The 2023 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

during the

2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 154th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). ...

. The Wildcats were led by Chris Klieman in his fifth year as their head coach. They played their home games at

Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium Bill Snyder Family Stadium is a stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. It is used for American football, and is the home field of the Kansas State Wildcats football, Kansas State Wildcats of the Big 12 Conference. It is named after the family of head co ...

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big ...

. The Kansas State Wildcats football team drew an average home attendance of 51,957 in 2023.

Pre-Season

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2022 regular season 10–4 and 7–2 in Big 12 play and appeared in the

2022 Big 12 Championship Game The 2022 Big 12 Championship Game was a college football game played on December 3, 2022, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was the 21st edition of the Big 12 Championship Game, and determined the champion of the Big 12 Conference for the ...

, where they defeated the

TCU Horned Frogs The TCU Horned Frogs are the athletic teams that represent Texas Christian University. The 18 varsity teams participate in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I and in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for football, competi ...

in overtime, 31–28. They earned a berth in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

, where they were defeated by the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

, 45–20.

Big 12 preseason poll

The Big 12 preseason poll was released on July 6. Kansas State was picked 2nd in the conference. First place votes in parentheses.

Schedule

Game summaries

Southeast Missouri State

*Sources: K-State Box Score K-State Recap

Troy

*Sources: K-State Box Score K-State Recap

at Missouri

UCF

at Oklahoma State

at Texas Tech

Starting quarterback Behren Morton exited the game at halftime with an undisclosed injury. Morton had been dealing with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder ever since he took over for the injured Tyler Shough.

Houston

at No. 7 Texas

*Sources: Fox's Big Noon Kickoff show was on Texas's campus for the first time this season. 102,846 is the 5th highest attendance for a game at

Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium (formerly War Memorial Stadium, Memorial Stadium, and Texas Memorial Stadium), located in Austin, Texas, on the campus of the University of Texas, has been home to the Texas Longhorns football, Longhorns football ...

to date

Baylor

at No. 25 Kansas

In the first matchup in Sunflower Showdown with both teams ranked in 28 years, the teams traded scores early in the game. In the beginning of the second half, Kansas took an 11 point lead. K-State would come back to win the game. It was the 15th straight loss for KU in the rivalry. The loss also officially eliminated Kansas' slim hopes to play in the Big 12 championship game.

Iowa State Cyclones

vs No. 18 NC State (
Pop-Tarts Bowl The Pop-Tarts Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium. Originally commissioned as the Sunshine Classic, it has undergone many name changes due to sponsorship rights. The bowl is op ...
)

Rankings

References

{{Kansas State Wildcats football navbox Kansas State Kansas State Wildcats football seasons Pop-Tarts Bowl champion seasons

Kansas State Wildcats football The Kansas State Wildcats football program (variously K-State or KSU) is the intercollegiate football program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), and the tea ...