What a morning to wake up to if you’re a Kansas State Wildcats fan! Chris Klieman just caught a stroke of fortune. The buzz? A major update on star running back Dylan Edwards. On Thursday night, September 11, On3 revealed that his status for Friday’s clash with the Arizona Wildcats was still uncertain, left hanging as a game-time decision. But the suspense is over. Klieman and the Wildcat Nation are ready as Edwards will be tearing up the field under the Friday night lights! What’s the latest update?

A source said, “Everything is pointing to Dylan playing – I’m not sure how much – but he’s giving it a go.” Edwards hopped from Colorado to Kansas State after a lot of “soul searching,” hoping to prove to Klieman what a weapon he is, but his plan backfired. The 2025 season opener against Iowa State came with a blow. He has been dealing with an ankle injury he suffered on a muffed punt in his first run this season. Klieman said that Edwards was “50-50” entering the week, labeling him as “questionable to doubtful.”

But here he is. Edwards will now get the golden chance to live up to Klieman’s expectations in Week 3. Besides Brett McMurphy, ESPN’s Pete Thamel also confirmed the good news for Klieman’s squad. And how are they going to benefit from Edwards’ return?

Kansas State’s run game has hit stagnancy without its star running back. Through three games, they average just 109 rushing yards per game. And guess what? With this, Klieman’s squad enrolled itself in the fewest category in the Big 12. When Edwards was out, the sophomore RB Joe Jackson did the honors of playing the lead rusher role. But Klieman and Co. might still be manifesting Edwards’ return.

After all, he did not get much time to prove himself last season as he started just six games. He played primarily behind featured back DJ Giddens in 2024, notching 557 rushing yards on 7.4 yards per carry in his first season. While we still have to wait to witness Edwards’ return, Klieman did not sound confident about his boys’ mental state.  

Frustration looms in Chris Klieman’s squad

Following three consecutive nail-biters that resulted in just a single victory, Klieman acknowledged that frustration is hitting the roof in the Wildcats camp. “Obviously, we’re not in a great mental state,” the head coach said. “I think we realize when we go back and watch these last three games, we see how close we are, but close doesn’t count.”

What’s more frustrating is the fact that, at 1-2, the Wildcats’ lone victory came against a foe that took a last-minute drive to clinch. Now, this is not something the fans expected from Klieman’s program, which not long ago believed this team had the makings of a Big 12 contender. After the 21-24 Iowa State heartbreak came the North Dakota face-off. In that feat, Kansas State surrendered a 10-point lead in the 4th quarter and nearly threw the season into a tailspin.

Klieman, being Klieman, had put his blinders down and did not blink while pointing fingers at his boys’ fault. Beat writer Kellis Robinett reported on X: “Chris Klieman describes Kansas State’s eye discipline on defense as ‘awful.’ The Wildcats got tricked by too much pre-snap motion and ‘eye candy.’ He is fired up about those mistakes. He promises to team up with [DC] Joe Klanderman and get it fixed.”

After all, Klieman knows too well that giving up 35 points to an FCS squad is not only bad, it’s unacceptable. Back to the present. Arizona enters Week 3 having blown out Hawaii and FCS Weber State by a combined score of 88-9. Its offense packs more firepower than Army’s grind-it-out triple option, the very scheme that had K-State’s defense gasping for air throughout the second half. The question now: does Klieman’s bunch light up the weekend, or darken it?