UCF's Frost Applauds Kansas State's Improvement Through Bye Week

Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman took a lot on his shoulders during his team's bye week ahead of their showdown with undefeated UCF this past Saturday.

His Wildcats sat at 1-3 on the year after being considered as Big 12 Conference favorites heading into the year. However, the only win on the schedule was a narrow victory over North Dakota at home, which was accompanied by three losses at the hands of Iowa State, Army and Arizona respectively.

That Army loss is getting worse by the week, considering it's still the only win on Army's schedule. The Black Knights have otherwise loss to Tarleton State, North Texas and East Carolina — not exactly teams you would see as having a higher profile than Kansas State heading into the 2025 season.

Army touchdown — Army quarterback Cale Hellums celebrates a game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter against Kansas State. The win is the lone win to this point of the Army season. | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Nonetheless, we digress into the fact that Kansas State just righted the ship against another team of Knights, this time in the form of UCF. The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead and never looked back en route to a 34-20 win, and it caught the eye of UCF coach Scott Frost.

"They got a lot better over the bye week — they used the bye week well, and they gave us their best shot," Frost said. "We didn't start well enough on offense and a lot of credit to them."

Kansas State's rushing attack proved the be the toughest thing for UCF to slow down, and it hit its proverbial fever pitch when KSU running back Dylan Edwards sprung free for a 75-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. It was 75 of his 173 total yards in the Wildcat win.

According to Frost, he knew if Edwards was healthy, he was going to be a problem.

"You know, I recruited him (Dylan Edwards)," Frost said in his postgame press conference. "You just can't give them that many opportunities. When you give a kid like him or Avery enough chances, you know their speed's going to make some plays. They got more of those chances because they did a better job of earning first downs early, and the time of possession was in their favor."

UCF also entered the game with heavy hearts following the sudden and unexpected death of offensive line coach Shawn Clark. Both coaches talked about the emotional toll of the week following the game, but Frost was the first one to say it wasn't why his team lost the game.

A remarkable man, husband and father.

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of offensive line coach Shawn Clark. 💛https://t.co/0JmB1C6Ivm pic.twitter.com/6eexShEuAj
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) September 22, 2025

"We got beat by a good football team that's lost some close games," Frost said. "I think if things would've started different, I think the game might have been different. I got a lot of respect for what they did. They got better as a football team, and we need to take this one and get better as a football team."

It's no rest for the weary as UCF returns home to take on the other team from Kansas on October 4. The Jayhawks will be entering with a chip on their shoulder following a close loss to Cincinnati this past Saturday.

For Kansas State, though, the Wildcats are not in the midst of another bye week just yet. Instead, they'll be heading to Waco, Texas Saturday to take on a Baylor team fresh off a dominating win over Oklahoma State.

UCF coach Scott Frost praised Kansas State coach Chris Klieman for how he and the team handled its bye week ahead of their game against the Knights. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While Frost and UCF have already wished them well during postgame handshakes, he again made sure to give Klieman and his staff props for how they attacked their bye week.

"I think the bye week came at the right time for them," Frost said. "I think we got their best shot, and I'm not sure we gave them our best show, which is a shame, and that's on me."