MANHATTAN, Kan. Coming off two straight road games and a bye week, Kansas State kicks off a decisive three-game home stand this afternoon, when Colorado visits KSU Stadium for a crucial Big 12 Conference contest that has serious season implications for both sides.
Today's Game
The game is the first at home for the Wildcats in nearly a month. K-State (4-3/0-2 Big 12 North) will be out to put the brakes on a three-game losing streak that began with a 27-20 loss to Marshall in the Wildcats' final non-conference tune up and has since spiraled into an 0-2 conference start that included back-to-back four-point road losses at Texas and Oklahoma State.
Colorado (3-3/1-1 Big 12 North) broke out of a three-game funk of its own last week, as the Buffaloes outlasted Kansas, 50-47, in overtime. The win, CU's first since a Sept. 6 victory over UCLA, helped the Buffs avoid their first 0-2 conference start since 1997.
And while Colorado got well with its victory over the Jayhawks, Kansas State will be looking to avoid just its second 0-3 conference start and only its second four-game losing streak since the 1990 campaign. K-State opened conference play in 2001 with four straight losses before closing the year with wins in four of its last five. The Cats also dropped four in a row during the 1992 campaign, including their first three Big Eight games. Prior to 2001, Kansas State started conference play with a 2-1 record or better in six straight seasons (1995-2000).
If not for a play here and a play there, the Wildcats could still be looking at an unblemished record in 2003. Kansas State's three losses this season have been by a combined 15 points, while the Wildcats' last five losses - dating to last season - total just 22 points or 4.4 per game. The Cats have not suffered a double-digit regular-season loss since being tripped up at Nebraska, 31-21, in 2001.
Still, it's been a bit of a reversal of fortune for Kansas State. Prior to their loss to Marshall on Sept. 20, the Wildcats enjoyed the country's fourth-longest intact string of consecutive wins at 10 games. Now having dropped three straight, Kansas State is in the midst of just its fourth losing streak of three games or more since the end of the 1989 season, Head Coach Bill Snyder's first at Kansas State.
The Wildcats' previous three-game skids since the start of the 1990 campaign occurred in 1991, 1992 and 2001. In fact, excluding the 2001 season, K-State had suffered back-to-back losses just twice since the beginning of the 1993 campaign.
So is all hope lost for the 2003 campaign? Not if Snyder and the Wildcats have anything to say about it. Snyder, considered by many college football experts to be the master of the turnaround, certainly has his work cut out. But, the Cats have a history of bouncing back from the edge of despair to salvage seasons.
Kansas State found itself in a similar situation during each of the past two seasons after suffering two losses early in league play. Nevertheless, the early-conference setbacks of 2001 and 2002 weren't enough to keep the Wildcats out of the postseason as K-State displayed enough fortitude to rebound and earn bowl berths to cap each campaign.
The 2002 recovery was especially impressive as Kansas State, which opened Big 12 Conference action at 1-2, ran the table with seven consecutive wins to close out the season with an 11-2 record and a win over Arizona State in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. In 2001, the Wildcats regrouped from a four-game conference-opening losing streak to win four-of-five down the stretch and earn a trip to the Insight.com Bowl.
Can the Cats do it again? A victory over Colorado this afternoon would be a nice start.
The Series
Colorado leads the all-time series, 41-16-1. However, 12 of Kansas State's 16 wins in the series have come in Manhattan. In fact, over the last eight games, each team has won four games, with both sides going 2-2 in their respective home venues. K-State will have revenge on its mind after dropping the last two meetings with the Buffaloes by a combined 14 points, including a 35-31 heartbreaker last year in Boulder.
No Tube Time Today
Despite a near sell-out at press time of this article, there is no television scheduled for today's game vs. Colorado. It is the first time since K-State's game vs. Massachusetts on Sept. 13 that the Wildcats will not be a part of the Big 12's Saturday television package.
The Kansas State vs. Marshall game on Sept. 20 as well as the Wildcats' game at Oklahoma State on Oct. 11 both aired on Fox Sports Net. K-State's battle with Texas on Oct. 4 was one of four ABC regional broadcasts.
Today's tilt vs. the Buffs is also the first since 1993 between CU and K-State not to be televised. Each of the last nine meetings between the two teams has aired either regionally or nationally.
Watch For Falling Records
Keep you eyes and ears peeled. Kansas State's Darren Sproles and Ell Roberson could very well each set new school records today vs. Colorado. Sproles, who has gained 2,431 yards in his 2.5 seasons at K-State, needs just 107 yards to surpass Eric Hickson as the Wildcats' all-time leading rusher. Hickson gained 2,537 yards during his career from 1994-95 and 1997-98.
Roberson, the only K-Stater to ever pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 2,000 yards in a career, is on the cusp of becoming the Wildcats' all-time leader in total offense. With 81 yards of total offense today, Roberson will surpass K-State Ring of Honor inductee Lynn Dickey's school record of 5,779 total offense yards set during the 1968-70 seasons.
Terry Terrific
Kansas State's James Terry may not receive the same recognition as some of the Big 12's other top receivers, but there is little doubt as to his value to the Wildcats. In each of the last three games, K-State has squared off with one of the nation's top receivers. And in each game, Terry has produced better numbers.
It started vs. Marshall, as the K-State senior out-dueled acclaimed Thundering Herd wide out Darius Watts, finishing the game with three receptions for 74 yards to Watts' 2-for-13 effort. Against Texas, the Wildcats held All-America candidate Roy Williams to just 22 yards on three catches, while Terry led all receivers with 66 yards on three receptions. Last week at Oklahoma State, the story was the same. Highly-touted Cowboy wide receiver Rashaun Wood had a strong game, catching six passes for 118 yards, but was held out of the end zone for the first time this season. Terry, meanwhile, had six grabs for 119 yards, including touchdowns of 40 and 22 yards.
