When Kansas State began the season, conference title aspirations and postseason berths flooded nearly every sports outlet.

Those expectations were flushed out around the third week of the season. The Wildcats gradually fell from grace, starting with the first loss of the season against Iowa State. After that, it was a spiral that shifted Kansas State from a playoff sleeper to a potentially three-win team.

Still, the Wildcats can end off a relatively underwhelming year on a positive note with a solid record and a bowl appearance. ESPN dropped its bowl predictions for the non-playoff contenders, pinning Kansas State against Kennesaw State in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. This would take place in Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana) on Dec. 30 at 2 p.m.

Matchups for the playoff and beyond: Predicting every CFB postseason game There was some stability at the top, but a host of upsets and key results shook up the bowl picture.

Kennesaw State is currently 6-2 and No. 1 in the Conference USA. The team is already Bowl-bound after its victory over UTEP. They are led by quarterbacks Dexter Williams II and Amari Odom, who have combined for 16 total touchdowns as dual-threat options.

While Kansas State is projected to sail smoothly against Colorado and Oklahoma State, they have to keep focus. A loss to either one will make the No. 17 Utah matchup that much more critical and could knock them out of bowl eligibility.

The Wildcats play Oklahoma State on Nov. 17 after their bye week.

TEXAS TECH POSTGAME QUOTES

LB Austin Romaine: "I think we as a whole, as an entire defense, just struggling with some of our angles and some of our tackles, me included. That’s something that we have to work on throughout the week, and we just have to be confident and trust ourselves to go out there and make those plays."

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Coach Chris Klieman: "Don’t let that circumstance that we have in that locker room dictate how we show up on Monday. We got beat by a really good football team. But it’s November 1, not November 30. There's still a story and legacy to write about the 2025 team. It’s easy to say, 'We've had three losses, so we're out of the race.' We have a lot of tough things in life as dads and husbands and stuff. Don't let your circumstances determine how you show up on Monday. I expect those guys to show up on Monday ready to get back to work."

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QB Avery Johnson: "Got a bye week and everybody's gotta get back healthy," Johnson said. "We just gotta take it as a one-week season, as we've been doing. Our next opponent is Oklahoma State, and that's what we need to focus on." 

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