Winners and losers: Kansas State sports goes on a run

KSO covers the biggest winners and losers in the world of Kansas State and college athletics.

Winners

1.) Gene: Not only did Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor sign an extension through 2030 this week, it has been a great week for K-State sports. The Wildcats went 5-1 across women’s basketball, volleyball, football and men’s basketball the past few days. It was highlighted of course by the women’s basketball win over No. 2 Iowa and football defeating Kansas.
2.) Klieman: After beating the Jayhawks, Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman is now 5-0 in the Sunflower Showdown. In addition, Klieman is now under contract through 2031 after the eighth win of the season. He gets an automatic one year extension for every eight win regular season.
3.) Sped: The Sunflower Showdown means a ton to Taylor Braet because of his local recruiting efforts and the pride he has for the state of Kansas and for the Wildcats. It was fun to see him parading around with the Governor’s Cup during the postgame festivities following the K-State win.
4.) Garber: Cornerback Keenan Garber made it to the winners list for the second week in a row. The blocked extra point return was a massive play during the game and gave Kansas State two extra points. The Lawerence native ‘waving the wheat’ afterwards was the cherry on top.
5.) Ayoka: Just seeing Ayoka Lee back on the court again makes her a winner for all the adversity she has faced and endured. Seeing Lee play at a high level again is even more special. And it is massive for K-State. The senior was the best player on the court in Iowa City when tallying 22 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 9-of-14 from the floor in the upset over No. 2 Iowa.

Losers

1.) Kansas: Losing 15 in a row to your in-state rival has to sting. Especially since they blew a two score lead in the second half at home to Kansas State.
2.) Baylor: I said it last week after K-State crushed Baylor, but they may be the worst team that the Wildcats have played all season. The Bears have lost by a combined 59 points in the last two weeks. The seat is getting a little warm for Dave Aranda.
3.) Playing at full strength: K-State was once again without Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Ques Glover in The Bahamas. Dai Dai Ames was also suspended for the Miami game due to the altercation at the end of the Providence game. The Wildcats were without perhaps the three of their top eight players in projected minutes Sunday afternoon. The good news is that Ames will return for Wednesday’s game against Central Arkansas.
4.) Big 12: Changing the tiebreaker rules with nine days left in the regular season was a weak move by the conference. Calling it a clarification was worse because it clearly was a rule change.
5.) Auburn: Getting beat by three touchdowns to New Mexico State at home the week before the Iron Bowl is a head-scratcher. The Tigers could barely muster 200 total yards of offense for the game.