Kansas Jayhawks coach Lance Leipold and Kansas State's Chris Klieman are fierce rivals in the Big 12. 

Even as competitors, they are still human. Which is why Leipold reached out to Klieman after the Wildcats had a tough loss to the Utah Utes. Klieman drew attention after appearing to have a breakdown in the post-game press conference.

“I’ve seen parts of it," Leipold said. "I reached out to Chris yesterday. Expectations in today’s world of college football — what’s going around — there’s disappointments and frustrations. These jobs, I know people get into the salaries we make as coaches and things like that, but we didn’t get into this (and) I know Chris didn’t either for what the paycheck is. That’s not how we started. That’s not what drives him.”

The Wildcats had a chance to knock off the Utes but were unable to finish. Klieman was visibly shaken in the post-game. It was out of the character for him because he's usually calm in these situations. 

"I’m heartbroken for the kids and for the loss, but it's one of the greatest efforts I've been a part of as a coach," Klieman said. "It’s hard to say this because we lost the game. We’re down so many players, and I know a lot of people thought we'd come down here and lay down, and that maybe the kids have cashed it in. I've heard it enough. I've heard I've cashed it in, and that we need to get leadership here, new players, new coaches. I’m tired of it. I've given my friggin a** life to this place for seven years. I've given everything I've had for seven years. I think I deserve some respect."

Leipold said he just wanted to check on a colleague. He felt there was nothing wrong it despite both of them being rivals. 

“I reached out because I hope he’s doing well,” Leipold said. “I know this, and as he articulated, I feel the same way about our guys. As you go through it, the ups and downs, the tough losses and things like that, we really love our kids. We love the guys we work with and the players we get to coach with on a daily basis. A lot of times that gets lost today.”

Both the Jayhawks and Wildcats attempt to become bowl-eligible this week in their regular season finales. 

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of JayhawksRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com