How Chris Klieman is preparing Kansas State for altitude, late-night kickoff at BYU

LaVell Edwards Stadium sits on a piece of land that is located 4,551 feet above sea level and provides football fans with a spectacular view of the Wasatch Range mountains.

It also provides BYU with one of the most unique home-field advantages in the Big 12, and possibly the entire nation.

Not only do visiting teams have to prepare for the Cougars and their talented roster whenever they make the trek to Provo, Utah, they also have to ready themselves for altitude. Cool weather and an unusually late kickoff time (9:30 p.m. Central) will also be waiting for Kansas State when the Wildcats arrive on Saturday.

It will be quite the contrast from K-State’s first road game — a rainy morning kickoff against Tulane in New Orleans.

“Boy, two weeks ago we were talking about humidity and heat, and now we’re talking about being cool and elevated,” K-State football coach Chris Klieman said. “What a crazy league we’re in.”

Crazy or not, K-State must learn how to adjust to these challenges when it hits the road. Now that Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Colorado and Utah are full-fledged members of the Big 12, playing games in the mountains and/or after dark is going to become commonplace for each team.

How will Klieman’s team handle the elements in their first road trip to BYU since 1977? The Wildcats have a plan, and they are already putting it into action.

“If you look at the forecast, it will be an offensive lineman’s dream,” Klieman said. “It’s probably going to be in the 50s by kickoff. It’s something that we’re aware of and we’re doing some things with our guys, but it will be another element we have to handle.”

K-State trainers and nutritionists are taking the lead.

“I started taking some supplements,” K-State quarterback Avery Johnson said. “It’s supposed to help with elevation, so it’s not going to be a night-and-day difference. I’m not going to be able to breath extremely well, but it’s supposed to help when we get up in those elevations. I’m going to continue to take those throughout the Colorado week so that the thinner air doesn’t necessarily get to us as much so we can play for a full four quarters.”

Marques Sigle, a senior safety with the Wildcats, is already trying to map out how he will spend his Saturday before game time arrives.

He will need to break away from his usual game-day routine on the road, as he won’t be done playing until early Sunday morning.

“I usually don’t take a nap, just because I’m not really that tired,” Sigle said. “But for this game I’m probably going to get a nap in just because it’s a later game. Sitting around for that long will get you tired and get to your body when you’re starting that late. So I definitely want to have my body started fast this game.”

One thing that could help K-State this week is the fact that the Wildcats are coming off a Friday night game. They benefit from an extra day to prepare this contest, and they just played a game that started at 7 p.m.

The Wildcats will take any edge they can find as they prepare for their Big 12 road opener at BYU.