What Bill Snyder accomplished during his time with the Kansas State football team will forever be remembered as one of the greatest turnarounds in college football history.
The Wildcats were hapless before he arrived in 1989, but they had a proud winning tradition when he retired for good in 2018.
There is a reason why K-State named its football stadium after Snyder and then built a statue in his honor. The highway that leads into Manhattan also bears his name. He is kind of a big deal around these parts, much like Ron Burgundy in San Diego.
A recent article from ESPN has suggested that Lance Leipold has rival Kansas on a similarly impressive turnaround trajectory, albeit only on a three-year sample size. As you might expect, that didn’t go over well in K-State circles.
The topic ignited a debate on social media this week. Well, mostly it was just K-State fans pointing out that there’s no way Leipold’s turnaround is on the same level as Snyder’s. But still.
Even though I think most of the pushback against the article, which was actually a preview of Big 12 football in 2024, could have been avoided by people actually reading it I decided to share my thoughts on the debate here at the top of this week’s K-State Q&A.
— For starters, I have no problem with what Bill Connelly wrote. K-State was bad at football before Snyder. KU football was bad before Leipold. Both coaches guided their teams to a winning record in Year 3. It’s fair to point out the similarities, even if they came under different circumstances and in different eras.
From the article: “Leipold inherited a job even harder than Snyder’s, and through three years, he has reached even higher highs. If you’re aspiring to Snyder levels, the job has just begun.”
— That last sentence is worth typing in bold font and then underlining, because it’s far too early to compare the turnarounds. Winning nine games in Year 3 is impressive by Leipold. But Snyder’s teams kept getting better. The stretch from 1993 to 2003 was a golden age for the Wildcats. They won 109 games, claimed a Big 12 championship and reached No. 1 for a brief moment in 1998. You almost expected them to win 11 games every season. When Snyder was at the height of his powers, K-State was one of the best teams in all of college football.
K-State was also pretty darn good during Snyder’s second stint as coach.
We don’t know what the future holds for Leipold or KU. So even though data might favor Leipold after three years, many will understandably say, “Get back to me in Year 10.”
— It’s debatable which coach inherited a harder job. But if someone wants to say that another team had it worse than K-State in 1980s, then I say let them.
Temple was once kicked out of the Big East for its football ineptitude. Baylor missed a bowl in 15 straight seasons early on as a member of the Big 12. Vanderbilt has gone 11 years without a winning record, and it doesn’t seem like that is going to change anytime soon. KU played its home games in front of dozens of fans for a decade.
There have been plenty of awful football teams over the years. There is no honor in being the worst.
— Before we get to your questions, I also want to take a moment to point out how clever Snyder was as a coach during his turnaround. He did some things that were unheard of at the time, like recruiting junior-college players, loading up the schedule with easy nonconference games and using unconventional offenses.
The transfer portal didn’t exist back then, so he had to get crafty at the beginning of his turnaround.
Bottom line: Leipold has done an amazing job in Lawrence. But plenty of other coaches have led bad programs to bowl games in three years. Why not compare him to someone else, even a predecessor like Mark Mangino? Snyder changed everything in Manhattan and he did it for the long haul. For now, they aren’t comparable.
Now, let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for asking.
What was the most surprising comment from a KSU coach and player and why? Besides Mike Gundy’s comment, what was the most surprising comment from another teams coach and player? -@bfullingt1 via X.
It surprised me to hear Chris Klieman talk so much about throwing the ball next season.
Maybe he made those comments just to throw others off the scent of what the Wildcats are truly hoping to do in the fall, but I doubt it. Matt Wells has brought a new mindset to the offense and K-State would be smart to try and protect Avery Johnson.
If everything clicks, this offense could be really fun to watch, because the Cats are certainly capable of running the ball at will with a backfield that features DJ Giddens, Dylan Edwards and Johnson.
It also caught me a little off guard to hear defensive back Marques Sigle say he wants to grab seven interceptions next season.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders declaring that everyone in the Big 12 treats a game against the Buffaloes as their “Super Bowl” caught my attention. It’s on brand for what Colorado coaches and players have done all offseason in Boulder, but I thought they might want to downplay some of their bad-boy antics in Las Vegas.
That was not the case.
If you were Czar of the Big 12, outranking Brett Yormark, what would you do differently with Media Days? - @scottwildcat via X.
I would move the event back to AT&T Stadium.
Las Vegas was fun for a change of pace, but I don’t think it works as a mainstay location. Sin City is outside the western edge of the conference footprint, and, as I learned firsthand this week, it’s also very expensive. Takes a long flight to get there, too. It’s much more convenient for most of us in the media, plus the conference employees who are based in the DFW Metroplex, to hold Big 12 Media Days in Arlington, Texas.
By the way, I asked about where Big 12 Media Days will go next season and that is a topic that won’t be decided for a few months. AT&T Stadium will be hosting the World Cup in 2026, and it’s unclear when the venue will be available. Las Vegas could continue to be an option, but it costs more for the Big 12 to send its entire staff on the road than it does to stay home. There is also some speculation that the Big 12 could eye New York at some point. Yormark loves the Big Apple.
If none of those spots work out, may I suggest Hawaii?
I would also change the daily schedule so coaches and players spend more time actually interacting with media members who cover the conference instead of what they currently do, which is spend hours in back rooms fighting boredom.
One more thing: Can we bring back media gifts?
Of course, these are all ideas that would make Big 12 Media Days better for the actual media. Strange as it sounds, Big 12 Media Days don’t exist for people like me. They happen every year so Brett Yormark can have a big national stage to speak on and the Big 12 can show up on SportsCenter in the otherwise dog days of summer. It’s all about publicity, not media hospitality.
In that sense, this version of Media Days was a success for the Big 12. All college football eyes were on the conference.
Who might be the hardest working non-coach on the current K-State Football team? Would it be Taylor Braet? And when does he take a vacation? Or is there another person who is working hard and making things happen that might not get the outside credit? -@ChadFullington via X.
It’s probably someone in the equipment room.
I can’t begin to imagine how much time and effort it takes to get an entire football team geared up for a season. Every player needs a uniform, helmet, pads and cleats just for gamedays. They also need a full wardrobe of custom shirts, shorts, hats, shoes and other items for practice and training.
On top of all that, they have to load sideline gear onto a semi-truck and drive all of it to road games.
All of Chris Klieman’s assistant coaches, analysts and recruiting personnel all work very hard. That includes Taylor Braet, who does get downtime during dead periods. But the equipment seems on a different level.
There’s no question that Deion Sanders is hard not to notice, and likely to give great sound bites. His son is also a good athlete. The question is, on the big stage of Big 12 football, is he “all hat and no cattle?” as the saying goes? Will he be able to do more against Big 12 foes? -@DaveGift4 via X.
Coach Prime will always be able to recruit high-end talent to Colorado.
That much was evident last season when the Buffs started the season 3-0 while relying almost entirely on their starters to make big plays. But as the grind of the season set in they went on a losing streak. Recruiting and retaining depth could be a challenge for him.
Running off an army of players makes it impossible to develop young talent.
Teams need at least 60 players they can depend on to make it through a season. Having 22 great players will only last for so long.
I’m a huge DJ Giddens fan and believe he has earned the right to have the lion’s share of carries for 2024. How will KSU divvy up the carries with the addition of Dylan Edwards and a mobile Avery Johnson? - Chase T. via e-mail.
Chris Klieman touched on this subject earlier this week in Las Vegas.
He said there may be some games where K-State gives the ball to DJ Giddens something like 30 times. But there will be other situations where he only gets a dozen touches. It all depends on the flow of the game and what the opponent is doing.
Personally, I think the Wildcats would be smart to use multiple running backs next season. Dylan Edwards is a home-run threat, and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. Avery Johnson is also an electric runner. It doesn’t make a ton of sense to give the ball to one player over and over and over.
Klieman usually likes to spread the ball around, too. Treshaun Ward saw plenty of action last season alongside Giddens. And Giddens got plenty of touches even when Deuce Vaughn was on the team two years ago.
Giddens will be the main running back next season, but he doesn’t need 75% of the carries.
The best time to use Giddens and only Giddens will be as a closer. He runs hard between the tackles and K-State would be wise to give him the ball a ton in the fourth quarter when protecting a lead.
I know Texas A&M loves the big paycheck from the SEC, but they left a conference once to get out of the shadow of Texas. Do you think they’ll ever be interested in moving back to the Big 12 for the same reason, to get away from Texas? Stan K via e-mail.
Never say never, but it’s hard to see any team choosing to leave the SEC anytime soon.
Texas A&M might not love being in the same conference as Texas again, but the Aggies might change their tune after they revive their rivalry. That will be good for college football and the Lone Star State.
If any teams are looking to join the Big 12 they are currently in the ACC. Clemson and Florida State are clearly unhappy about their current conference affiliation. It’s possible they could find a path to the Big 12 if the Big Ten and SEC aren’t interesting in expansion.
For now, I think such a scenario is unlikely. But Brett Yormark continues to say that the Big 12 is “open for business.” As long as there are teams searching for new leagues then it’s something to monitor.
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