Kansas State football will face Rutgers on Thursday in the Rate Bowl, its fifth postseason appearance in six seasons under coach Chris Klieman.
The Wildcats (8-4) limped to the end of the regular season by dropping three of four November games, while Rutgers (7-5) finished strong by winning three of its last four. Kickoff between the Wildcats and Scarlet Knights is set for 4:30 p.m. CT at Chase Field in Phoenix.
Last year, K-State rebounded from a loss to Iowa State in the regular-season finale to beat North Carolina State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The Wildcats will try to do the same this time after falling to the Cyclones on Nov. 30, 29-21.
Rutgers, meanwhile, heads into the bowl game after blowing out Michigan State on the road, 41-14.
K-State has a chance to reach nine victories for a third straight season and already has eight wins for a fifth time under Klieman. If the Wildcats beat Rutgers, it would give them back-to-back bowl wins for the first time since 2016-17 under Bill Snyder.
Here are five things to know, plus a prediction, for Saturday’s game.
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Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is the common denominator from the only other time K-State and the Scarlet Knights met, in Houston for the 2006 Texas Bowl. Rutgers won that game, 37-10, in the Wildcats’ lone bowl appearance in three seasons under coach Ron Prince.
Schiano, who is in his second stint as Rutgers coach, has a 6-2 bowl record and is going after back-to-back postseason wins for the first time since the Scarlet Knights reeled off four straight from 2006-09. Last year they beat Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl, 31-24.
The Rate Bowl will mark the third time K-State has played in this game at Chase Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. But the bowl has been played under a different name each time.
The first time was 2001, when the Wildcats faced Syracuse in what was then the Insight.com Bowl, and the stadium was known as Bank One Ballpark. They lost that game, 26-3.
K-State evened its record at Chase Field in 2017 with a 35-17 Cactus Bowl victory over UCLA.
As of Monday, Rutgers All-Big Ten running back Kyle Monangai had not yet announced whether he would play in the game or opt out and save himself for the NFL Draft. Monangai rushed for 1,279 yards in 11 games with 13 touchdowns while averaging 5.0 yards per carry, and he also caught 14 passes for 75 yards and a score.
Senior quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis has passed for 2,459 yards and 17 touchdowns this season and rushed for 233 with three scores in his one season with the Scarlet Knights after starting 17 of 23 games the previous two years at Minnesota. Wide receiver Dymere Miller leads Rutgers with 57 catches for 731 yards and four touchdowns, and offensive lineman Hollin Pierce was a second team all-conference pick.
Linebacker Dariel Djabome leads the Scarlet Knights in tackles with 102, including seven for loss with three sacks.
The 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl marked the first start at quarterback for then-true freshman Avery Johnson, and he was named most valuable player in the Wildcats’ victory over N.C. State.
Johnson has started every game since, including all 12 this season, in which he has passed for 2,517 yards and 22 touchdowns while ranking second on the team in rushing with 548 yards and six TDs.
With leading rusher DJ Giddens opting out of the game to enter the 2025 NFL Draft, K-State’s running back spotlight switches to sophomore Colorado transfer Dylan Edwards and redshirt freshman Joe Jackson.
While Giddens was the workhorse with 1,343 yards and seven touchdowns on 6.6 yards per carry, Edwards was nearly as efficient, averaging 6.3 yards per carry with a total of 350 yards and three scores.
Jackson came on late in the season and finished with 177 yards and one touchdown.
Kansas State 28, Rutgers 24: This is a matchup of similar styles. Both teams rely heavily on the running game to fuel their offenses, which may give a slight edge to K-State; the Wildcats lead the Big 12 in run defense but have struggled against the pass.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
