Manhattan
Chris Klieman is still waiting for an explanation.
The Kansas State football team was penalized 10 times for 75 yards during a 51-47 road loss against Utah on Saturday, but Klieman still has questions about why one of the most costly flags of the game was thrown against his team with nearly 4 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Here’s what happened: K-State was penalized for having too many defenders on the field as Utah quarterback Devon Dampier gave the ball to Wayshawn Parker on fourth-and-short near midfield. The Wildcats were leading 47-37 at the time, and they stuffed Parker well short of the line to gain.
A stop in that situation might have clinched a win for K-State. Instead, the penalty gave Utah a first down and the Utes went on to score a pair of late touchdowns for a come-from-behind victory.
The Wildcats were caught with two extra defenders on the field when the ball was snapped. That is not in question. But K-State fans were upset that the Utes were allowed to snap the ball at that exact moment.
Why? Because K-State was substituting defensive linemen before the play, and center judge Abram Anaya was standing behind the center and delaying the snap in order to give the Wildcats time to get off the field.
Usually, the center judge waits until exiting players have reached the sideline to get out of the way, even if they are jogging at a slow pace. Klieman is notorious for eating up clock with long substitutions. But in this instance, the center judge was focused on the Utah sideline and began moving away from the line of scrimmage while two K-State defenders were still trotting off the field with 13 seconds remaining on the play clock.
Dampier alertly called for a quick snap and immediately pointed to the extra K-State defenders and asked for a penalty, which would make the rest of the play mean nothing.
Question is, did the Big 12 officiating crew err when it let Utah snap the ball? Or was it a mistake by K-State players not moving fast enough on a defensive substitution?
On Monday, Klieman was asked if he reached out to the Big 12 about the penalty.
“I did,” Klieman said. “I have not heard anything back yet. I reached out, and I’m sure they’re busy on Sunday and Monday. I have not gotten anything back on that yet. Just an explanation is all I think all of us want.”
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Kellis Robinett
The Wichita Eagle
Kellis Robinett covers Kansas State athletics for The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star. A winner of more than a dozen national writing awards, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.
