Kansas State University

PHOENIX, Ariz. – There was no end to these cats.


At Kansas State on Thursday, Rutgers scored its most points in the first half of the season in the Rate Bowl. The Scarlet Knights led by double digits for most of the game and the momentum seemed to be devastatingly on their side. In the third quarter, ESPN Analytics gave Rutgers a 95% chance of winning.


Then the Wildcats flipped the script.


K-State rallied from a 34-17 deficit midway through the third quarter, capitalizing on a bowl-record night at running back Dylan Edwards pulling off the biggest bowl comeback win in school history with a 44-41 win, using the proverbial home run hitters to eliminate any doubt at Chase Field and earning nine wins behind a group of coaches and players , who just didn’t want to give in at their last meeting together.


“I’m just so proud of the guys and their determination and their continued fight,” K-State head coach said Chris Kliemanwhose team finished with a record of 9-4. “We are so excited to have found a way to stop the defense and then capitalize with some great plays on offense.”


The nine wins prove significant for K-State, which joins Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oregon as the only eight FBS schools to record at least nine wins in each of the last three seasons.


K-State started the season in the national rankings and slipped in November, but it stayed on track and picked up a big win en route to the 2025 season.


“I know there is some disappointment,” Klieman said. “Guys, there’s a lot of teams that don’t win nine games, man. We just won nine damn games and now we’re talking about disappointment? It’s hard to win. Look at what our guys did.” Win the ninth game?


“Man, I’m just proud of these guys.”


K-State, which allowed Rutgers 319 total yards in the first half, held the Scarlet Knights to just 82 total yards of offense in the final two quarters. A Rutgers offense that scored on each of its final five first-half possessions also scored on its first drive of the third quarter — and then totaled just 20 yards and a touchdown the rest of the way.


“As they say in life, it’s going to be difficult,” said Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano, whose team finished with a 7-6 record. “They played better. We had some problems. My hat is off to Kansas State. They did a great job controlling the game in the second half on both offense and defense.”


K-State rode to one final win for the 2024 season on the legs of Edwards.


Edwards had 18 carries for a K-State Bowl-record 196 yards and two touchdowns, and he added two catches for 27 yards and a score. His 26-yard touchdown catch made it 17-17 with six minutes and 44 seconds left in the first half, and his 65-yard run with 5:45 left in the third quarter brought the Wildcats within 34: 23 and his 36-yard run with 4:14 to play gave the Wildcats the lead for good.


Edwards, a sophomore, was named Rate Bowl Offensive MVP.


“I just tried to do my job as best as I could,” said Edwards, who played past NFL retirement DJ Giddens in this regular season and whose game-high so far was 60 rushing yards. “We’ve been working on these plays for the last two weeks, so I just tried to do my job and that’s what I did today.”


“I just tried to do my part for this team.”


Second-year quarterback Avery Johnson He saved one of his best performances of the season for last: He threw for 195 yards, three touchdowns and one interception and ran for 57 yards and a score. He became the all-time leader in touchdown passes in a season (25) and finished with the fifth-most passing yards in a single season.


Coupled with the Pop-Tarts Bowl victory a year ago, Johnson became the first K-State quarterback to lead the Wildcats to consecutive bowl victories in his first two years on campus.


“I’m just happy about the win,” Johnson said. “So proud of how everyone fought. Obviously it didn’t happen the way we expected, but fighting to the end, man, never comes out.”


“It’s the power of faith.”


Trailing 27-17 at halftime, K-State was looking for answers. After a Rutgers touchdown, Edwards put the Wildcats on his back, running through the middle of the offensive line and outrunning two defenders for his 65-yard touchdown to cut the score to 34-23.


“It just shows how explosive this kid is,” said Johnson, a close childhood friend. “He’s a real catcher with the ball in his hands, and the offensive line opened up a perfect hole for the kid. The guy is special in the room. The offensive line did a great job of getting him in space today. From then on, it’s history.”


K-State got another boost when defensive lineman Daniel Cobb intercepted Athan Kaliakmanis and returned the ball 11 yards. From there, Johnson rushed the middle 27 yards to Rutgers’ 13 yards. Then Johnson found Garrett Oakley After a short slant, the tight end raced into the end zone for a 13-yard score, cutting the deficit to 34-29.


Moments later, with K-State unable to move the ball, Christian Dremel returned a punt 67 yards to the K-State 18 to set up a 1-yard touchdown by Antwan Raymond, scoring the Scarlet Knights took a 41:29 lead.


Smaller teams could drop out.


There was no end to these cats.


Johnson returned a 14-yard drive that took the Wildcats 85 yards to make it 41-36 in 6:53. Dante Cephas caught a 35-yard pass on fourth down to keep alive a drive that ended with Johnson hitting a running back Joe Jackson for a 9-yard touchdown. It marked Johnson’s 25th^Th touchdown pass of the season, a new school record, giving him the fifth-most passing yards in a single season.


K-State wasn’t done yet. It saved the best for last. Edwards went around the left side, caught a block inside, then swung outside and outran two defenders for a 36-yard touchdown with 4:15 to play. Johnson hit Oakley in the end zone for the two-point conversion and Oakley made Snow Angels to celebrate the 44-41 lead.


“We certainly didn’t play our best defensively in the first half, and then we didn’t get off to a good start on either side in the second half, but maybe that’s changed,” Klieman said. “We make a big play there, then Dylan breaks a long run, we get an interception, then we get a big play after that. We just needed the momentum to turn the ball over, and when that happened, our sideline had all the energy.”


And now K-State is bringing back some hardware — a trophy.


“This means the world to me,” the sixth-year senior linebacker said Austin Moorewho was named Rate Bowl Defensive MVP after recording six tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in his final game. “This isn’t what I imagined next year to be like, but I think we’re building and I’m just glad I was able to contribute to a win. The future is bright and I am so grateful that I came back and was so grateful for Kansas State.


Asked if the win was a sign for his team to build on, Klieman replied: “I’m a one-week player and there were some things that didn’t go our way, but how do you respond to that ? You’re going to get through this.’ We had a few setbacks, but these guys were going to come out victorious.


This was the fifth time K-State played in what is now known as the Rate Bowl, as it also played in the game in 1993 (known as the Copper Bowl), 2001 (Insight.com Bowl), and 2013 (Buffalo Wild Wings). and 2017 (Cactus Bowl).


K-State complemented its usual home uniform with a white helmet and matching white pants to match its traditional purple jersey. The lower right portion of the helmet bore the initials “DD” in purple font – a tribute to former longtime K-State assistant coach Dana Dimel, who recently passed away.


On the final play from scrimmage, the K-State offense appeared to line up in one of Dimel’s signature formations called the “tush push.”


The last seconds passed and the celebration began.


“It was a great build-up game for next year,” Edwards said. “We will be diligent and work hard.”


There was no end to these cats.


Now the beginning of a new, exciting chapter awaits you.