Author: Jesse

The longer Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman tried to process a gut-wrenching 51-47 loss against Utah on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the more emotional he got.

A victory would have clinched bowl eligibility for the Wildcats and given Klieman a signature win to crow about all weekend. Instead, his team suffered its latest painful loss in a season that has been defined by disappointing results.

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When he sat down at a table outside the visiting locker room and prepared to make his opening statement, he decided to share his unfiltered feelings on many different topics that have hung over this group all year. He spoke for three minutes, pausing at times to collect himself and even shed a few tears.

“I am heartbroken for the kids and for the loss,” Klieman said. “It’s one of the greatest efforts I’ve been a part of as a coach. It’s hard to say this, because we lost the game, but we’re down so many players. I know a lot of people thought we’d come over here and lay down, and that maybe the kids have cashed it in.”

Then anger took over.

“I’ve heard it enough,” Klieman said. “I’ve heard that I’ve cashed it in. I’ve heard the players have cashed it in and we need to get new leadership here. We need to get new players, new coaches. I’m tired of it. I have got to be honest with you, I’m tired of it. I have given my frigging ass life for this place for seven years. I have given everything for seven years. I think I deserve a little bit of respect.”

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It was surprising to hear Klieman acknowledge the fan complaints that have been made about him on message boards and social media this season.

But his popularity is beginning to dip in Manhattan. So much so that unfounded rumors have spread that he may consider retirement at the end of this season.

Klieman led the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship and an appearance in the Sugar Bowl during a dream 2022 season. But since then, K-State hasn’t been able to keep pace with the top of the conference. The Wildcats followed that campaign with consecutive nine-win seasons.

K-State was expected to contend for a Big 12 title again with a No. 17 preseason ranking this year. Now the Wildcats are 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the Big 12. They need to beat Colorado next week to achieve bowl eligibility for the sixth time in Klieman’s seven seasons.

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“I’m frustrated like everybody else is,” Klieman said. “But I love those kids. I will go to frigging battle with those kids any day.”

He was particularly proud of the way K-State rushed the ball against No. 13 Utah (9-2, 6-2 Big 12).

The Wildcats rushed for a school record 472 yards. Joe Jackson led the way with his own school record of 293 yards and three touchdowns behind a physical offensive line that opened holes for him all afternoon.

No one else has come close to putting up those numbers against a stingy Utah defense.

K-State played well enough to lead 31-21 at halftime and then 47-35 with 7 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But Utah mounted a comeback in the final minutes.

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“That’s a top (15) team in the country with one of the best offenses in the country and one of the best defenses in the country,” Klieman said. “We rushed for 472 yards on them, because we told the guys we were going to commit to running the football. We told the guys to buy into it, believe in it. We are running the football against these guys, because nobody’s trying like we’re going to try it.

“And the kids bought into it. Kids don’t buy into it if they’ve given in. Kids don’t buy into it if they’re halfway out the door. Our kids bought into it, and we stuffed it down their throat the entire game running the football, and we lost.

“I’m crushed because of that, but I’m going to stand up here with frigging pride and say we’ve battled our ass off against a really good team. I’m crushed we lost the football game, but I’m more upset with …”

Klieman was unable to finish his train of thought.

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After a long stretch of silence in which he fought back tears, K-State athletic director Gene Taylor walked to the table and gave Klieman a hug.

“You ain’t going anywhere, brother,” Taylor told Klieman. “Understand that. I believe in you. We’ve got your back.”

Klieman was later asked if there was a specific reason why he reacted so emotionally after this loss.

“You guys know,” he said. “You guys all know.”

It will be interesting to see how K-State fans react to Klieman’s statement. They did not respond favorably last week when the Wildcats struggled during a 14-6 win over Oklahoma State and Klieman said he wasn’t going to apologize for the victory because “it’s dang hard to win” at Boone Pickens Stadium.

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Some were quick to point out that Oklahoma State hasn’t won a conference game in more than two calendar years.

But K-State quarterback Avery Johnson said he likes playing for Klieman.

“You want to be able to win a bunch of games, just because of how good of a person Coach Klieman is,” Johnson said, “and how creative a leader and a coach he is. … We love Coach Klieman to death and we laid out on the line for him tonight. It’s just tough coming up short.”

Where one four-game losing streak ends, another is born.

The Utah Mammoth busted their slump with a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers, who are now on a four-game losing skid of their own.

Mammoth head coach André Tourigny laid out a simple game plan at practice on Friday, and it resulted in the win on Saturday.

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Here’s the story.

Quick catchup

Utah Mammoth: 3

New York Rangers: 2

JJ Peterka kicked this one off with a rebound goal halfway through the first period. It was nothing fancy, but that’s exactly the type of goal Utah needs to score right now.

Vladislav Gavrikov tied it up with a perfect deflection from the high slot. It floated past Karel Vejmelka in a way that can only be described as a puck with eyes.

An Artemi Panarin breakaway gave the Rangers the lead in the second period, but Clayton Keller tied it back up with a rather unusual goal (we’ll go over it in a minute).

Nick DeSimone played hero in this one, putting a shot through traffic and past future Hall of Fame goaltender Jonathan Quick. That goal stood as the winner.

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“Saturday night, against the Rangers, two points. What a beautiful night in Utah, huh?” Tourigny beamed at the beginning of his postgame interview.

The Mammoth’s win elevated them to the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. They’re also one point short of the third spot in the Central Division standings, having played the same number of games as the Minnesota Wild, who currently own that spot.

Takeaways

The game plan

At practice on Friday, Tourigny told the media that his team’s troubles stemmed from battles in the corners. A large portion of goals in the NHL come from unanticipated bounces.

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Hard work in the corners is what makes most of those bounces go your way.

That was the difference in this game. Hard work in the corner resulted in a failed Rangers clearing attempt, which teed DeSimone up for the game-winning goal.

“Look at all the goals in the NHL tonight,” Tourigny said after the game. “The way we scored, that’s the way the NHL scores. The seam, back-door, this and that, that will be probably 30% of the goals.

“Goals (that) are greasy — driving the net, getting a stick on the rebounds, getting point shots with traffic — those kinds of goals, that’s the way the NHL works.”

That’s an ode to simplicity, too.

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‘Put it on net and good things happen’

If you’ve played hockey at any level, you’ve probably heard the phrase a million times. “Put it on net and good things happen,” coaches always say.

That was the case during a series of plays in the third period.

During a scramble in front of the Rangers’ net, the puck popped out to Nate Schmidt at the point. He put everything he had into a slap shot, but he squandered the chance by sending it high and wide. A few moments later, Dmitri Simashev did the same thing in a similar situation.

When DeSimone found himself in the same scenario just after that, he made no mistake, just making sure it went on net. And what do you know? It went in.

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That reflects the team as a whole over this recent stretch. In too many instances to count, they’ve tried to do too much, which has often resulted in scoring chances not even yielding shots on net.

Keeping it simple is often the best way to go.

Peterka, whose goal on Saturday was his fifth in the last six games, pointed to that exact thing when asked what’s been contributing to his success.

“I think just keeping it simple. I think that’s been the key,” he said.

By the way, DeSimone has been the perfect depth defenseman for this team. He doesn’t complain when he’s a scratch 15 games in a row, and as soon as his services are needed, he plays like he hasn’t missed a game all season.

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That’s his second goal and third point in seven games this season as a defenseman who averages fewer than 16 minutes of playing time per game.

Keller’s odd goal

An air of confusion ran through the Delta Center when the horn sounded mid-play halfway through the second period. If you’re still wondering what happened, here’s an explanation.

The horn sounded because a Keller shot had gone in the net, though the on-ice officials didn’t see it.

The league is equipped to handle situations like these. The situation room, which is located in Toronto, monitors every game. Their replay angles clearly showed the puck enter the net, so they used their powers to call the goal remotely.

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It’s an uncommon but not unheard-of scenario. Hockey is a fast game and it’s easy for the officials to miss things in real time.

Goal of the game

Nick DeSimone’s game-winner

None of Utah’s goals were particularly flashy, so don’t expect a highlight-reel goal here. But for reasons already described, this was an important goal for the Mammoth.

An emotional Kyle Whittingham said one word over and over as he embraced a large group of family members on the Rice-Eccles Stadium field.

“Wow, wow, wow.”

Time will tell if that was the final time Whittingham walked off the field that he’s spent 21 years on as a head coach, but if it is, what a game to go out on.

No. 12 Utah charged back from 12 points down with seven minutes remaining to pull off an improbable 51-47 comeback win over Kansas State on Saturday in a game that will go down as one of the most unbelievable wins of the Whittingham era.

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The Utes looked dead in the water after quarterback Devon Dampier fumbled the ball with 7:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, giving Kansas State great field position at the Utah 26-yard line.

Two plays later, Wildcat running back Joe Jackson was in the end zone — a scene all too familiar for the Utes this day.

Jackson simply ran up the middle, then broke a tackle to put Kansas State up 47-35 as Whittingham took his headset off in frustration.

With seven minutes remaining, that looked like the end for Utah — especially with the way its defense had been playing. In one of — if not the worst — defensive performances of the Whittingham era, the Utes allowed a school-record 472 rushing yards.

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Kansas State ran over the Utes time after time, and Morgan Scalley’s defense couldn’t stop it to save their lives. It wasn’t anything fancy — half the time the Wildcats ran the ball up the gut, only for the Utes to either be completely out of position or miss tackles — oftentimes both.

It was a near-mirror image of Utah’s domination on the ground last week against Baylor, except with the Utes’ defense giving up untouched runs.

“It was a power run game, just a basic power play and it was an ‘A gap’ power play where they started strong side and cut it back and we continually didn’t defend it the right way,” Whittingham said.

“We were out of square, we were losing gaps, and so obviously we didn’t do a good enough job as coaches of getting them ready to play, especially that particular play. But it was that one play that did the majority of the damage. They just ran it over and over and we just didn’t, didn’t do a good enough job as coaches, so that’s on me.”

Kansas State ran wild over the Utes’ poor run fits and tackling with seven runs of 30-plus yards, including touchdowns of 80 and 66 yards. Fans booed the Utes at multiple points during the game after they allowed long rushing touchdowns.

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Jackson had a career night with 293 yards, while Antonio Martin Jr. added 89 yards and a score and quarterback Avery Johnson added 72 and a touchdown.

As Jackson celebrated his third touchdown of the night in the south end zone, some fans started to stream out of the stadium with seven minutes still on the clock.

“I did see a few fans leaving when I think we got down by 10 with not much time to go and didn’t like to see that, but I guess you can’t blame them,” Whittingham said.

For the vast majority of the 51,444 who stayed, they were treated to one of the more remarkable wins in the Whittingham era.

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Utah’s furious comeback began when the Wildcats went for two, up 12, to make it a 14-point game. Ute safety Tao Johnson — who like the rest of the defense, had his struggles in the run game — picked off Johnson in the end zone after cornerback Smith Snowden deflected the pass, and he took it the other way for two points.

“That play, as I mentioned, was instrumental. If that play doesn’t happen, it’s probably a different outcome. In fact, if we didn’t score on it, that would’ve changed the complexion,” Whittingham said.

“If we would’ve just defended it, it still put us in a pretty good deficit, and so like I said, that was a four-point switch and kept our hopes alive, gave us a better chance.”

Utah’s offense had kept the Utes in it all game as the defense was gashed, but the Utes’ previous two drives resulted in a three-and-out and a fumble.

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Dampier, who was already playing through an ankle injury, took several blows to the head in Saturday’s game. He was medically cleared to return to the game, but Saturday’s performance — to that point — was decidedly not his best.

The question hung over Rice-Eccles Stadium — would he be able to drive the Utes down the field in the game’s biggest drive?

In a game full of absolutely inconceivable moments, Utah’s drive delivered two of them. The first was a penalty by Kansas State that extended the drive.

With the ball on the Wildcat 37-yard-line, Utah went for it on fourth-and-2 and running back Wayshawn Parker was stopped short, but illegal substitution was called on Kansas State to extend the Ute drive.

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After that, Dampier was called for intentional grounding on second-and-10, setting up third and 22.

Dampier completed a 21-yard pass to Larry Simmons, then Parker got the first down, shaking off a tackle to convert. On the next play, it was the Dampier-to-Simmons connection once again for a 20-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone.

Down three, Utah had life.

Its much-maligned defense had to come up with a stop, though — something that had been very rare on Saturday night.

The Utes forced a three-and-out and Kansas State had to punt the ball away.

This was the moment Dampier came to Utah from New Mexico for. Somehow, some way, Utah had the ball with 2:25 left and a chance to tie or win the game. The season — and the Utes’ slim College Football Playoff and Big 12 title hopes — was on the line.

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Dampier, who had persevered through injuries all night and kept the Utes in the game despite a run defense that was as strong as wet paper, had the ball in his hands.

“Not once did I hear Dev say he was going to give up. He kept his head up the whole time, told them, ‘We’re going to go out here and score. Believe it and we’re going to do it,” said quarterback Byrd Ficklin, who spelled Dampier at times and scored three rushing touchdowns.

Like everything else on Saturday, there was adversity to overcome on Utah’s final offensive drive.

After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Dampier found receiver Creed Whittemore — the Mississippi State transfer who has sparingly played this season — for a gain of 6 yards. Utah handed it to Parker on third-and-4, but after he was stopped a yard short of the marker, the Utes were facing fourth and 1.

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As they have many times in that situation this season, offensive coordinator Jason Beck decided to keep the ball in his quarterback’s hands.

With Utah’s season on the line, Dampier just needed to gain about 3 feet.

Dampier took the snap, faked the handoff to Parker and charged forward into a perfectly-sealed hole — tight end Dallen Bentley was part of creating that hole for Dampier.

Once Dampier burst through the hole, he had a lot of green turf in front of him, racing 59 yards until he was caught by Kanijal Thomas at the 3-yard line.

That actually ended up being beneficial for the Utes, who were able to burn off more time — not intentionally — as they were stuffed on first and second down.

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On third and 1, the ball was back in Dampier’s hands and he barreled his way into the north end zone, sending the crowd to volume levels not heard in this building since Cam Rising’s two-point conversion in the 2022 win over USC.

Dampier’s score gave the Utes a four-point lead with just 54 seconds remaining.

“That last score, it was surreal,” Whittingham said. “It was just a moment that, like I said, you can’t even dream it up.”

Dampier’s signature moment as a Ute had arrived.

Time and time again in those last two drives, the pressure was on Dampier to make a play, and he delivered.

“I told Dev, pressure makes diamonds but also crumbles people. Prove you’re a diamond. Show it out to people, show who you are,” Ficklin said.

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After a very rough game, Utah’s defense sealed the game as senior linebacker Lander Barton picked off Johnson, sending Rice-Eccles Stadium into a frenzy.

Barton grew up a Utah fan, then spent time in Rice-Eccles Stadium watching his brothers Cody and Jackson play for Whittingham and the Utes.

His final play in the stadium was one of the most memorable of his career.

“What a fitting way for Lander Barton to finish his career here at Rice-Eccles,” Whittingham said. “… For him to seal the victory with that pick, he’s done so much for this program through the years.”

As Whittingham talked about the senior class in his postgame press conference, he began to choke up.

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“Just a great illustration of what determination and guts and a never-say–die attitude can get you,” Whittingham said.

“Just so happy for our seniors to be able to go out with a win in the last opportunity in Rice-Eccles. Excuse me — when I think about our seniors, I get emotional so I apologize — but it’s just so awesome for them to be able to have that experience.”

Was that also Whittingham’s last game in Rice-Eccles? If so, it was an unforgettable sendoff for the greatest coach in Utah history.

“That was one for the ages,” Whittingham said.

The final Utah high school football games have all wrapped up, well, for the most part, Thursday at the University of Utah’s Rice – Eccles Stadium with the UHSAA state championships.

Corner Canyon will finish with the No. 1 ranking, despite having one more game against St. Frances Academy on Dec. 10 in the Overtime Nationals high school football championship game in Baltimore. How does everyone else throughout the Silver State finish the 2025 season out via the Massey Ratings?

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The Massey Ratings, officially used during the BCS era, is a model that ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule, and margin of victory.

Here is the final Utah high school football Top 25 rankings for 2025, according to Massey as of Nov. 22.

1. Corner Canyon Chargers (12-1)

Star senior quarterback and Texas A&M commit Helaman Casuga didn’t have to be the guy in Corner Canyon‘s 35-20 win over Lone Peak for the UHSAA Class 6A state championship. That’s because running back Wyatt Briggs took on the heavy lifting for his quarterback, rushing for a game-high 174 yards and scoring four touchdowns in the win. Now the Chargers will take their act against an out of the state opponent for the third time this Utah high school football season and face St. Frances Academy (Md.) for the first-ever Overtime Nationals high school football championship.

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2. Skyridge Falcons (10-3)

Skyridge (10-3) came up just short of facing Corner Canyon for the Class 6A state championship, falling to Lone Peak in the state semifinal round, 13-7. Featuring one of Utah high school football’s top offenses, led by three-star signal caller Kaneal Sweetwyne, the Falcons were a team that looked like they could finish atop of these final Utah high school football rankings for moments throughout the season.

3. Lone Peak Knights (8-5)

For awhile during Thursday’s Utah high school football UHSAA Class 6A state championship game, you felt like Lone Peak had a legitimate shot of walking away with a trophy in hand. If not for the effort via the ground game by Briggs, the Knights might be holding up the title. Lone Peak led for a good portion of the second and third quarters before their defensive front seven gave way to huge chunk plays an route to not being able to beat Corner Canyon for a second time this season.

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4. Ridgeline Riverhawks (13-0)

The Ridgeline Riverhawks (13-0) left absolutely no doubt who the best team was of the 2025 Utah high school football season in Class 4A. The Riverhawks cruised to a 56-0 rout of Green Canyon, capping a dominant season. It was a dominating effort on both sides of the ball as Ridgeline’s defense racked up eight sacks in the victory. When it came to consistency this Utah high school football season, no one might have the argument Ridgeline can offer.

5. Orem Tigers (12-2)

Rounding out the top 5 of the final Utah high school football rankings is the Orem Tigers (12-2), which bounced back from a 1-2 start to the season to reel off eleven straight victories en rout to the UHSAA Class 5A state championship. The Tigers were able to sit atop of the classification after a dominating 42-7 win over Springville, with senior defensive end Lopeti Matai’tini Moala Jr. leading the way with a game-high three sacks.

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Utah High School Football Rankings: Nos. 6-25

6. Davis Darts (12-2)
7. American Fork Cavemen (7-5)
8. Mountain Ridge Sentinels (10-4)
9. Lehi Pioneers (6-5)
10. Herriman Mustangs (10-2)

11. West Panthers (11-2)
12. Springville Red Devils (12-2)
13. Syracuse Titans (7-4)
14. Fremont Silverwolves (8-3)
15. Farmington Phoenix (5-6)

16. Timpview Thunderbirds (6-6)
17. Brighton Bengals (7-6)
18. Woods Cross Wildcats (8-4)
19. Crimson Cliffs Mustangs (10-2)
20. Bountiful Redhawks (7-6)

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21. Morgan Trojans (10-2)
22. Westlake Thunder (7-4)
23. Provo Bulldogs (8-5)
24. Riverton Silverwolves (4-6)
25. Bingham Miners (3-7)

How to Follow Utah High School Football

For high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around Utah, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the state, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Friday night frenzy. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the gridiron excitement across Utah high school football.

The New York Rangers are facing off against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

Here’s how to watch the Rangers game, including time, TV schedule and streaming information:

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What channel is New York Rangers vs Utah Mammoth game on today? Time, TV schedule

Cable/Network TV: MSG Network

Start time: 9 p.m.

Where to watch Rangers vs Mammoth on livestream

You can stream the game on The Gotham Sports App.

Gotham Sports App is available with a cable or satellite login and also has options for non-cable subscribers and for individual games.

You can also stream if you have subscriptions to Spectrum, Optimum, Verizon Fios, DirecTV Stream or fuboTV. Nationally televised games may be available on ESPN+ (if broadcast on ABC, ESPN or carried by ESPN+), Hulu (ESPN+ broadcasts) or MAX (TNT/TBS/TruTV broadcasts).

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Rangers: Longtime NY Post Rangers reporter Larry Brooks dies at 75

New York Rangers remaining November 2025 schedule

• Saturday, Nov. 22 at Utah Mammoth, 9 p.m.

Emily Barnes reports on consumer-related issues for the USA TODAY Network’s New York Connect Team, focusing on scam and recall-related topics. Follow her on X and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Watch Rangers vs Mammoth game today: Channel, time, streaming

Utah might be one of the 12 best teams in college football, but it has too much to fight through to get to the playoff.

The loss to BYU killed that hope, and the loss to Texas Tech didn’t help – it’ll be hard enough to get a second Big 12 team into the CFP, much less a third.

But if it rolls through Kansas State in the regular season finale and takes down Kansas, it’ll be the third-best team in the Big 12 and off to a strong bowl game.

Kansas State struggled to get past Oklahoma State, and it still needs one more win to get bowl-eligible. If it can get this, great – it’ll screw up the Utes. But there’s a home game against Colorado as a likely backstop.

Kansas State vs Utah Preview

How To Watch Kansas State vs Utah

Date: Saturday, November 22, 2025
Game Time: 4:00 PM ET
TV: ESPN2
Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT
@PeteFiutak

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Why Kansas State Will Win

It’s the only question that matters when facing Utah – can you stop the run?

Kansas State should be able to hold its own enough to hang around, but more than that, it has to ramp up its own offense and get hot right out of the gate. Get up early, and then hope the defense can start attacking.

Make Utah press and start to throw when it has to, and bad things happen for its offense.

It’s a different Wildcat team when it starts forcing takeaways, going 4-0 when coming up with three or more, but …

Why Utah Will Win

Utah doesn’t have a turnover problem.

It had to press against Texas Tech when the running game wasn’t working, and out came the mistakes with four turnovers.

That was effectively it.

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There were two in the loss to BYU, and two in the easy win over Cincinnati, and that’s all for the multiple giveaways, with just two giveaways in the other seven games.

Kansas State isn’t controlling the clock or the tempo consistently enough. To beat Utah, you have to be able to keep Devon Dampier and the offense off the field, and ….

Kansas State vs Utah Prediction, Betting Lines

Utah has the two losses to the Big 12 big boys, and it’s absolutely dorrnailing everyone else.

Wyoming is the only team to come within 25 against the Utes, and that includes all the home wins that haven’t even come close to being interesting.

If Kansas State can come out roaring with a good first quarter, this could be fun. Utah won’t let that happen.

Utah 37, Kansas State 16
Line: Utah -17.5, o/u: 52.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 4
Must See Rating: 3.5

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Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

– Who Will Play in Each Conference Championship?

Related: TCU vs Houston Prediction, Preview, and Betting Lines

This story was originally reported by College Football News on Nov 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.