Kansas State's Chris Klieman Gives Honest Opinion Of Colorado's Kaidon Salter

The Colorado Buffaloes lost to the Kansas State Wildcats, 24-14, on Saturday. With the loss, Colorado will finish the season with a 3-9 record.

After the game, Kansas State Wildcats coach Chris Klieman credited the Colorado Buffaloes and coach Deion Sanders for stopping the run. Klieman also took a moment to credit Colorado quarterback Kaidon Salter for his performance for the Buffaloes.

Kansas State Wildcats Chris Klieman Colorado Buffaloes Kaidon Salter Deion Sanders College Football Big 12 Folsom Field — Sep 6, 2025; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats head coach Chris Klieman walks off the field after warmups before the start of a game against the Army Black Knights at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

What Chris Klieman Said About Kaidon Salter

“Yeah, I thought Salter played well, too, by the way. I thought for him, credit to him, he got, I think got benched for the freshman, and then they wanted to keep the freshman’s redshirt. For that kid to stay the course and to come out here and battle his tail off, I was really impressed by him.”

“He was really hard to sack. He scrambled around and made some plays and as typical of Colorado, they have wide outs. They have plenty of skill kids.”

“But I thought D-Line battled their tails off and did a really good job, especially in the second half, and we were able to get a couple stops on fourth down," Klieman said.

Chris Klieman Credits Colorado

“Credit Colorado. They came ready to play like we knew they would. Like Oklahoma State does, like everybody in this league typically does.”

“We didn’t want to run Avery. . . . Because of what they were doing, we had to. We had to get out on the edge and have him run, and then we were able to get some fourth-down stops.”

How Kansas State Struggled To Run In The First Half Against Colorado

“We only rushed for over 200 yards … To get 200 was pretty dang good, and a lot of that came in the second half.”

“Last week, Joe ran through wide open holes, made a couple guys miss, and had huge gains. This week those holes were really, really small, and Joe was a football player this week and ran through contact and delivered punishing blows.”

“And they did a good job mesh charging and trying to keep things inside and Joe was a punishing runner.”

Chris Klieman On First Half Struggles vs. Colorado

“We didn’t sustain blocks, we didn’t finish runs. We didn’t get off blocks on defense. We didn’t finish tackles. It was 7-7,” Klieman said. “So I challenged them pretty good at halftime that we’ve got 30 minutes for this story to be written.”

“I don’t know if we came out flat on the first drive. We took it 13 plays and 70 yards or 75 yards for a touchdown. That’s not coming out flat. We just didn’t sustain it after that. Maybe you got to credit Colorado, but we were up 7-0 quickly after an eight-minute drive and then had a couple of other chances. They didn’t score until the last two minutes. They just played that field position game.”

“It wasn’t very good. And that’s the fact that we just were getting our butts whipped up front and it is what it is. But that’s why you play four quarters and that’s why you finish the game and you don’t feel sorry for yourself.”

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How Weather Impacted The Game

“I thought in the first half, they were really rough. With the snow … and we had to change our shoes pregame because we didn’t realize that the rain was going to turn into that kind of snow and stick that quickly.”

“I didn’t think in the second half it was as cold. It was windy, and that was a factor as everybody could tell in the kicking game.”

“They had one blocked in the wind. We should have blocked that punt for a touchdown, and we just ran right through it.”

How Injuries Impacted Kansas State vs. Colorado

“We didn’t have [Garrett Oakley]. And Oak’s our best blocking tight end and one of our best receiving tight ends and we had to find another way to move the football.”

“So we said, let’s try to play six O-Linemen and I didn’t think it was effective in the first half. And then I thought it was really effective in the second half and we were able to find some things that we were able to dent them with.”

Importance Of Kansas State Winning

“This league is really good, and to find ways to win games,” Klieman said.

“Can’t tell you how happy I am for the seniors. To win on senior day, especially after last week’s heartbreaking loss. And a short week, and just wanting to finish this story and finish the chapter for this 2025 class that has done so much.” Klieman said.

“We did not play very good football in the first half. And we got a great drive to start the game and get up 7-0 and then we were really flat after that. And I challenged the heck out of the guys the last time, and I challenged the heck out of the guys at halftime because I didn’t think we blocked very well in the first half with the exception of the first drive.”

“I was proud of the guys because they went out and they ran the line of scrimmage and they finished runs. Joe Jackson is becoming one of the best running backs in the conference.”

“I was hoping we weren’t going 3-9 and there’s programs in the country that did go 3-9 after starting 2-4.”

“By no means are we satisfied, but in this era of college football, in an off-year for Kansas State … we have high expectations here. I can’t tell you how proud I am to go 2-4, lose a lot of our best football players, and battle to 6-6.”