tech (53).
ā¢ The Cats are also rank first among active Big 12 members in winning percentage since non-divisional play began in 2011 (min. 50 games). They sit at 59.0% (79-55), ahead of Oklahoma State (57.5%; 77-57).
ā¢ During that stretch, the Wildcats are 44-22 (66.7%) at home in Big 12 play and 35-33 (51.5%) on the road/neutral.
A TRACK RECORD OF WINNING
ā¢ A proven winner with a championship history, Chris Klieman holds a 125-47 career record, as his 72.7% career winning percentage ranks fourth among current FBS coaches that have completed at least 10 seasons. He is also one of just 15 current Power 4 full-time head coaches with at least 100 career victories.
ā¢ Klieman, who is 53-34 since arriving at K-State, has led the Cats to five victories over teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25, the most of any active Big 12 program since 2019.
FEW PENALTIES
ā¢ K-State enters this weekās game ranked ninth nationally in fewest penalties per game (4.1) and 11th in fewest penalty yards per game (37.2).
ā¢ Since 2022, the Wildcats have averaged 42.59 penalty yards per game (51 games) to rank eighth among Power 4 teams, while their 4.86 penalties per game rank seventh.
CATS TOPS IN NON-OFFENSIVE TDs
ā¢ K-State is the nationās best in non-offensive touchdowns over the last 25-plus seasons as it has 139 since 1999, 11 more than the next closest team (Alabama ā 128) and 18 more than the next Big 12 program (Utah ā 121).
ā¢ K-State has four non-offensive touchdowns this season. The first non-offensive score of the year was Bryce Noernbergās 99-yard kickoff return against Army.
ā¢ Against TCU, Wesley Fair had a 15-yard fumble return touchdown before Des Purnell recorded a 25-yard interception return. It was the first time since the 2023 Baylor game that the Wildcats had two defensive touchdowns in one contest.
ā¢ Ralph Ortiz scooped up an errant snap on a punt and returned it 20 yards for a score at Kansas.
OFFENSIVE NOTESHIGH POINT TOTAL vs. BIG 12ā¢ K-State has averaged 33.2 points per game in conference play since the beginning of 2022, ranking 12th in the nation (min. 30 games), sixth among Power 4 teams and tops in the Big 12.
ā¢ The Cats have hit the 30-point mark in 23 of their 35 Big 12 games since the start of 2022, including five times this season with a highwater mark of 47 points at No. 12 Utah.
ā¢ K-State had a four-game streak of scoring at least 30 points against UCF (34), Baylor (34), TCU (41) and Kansas (42), its longest streak overall since doing so in six-straight games during the 2003 season.RECORD DAY ON THE GROUNDā¢ K-State had the best rushing day in school history last week at No. 12 Utah, finishing with 472 yards on the ground.
ā¢ The previous record for team rushing yards in a game stood for 71 years, which was a 439-yard effort at Drake on Nov. 6, 1954.
ā¢ The rushing total came on only 42 attempts as the Wildcatsā 11.2-yard average was their best in the Big 12 era by nearly 2.0 yards per rush (9.4 yards per rush vs. Kansas in 2012).TOTAL OFFENSEā¢ K-State has totaled at least 375 yards of offense in 37 of the last 51 games dating back to the beginning of the 2022 season.
ā¢ The 37 games with at least 375 yards are tied for 10th in the Power 4 and rank second among Big 12 schools (TCU ā 41). Georgia and USC lead the way with 43 games.
ā¢ During that stretch, K-State holds a 28-9 record when totaling at least 375 yards, while the Wildcats are 5-9 when going under that mark. Three of their wins when going under 375 yards of offense have come this season.RED ZONE SUCCESSā¢ Kansas State enters the week ranked third in the Big 12 by converting 90.9 % (30-of-33) of its red zone opportunities.
ā¢ That included a streak of 22-straight red-zone scores, which was the second-longest active streak in the Big 12 until taking a knee at the end of the Kansas game to run out the clock.
ā¢ Since Chris Kliemanās first season at K-State in 2019, the Wildcats have been the best in the Big 12 in terms of converting red-zone opportunities into points as they rank first in the conference with an 90.1% (299-of-332) success rate, just ahead of Texas Tech (87.9%).
ā¢ K-State also ranks first in the league in TD success rate at 66.9% (222-of-332), ahead of Utah (66.8%) and Kansas (65.9%).LIMITED SACKS PER GAMEā¢ K-State has been one of the nationās best in terms of limiting sacks since head coach Chris Kliemanās first season of 2019.
ā¢ The Wildcats rank sixth among Power 4 teams and second in the Big 12 by allowing only 1.46 sacks per game over the last six-plus seasons, a span of 87 games.
ā¢ K-State enters the week ranked 16th in the nation and third in the Big 12 by allowing 1.18 sacks per game this season.MULTIPLE SCORING STRIKESā¢ Quarterback Avery Johnson has produced 16 games with multiple passing touchdowns since 2024, which is tied for the third most in the nation among active players.
ā¢ When adding in his two scoring strikes in the 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl, Johnsonās 17 multi-touchdown games are the most ever by a K-State quarterback, one more than Will Howard. Jake Waters is next on the list with 15 games, followed by Josh Freeman (13), Michael Bishop (12) and Skylar Thompson (11).
ON THE BRINKā¢ Avery Johnson is tied for first in school history with 48 career touchdown passes, equaling the mark set by Will Howard (2020-23).
ā¢ His 18 passing touchdowns this season are tied for second in school history among juniors ā two shy of the record ā and tied for ninth among all players.5,000/1,000ā¢ During the Texas Tech game, Avery Johnson eclipsed the 5,000-yard passing mark in his career to become just the third quarterback in program history to pass for 5,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards.
ā¢ A native of Wichita, Kansas, Johnson joined Ell Roberson (2000-03) and Skylar Thompson (2017-21) on the list, but Johnson was the fastest of the three to reach those numbers. He hit the marks in his 30th career game, while it took Thompson 36 games and Roberson 41 games to reach the milestone.
ā¢ Johnson is one of 21 active players in the nation to hit those career marks but one of only five to currently be in just their third season of action (UNLVās Anthony Colandrea, Utahās Devon Dampier, Arkansas Stateās Jaylen Raynor, Tulaneās Jake Retzlaff).VERY EFFICIENTā¢ Avery Johnson tallied a career-best pass efficiency rating of 217.7 at Kansas. It was the 10th-best mark by a K-State quarterback since 1996 (minimum 15 attempts), the best since Jesse Ertz had a 319.8 rating against Central Arkansas in 2017 and the best in a Big 12 game since Jake Waters had a 218.1 mark against Kansas in 2014.
ā¢ Johnsonās mark against Kansas was the third best by a Big 12 quarterback in a conference game this season (min. 15 attempts).AVERY ON THE RUNā¢ Avery Johnson ranks fourth in school history among quarterbacks with 1,342 career rushing yards, while his 5.03-yard career average on 267 carries ranks second in school history among quarterbacks (Jesse Ertz, 2014-17 ā 5.46) and ninth among all players.
ā¢ When taking away sack yardage, Johnson has rushed for 1,541 yards on 240 true rushing attempts, good for a 6.42-yard clip.
ACTION JACKSONā¢ Running back Joe Jackson set a new K-State single-game rushing record with 293 yards at No. 12 Utah en route to Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.
ā¢ The Haines City, Florida, native eclipsed the previous record held by Darren Sproles, who had 292 yards against Louisiana in 2004. The previous record for a conference game was also held by Sproles, a 273-yard effort against Missouri in 2003.
ā¢ When adding in Jacksonās 19-yard reception, he produced 312 scrimmage yards to rank second in school history and ninth for all-purpose yards.
ā¢ He became the first Wildcat to post at least 300 all-purpose yards since Tyler Lockett had a 321-yard output at West Virginia in 2014.
CAREER RECORD FOR OAKLEYā¢ Tight end Garrett Oakley has tallied 13 career receiving touchdowns, which is the most ever by a K-State tight end.
ā¢ The previous record of 10 was shared by current Washington Commander Ben Sinnott (2021-23) and Henry Childs (1971-73).
ā¢ Oakley, a product of Columbus, Nebraska, has six touchdown catches this season, which is tied for third in the nation among tight ends and is tied for the school record at the position.
ā¢ Two of Oakleyās touchdowns came against TCU as he is one of three Big 12 tight ends with a multi-touchdown game in conference play this season.
ā¢ Oakley also ranks fourth in school history among tight ends in career catches (71) and fifth in yards (779). He has 38 catches this year to tie for second in school history at the position.
DEFENSIVE NOTESOPENING DRIVE DEFENSEā¢ Kansas State has allowed points only four times on opponentsā first drive of the game or second half, which was a field goal to open the game at Baylor, a short-field touchdown by Kansas following a fumble on the opening kickoff and scores by Texas Tech and Utah to start the second half.
ā¢ Of the 22 total drives to start a half, the defense has forced 14 punts ā including eight 3-and-outs ā an interception, a fumble recovery, a missed field goal and a turnover on downs.
ā¢ Six of the 3-and-outs have come on opponentsā initial drives of the second half. K-Stateās opponents have only managed nine first downs and 206 total yards on the 11 opening drives of the second half (0.8 first downs and 18.7 yards per game).
LIMITED POINTS PER GAMEā¢ Since the 2021 season (64 games), the Cats are allowing 22.8 points per game, which ranks fourth among current Big 12 teams and 22nd among Power 4 teams (minimum 40 games).
ā¢ Since head coach Chris Kliemanās first year of 2019, the Wildcats have held 48 of their 61 Big 12 opponents under their season average at the time it faces the Wildcats (excluding 2025 season opener against Iowa State).
TURNOVER TURNAROUNDā¢ Beginning the year with just three takeaways in the first three games, K-State has turned the tide on turnovers as the Wildcats have forced multiple turnovers in seven of the last eight games.
ā¢ The Wildcats enter the week ranked second nationally and tops in the Big 12 with 25 total turnovers gained this season.
ā¢ It is the third time in the last four years K-Stateās defense has posted at least 20 turnovers in a season, their best stretch since 2014-17. K-State forced 23 turnovers in 2023 and 24 in 2022.
ā¢ The 25 turnovers gained this season are the 11th most by a Wildcat team in the Big 12 era and the most since the 2016 squad also had 25 turnovers.
ā¢ If the Wildcats were to record at least one turnover against CU, it would be their most in a season since 2011 (27).
CREATING TURNOVERSā¢ The turnover theme this season extends what K-State has done over the last three-plus seasons as K-State has forced 87 turnovers since 2022, which is tied for seventh nationally, fourth among Power 4 teams and are the most among active Big 12 teams.
ā¢ Of the 87 turnovers, 51 have been via interception to rank second among active Big 12 programs and tie for 12th among Power 4 teams.
JUMPING ON THE BALLā¢ The K-State defense has had a propensity of falling on fumbles this season as it ranks third nationally with 13 recoveries.
ā¢ The 13 fumble recoveries this season are the most by a K-State team since the 2012 squad also had 13 recoveries over 13 games. Last year, the Wildcats only had five fumble recoveries.
ā¢ K-Stateās 13 recoveries this season have come from 13 different players in Austin Romaine (Iowa State), Chiddi Obiazor (Iowa State), Tobi Osunsanmi (North Dakota), long snapper Mason Olguin (Arizona), Justice Clemons (UCF), Asa Newsom (Baylor), Wesley Fair (TCU), Ralph Ortiz (Kansas), Malcolm Alcorn-Crowder (Kansas), Ryan Davis (Texas Tech), Rex Van Wyhe (Oklahoma State) and Damian Ilalio (Oklahoma State) and Cody Stufflebean (Utah).
ON A HEATERā¢ Senior linebacker Des Purnell has been outstanding in the last five games, totaling 31 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, five total passes defended and a forced fumble.
ā¢ Against TCU, Purnell had five tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, a sack, two interceptions ā including one he returned 25 yards for a touchdown ā and two pass breakups. For his effort, he was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week.
PURNELL THE PLAYMAKER
ā¢ Des Purnellās sack and pick-6 against TCU came on consecutive plays, the first K-State player since at least 1989 to have both on consecutive plays and the only player in the nation this season to accomplish the feat.
ā¢ He is the only active Big 12 player with a pick-6 and a sack in the same game this season and one of nine in the country.
ā¢ His four total passes defended are tied for eighth in the country for a single game and tied for the most among linebackers. He was the first Wildcat with four passes defended in a game since safety Russ Yeast against West Virginia in 2021, and he is the first K-State linebacker to do so since at least 2003.
ā¢ His pick-6 against TCU was the third time in his career he found paydirt as he returned a fumble for a touchdown against Baylor in 2023 and a blocked punt for a score against South Dakota in 2022. He is one of only two players in school history to have a pick-6, fumble return touchdown and a punt return score in a career (Courtney Herndon, 2006-09).
ā¢ A native of Topeka, Kansas, Purnell ranks fifth nationally among active players with three career non-offensive touchdowns. He ranks eighth with two defensive touchdowns, and he is the only active Big 12 player with a fumble return score and a pick-6 in Big 12 games in his career.
BREAKING UP THE PASS
ā¢ Sophomore cornerback Zashon Rich has 10 pass breakups in 11 games this season to rank third in the Big 12 and tie for 17th in the country.
ā¢ His 10 pass breakups are the most since Russ Yeast had 10 in 2021. If he were to break up a pass against Colorado, it would be the most in a season by a Wildcat since Duke Shelley had 11 in 2017. The last time a player had more than 11 was current Detroit Lion D.J. Reed, who had 16 in 2016.
ā¢ The Minneapolis, Minnesota, product recorded his first-career interception at Oklahoma State.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTESSCORING IN THE THIRD PHASEā¢ The Wildcats continue to lead the nation in total kickoff- and punt-return touchdowns since 2005 with 63, which is 23 more than the next closest team in Alabama (40) and 29 more than the next closest Big 12 programs, Oklahoma State and TCU (34).
ā¢ Of the 63 total returns, a nation-leading 32 are on kickoff returns, and the next closest team is Houston with 21.
HIGH AVERAGE ON RETURNSā¢ Kansas State enters the week ranked 11th nationally and second in the Big 12 with a 25.92-yard average on kickoff returns, a mark that ranks eighth in school history.
ā¢ The Wildcats are looking to rank in the top-15 nationally in kickoff return average for the first time since 2021 (9th ā 27.22). In head coach Chris Kliemanās first year of 2019, K-State led the nation with a 29.50-yard average, which was the top mark in school history.
ā¢ The high average is boasted by a 99-yard touchdown by Bryce Noernberg against Army, the 12th kickoff return of at least 99 yards in school history.
ā¢ Noernberg ranks eighth in school history with his 29.0-yard average this season.
EIGHT STRAIGHTā¢ With Garrett Harstadās blocked punt at Arizona, K-State has now blocked a punt in eight-straight seasons, which is the longest streak in the nation.
ā¢ San Diego State is next on the list with seven-straight years, while Iowa State, Michigan, Oregon State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Toledo and UNLV are tied for third with five-consecutive years.
RODRIGUEZ CONNECTSā¢ Due to injuries at kicker late in the summer, the Wildcats scrambled to find a replacement, and they landed community-college transfer Luis Rodriguez from College of the Canyons.
ā¢ After arriving in Manhattan just as preseason practices commenced, all Rodriguez has done over his first 11 games is connect on 12-of-14 field goal and all 39 extra-point attempts. His first miss this season was a blocked 56-yard attempt as time expired at Baylor, while he was just off on a 38-yard attempt at Oklahoma State.
ā¢ Rodriguez has the seventh-longest streak in school history of extra-point connections to start a season.
HIGH AVERAGE BY McCLANNANā¢ Sophomore punter Simon McClannan ranks sixth in the Big 12 with a 41.9-yard average on 45 punts. His average is boosted by 11 punts that have traveled at least 50 yards after only six such punts over 13 games last year.
ā¢ A native of Omaha, Nebraska, McClannan recorded a career-best 50.8-yard average on five punts at Arizona and came back with a 51.0-yard average on four punts against UCF. Following the game against the Knights, he was named the Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week.
ā¢ It was the first time in the Big 12 era that Kansas State had a punter average at least 50.0 yards on at least four punts in consecutive games.
DEFENSE ON KICK RETURNSā¢ K-State has not allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown since the 2013 season, going the last 162 games and 462 returns without allowing its opponent to find paydirt.
ā¢ The streak is the longest among the active Big 12 teams, 260 returns better than the next closest team (Arizona State ā 202).
ā¢ Since K-State allowed its last kickoff-return touchdown, the Wildcats have scored 15 of their own.