2004 Kansas State Football
Game 1
Western Kentucky (0-0) at No. 12/12 Kansas State (0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 4, 2004
6:10 p.m. (Central)
KSU Stadium (50,000)
Manhattan, Kan.
Television
None
Radio
Live across the 29-station Mid America Sports Network. Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), Stan Weber (color) and Chris Allison (sideline) serve as the on-air talent.
On the Web
A live audio stream of all Kansas State football games is available via the Internet at K-State's official site, www.k-statesports.com. Click the “Live” button at the top of the page and mouse down to “Live Football”.
Records
Saturday’s game is the season opener for both clubs. Kansas State finished the 2003 season with an 11-4 mark, while Western Kentucky posted a 9-4 ledger.
Rankings
Kansas State enters the contest ranked No. 12 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 and No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll. Western Kentucky is No. 14 in the ESPN/USA Today 1-AA Coaches’ Poll and No. 13 in the Sports Network I-AA Top-25.
Series
Kansas State leads the all-time series with Western Kentucky 2-0, defeating the Hilltoppers 38-13 on Sept. 11, 1993, and 48-3 on Aug. 31, 2002.
Coaches
Kansas State's Bill Snyder, enters the 2004 season with a 127-55-1 (.697) record in 15 seasons with the Wildcats. David Elson is in his second season at Western Kentucky. He compiled a 9-4 (.692) mark during his inaugural campaign with the Hilltoppers.
Kansas State kicks off 109th season versus Western Kentucky Saturday at KSU Stadium
Defending Big 12 champion Kansas State opens its 2004 football campaign Saturday, when the No. 12/12 Wildcats host Western Kentucky. The game kicks off at 6:10 p.m. and will mark just the second time in five seasons that K-State will be making its season debut at home.
There is no television scheduled for the game. However, the contest will air live on radio over the 29-station Mid America Sports Network. Wyatt Thompson will call the action with former K-State quarterback Stan Weber providing the analysis. Chris Allison will serve as the crew's sideline reporter.
Saturday's game will be the first of three non-conference home contests for Kansas State to open the season. Following the game vs. WKU, the Wildcats will host Fresno State in a Fox Sports Net nationally televised match up on Sept. 11 that will kickoff at 11 a.m. K-State concludes is pre-conference slate vs. Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 18 at 1:10 p.m.
Coming off a spectacular 2003 campaign during which the Wildcats posted an 11-4 overall record (6-2 Big 12), the programs first Big 12 Championship and first BCS bowl berth (11th in a row overall), Head Coach Bill Snyder returns six starters on offense and four on defense along with a pair of specialists for his 16th season at the helm.
The list of offensive holdovers includes Heisman Trophy candidate Darren Sproles, who led the nation in total rushing yards with 1,986 during 2003, along with tight end Brian Casey, wide receiver Antoine Polite, tackles Jon Doty and Jeromey Clary, and guard-turned-center Mike Johnson. On defense, tackle Jermaine Berry, linebacker Ted Sims, safety Jesse Tetuan and cornerback Cedrick Williams once again dot the Wildcat lineup.
Time for 109
The 2004 college football season marks the 109th campaign for Kansas State on the gridiron. The Wildcats enter the year with an all-time record of 426-565-41, with nearly a third (30 percent) of those victories coming in the last 15 seasons under current Head Coach Bill Snyder (127-55-1). In fact, under Snyder's direction the Wildcats have not had a losing season since going 5-6 in 1992. Of Kansas State's 36 winning seasons in 108 years of football, 11 (31 percent) have come under Snyder in the last 13 years.
For openers
Kansas State will put a 14-game winning streak in season openers on the line when the Wildcats square off with Western Kentucky.
K-State's winning streak in season openers dates back to the 1990 campaign, when K-State defeated Western Illinois, 27-6, in Head Coach Bill Snyder's second season in Manhattan.
The Cats have not dropped a season opener since Snyder's inaugural campaign, when K-State lost at Arizona Sate, 31-0, in Sun Devil Stadium on Sept. 9, 1989.
A victory over Western Kentucky would extend the Wildcats' winning streak in home openers to 15 games and tie the school record. Between 1914-1928, the Kansas State also won 15 consecutive home lid-lifters.
The Wildcats will be facing WKU in a season opener for the second time in the last three years.
Kansas State is opening a season at home for just the second time in the last five years.
Cats and the non-con
Kansas State is 55-11 overall vs. non-conference opposition under Head Coach Bill Snyder, including a 54-8 record since the start of the 1990 season.
Of the eight losses since 1990, five occurred in bowl games, giving K-State a 48-3 record in all regular-season non-conference match ups over the past 14 years.
The Wildcats are 43-3 in all non-conference home games under Snyder, with a 42-1 mark at KSU Stadium since the start of the 1990 campaign.
K-State had a 39-game regular-season winning streak vs. non-conference foes snapped in its last non-league game vs. Marshall on Sept. 20, 2003 at KSU Stadium. The set back also ended the Wildcats' 41-game winning streak in non-conference home games.
Hilltopper highlights
Head Coach David Elson returns for his second year at the helm of the Hilltoppers after guiding Western Kentucky to a 9-4 (5-2 Gateway) record during his rookie campaign. WKU returns 10 starters (5 offense, 4 defense, 1 kicker), including quarterback Justin Haddix, who completed 113 of 223 passes for 1,875 yards, and running back Lerron Moore, a nearly 1,500-yard rusher. Inside linebacker Charles Thompson, who collected 110 total tackle during 2003, is back to lead the defense.
Inside the Series
Kansas State and Western Kentucky are meeting for the third time.
The Wildcats defeated the Hilltoppers 38-13 in game two of the 1993 season and 48-3 in the 2002 season opener.
Kansas State is 7-3 vs. current members of the Gateway Conference and 9-1 vs. I-AA teams overall under Snyder.
Start me up
With the Kansas State returning a total of just 11 starters for 2004, several Wildcats will be taking aim at their first career starts Saturday vs. Western Kentucky. According to the most recent depth chart, the list includes...
Offense (4): senior left guard Malcolm Wooldridge; junior right guard Michael Weiner; sophomore quarterback Dylan Meier; and sophomore wide receiver Yamon Figures. Senior center Mike Johnson, a two-year starter at guard, will be making his first career start at center.
Defense (5): junior defensive end Scott Edmonds; sophomore defensive tackle Quintin Echols; junior linebacker Marvin Simmons; senior cornerback David Rose; and senior strong safety Marcus Patton.
Specialists (2): junior punter Jesse Martinez; and sophomore long snapper Jeff Mortimer (FG).
A Kansas original at quarterback
Quarterback Dylan Meier, a product of Pittsburg, Kan., is expected to become the first Kansan to open a season under center for Kansas State in the Bill Snyder era Saturday vs. Western Kentucky. Just two Kansans have logged starts at QB for K-State since the start of the 1989 season, however neither was the starting signal-caller in the first game of the year. Matt Garber, a native of Sebetha, Kan., made his lone career start in a 54-7 loss at Colorado on Oct. 24, 1992. Last year, Jeff Schwinn, who hails from McLouth, Kan., started in K-State’s 38-7 win over Massachusetts as well as the Cats’ 27-20 loss to Marshall.
Wildcat QBs flourish in first starts
It’s not like Dylan Meier needs any additional pressure in his first start, but no Kansas State quarterback during the Snyder era making his first career start in a season opener has ever lost. Overall, 11 different quarterbacks have draw their first career starts during the Snyder era, with seven of those coming in season openers. Snyder’s first-time starters at quarterback have compiled a combined 9-2 record, with a perfect 7-0 ledger when those starts have come in season lid-lifters. The only Snyder era QBs to lose their first career starts were Matt Garber at Colorado in 1992 and Marc Dunn at Texas Tech in 2001. Dunn rallied back to win his first ever home start that same season vs. Kansas. In all, K-State QBs are a perfect 10-0 when making there first home start at KSU Stadium.
Snyder in September
Fast starts have propelled the Wildcats to winning seasons through out the Bill Snyder Era at Kansas State. Since the start of the 1992 season, K-State is a combined 37-2 in games played during the month of September. The lone losses during that stretch occurred last season vs. Marshall on Sept. 20 and on Sept. 29, 2001, at then-No. 3 Oklahoma, 38-37.
Fixture in the polls
Kansas State debuted in the 2004 ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll right where it left off in 2003 - No. 13 - and moved up one spot to No. 12 in the Aug. 29 ranking. K-State's inclusion in the 2004 preseason poll marked the eighth time since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996 that the Wildcats have been ranked in the survey's top 25 and the fifth time K-State has been ranked in the top 13. The only season K-State did not start in the ESPN/USA Today top 25 was prior to the 2002 campaign. Ironically, the Cats finished that season by equaling their highest final ranking in the coaches’ poll in school history - No. 6. K-State also finished ranked No. 6 in both 1995 and 1999.
Kansas State also opened in the top 25 of The Associated Press poll for the eighth time in the last nine years, debuting at No. 12. The Wildcats have now opened in the top 15 of both major polls in four of the last five seasons. K-State’s highest preseason ranking by the AP was No. 6 in 1998.
Media likes the Cats, again
For the second straight year, media covering the Big 12 are predicting Kansas State and Oklahoma to meet in the league’s championship game. The Big 12 media have correctly predicted 10 of the previous 16 North-South division champions in the eight-year history of the league, including last year’s preseason selections of Kansas State and Oklahoma.
K-State and the Big 12 Media Poll
Kansas State’s selection to win the Big 12 North Division marks just the second time in the nine preseason surveys conducted by the Big 12 Conference that the Wildcats have been tapped to win the Big 12 North.
Prior to the 2003 preseason poll, Kansas State had been picked as high as second three times (1998, 2000 and 2001). The other four seasons K-State was picked to finish third. In addition to 2003, Kansas State won or shared Big 12 North titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000.
Sproles named Preseason POY
Despite playing the in same league as the 2003 Heisman Trophy winner, Darren Sproles was recently named as the Big 12 Conference’s preseason offensive Player of the Year, in a survey of media who regularly cover the league. He is the first Wildcat to be named preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in the nine-year history of the conference. Prior to the 1999 season, linebacker Mark Simoneau was selected as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, while running back Frank Murphy was tapped as the 1998 preseason Newcomer of the Year.
Watch these guys
Five Wildcats have been selected to various preseason college football award preseason watch lists. Headlining the chart is senior running back Darren Sproles, who in addition to being one of the nation’s most talked about Heisman Trophy candidates, has also been included on watch lists for the the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Trophy and Doak Walker Award. Other Wildcats on watch lists include: senior defensive tackle Jermaine Berry (Lombardi), senior tight end Brian Casey (Mackey), senior place-kicker Joe Rheem (Groza) and junior linebacker Ted Sims (Butkus).
Aye, Captain
Five players have been voted by their teammates to serve as captains for the 2004 season. Seniors Darren Sproles and Brian Casey, along with junior Victor Mann will represent the offense, while senior Jermaine Berry and junior Jesse Tetuan were selected on the defensive side of the ball. All five players were named as player representatives in February, but will be serving their first term as team captains.
“I believe that our players selected five quality young men to serve in a very vital leadership role for this football team and program,” said Head Coach Bill Snyder. “I believe each of them will provide leadership of substance. There were more than 10 players who received more than 10 votes for captain, which tells me that there are several others who could also provide quality leadership within the program.”
Cats coming off record season
Kansas State became just the second team in NCAA history to win 11 games in 6-of-7 season in 2003. The Wildcats finished the year 11-4 to join Nebraska (1993-1999) as the only programs in the history of college football to win at least 11 games in 6-of-7 seasons. During that span, K-State has won nearly 80 percent of its games.
Seven home wins a record, too
Kansas State's 24-14 victory over Missouri on Nov. 22 was its seventh of the 2003 season at KSU Stadium and tied a school record for number of home wins. The Wildcats have now posted seven wins in KSU Stadium four times under head coach Bill Snyder, including four of the last six seasons.
Bowl Streaking
Kansas State made its 11th straight postseason bowl appearance and 12th overall in school history, capping the 2003 season with a trip to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The string of consecutive bowl appearances places K-State in elite company as only six other programs in the nation -- Nebraska, Michigan, Florida State, Tennessee, Florida and Virginia Tech -- have played in at least 11 straight bowls.
Offense Piles Up Points
Kansas State's average margin of victory in its last 22 wins has been by an eye-popping 35.1 points. Since the start of the 2002 season, K-State is 19-0 when scoring at least 35 points and has topped 40 points 14 times. The Wildcats hit the 35-point mark in 10-of-11 wins during 2003 with the lone sub-35-point victory coming vs. Missouri in the Cats' 24-14 Big 12 North Division-clinching performance.
Scoring Machine
Kansas State wrapped up the 2003 season averaging 36.6 points per game to rank ninth nationally in scoring offense. With six 40-plus efforts during 2003, K-State has now topped the 40-point mark in 14 of its last 28 games, dating back to the start of the 2002 season. The offensive explosion, however, is nothing new for the Wildcats, who have ranked in the NCAA's top 15 in scoring offense in six of the last seven seasons.
Scoring Streak a Record
Kansas State extended its consecutive games scoring streak to 91 vs. Ohio State. The 91-game stretch is a school record as the Wildcats have not been kept off the scoreboard since Colorado blanked K-State, 12-0, in 1996. The previous longest streak was 60 games and occurred between 1991 and 1996.
Victory Margin Among the Best
Kansas State was one of just two teams in the nation along with Oklahoma to rank in the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense (9th/36.6 ppg) and scoring defense (4th/16.27 ppg). The result was one of the nation's largest margins of victory as K-State ranked sixth in scoring margin at 20.3 points per game. Oklahoma led the nation at 27.6 points per game followed by Boise State at 25.9. It was the second straight season that the Wildcats ranked among the nation's elite in margin of victory. In 2002, K-State led the nation in average margin of victory at 33.0 ppg.
Great Offense a Wildcat Trademark
Over the past two-plus seasons, Kansas State's offense has solidified itself among the nation's elite, outgaining the opposition in 29 of the last 30 games. The lone foe to best the Wildcats in total offense during that stretch was Colorado in 2000, as the Buffaloes finished the game with a scant 38-yard edge in total offense. Prior to that game, you have to go back to a 31-21 loss at Nebraska on Nov. 10, 2001, that saw the Huskers outpace the Wildcats 374-226 to find an opponent that outgained K-State in total offense.
Elite Offensive Company
Thanks to a staggering total of 2,398 yards of total offense over the last five games of the 2003 season, Kansas State once again finished among the nation's top 20 teams in terms of total offense. K-State closed out the 2003 campaign ranked No. 17 in total offense, averaging 441.0 yards per game. The Wildcats also finished the year ranked No. 6 in total defense, allowing 283.07 yards per game, making K-State one of just five teams in the country to finish the 2003 season ranked in the NCAA's top 20 in both categories.
Rushing to Victory
Over its last 28 games Kansas State has outrushed its opponent 25 times, rolling to a 22-3 record in those 25 games. K-State outrushed 12 of its 15 opponents during 2003, averaging 228.6 yards per game on the ground and ranking ninth nationally, while allowing just 108.47 yards rushing to rank 17th defensively.
Topping 200
Kansas State eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark in 10-of-14 games during 2003 and averaged 228.6 yards per game for the season. It is the fifth time in the last seven seasons that the Wildcats have averaged at least 200 yards per game on the ground. In the last eight games of the 2003 campaign, the Wildcats piled up a number of staggering performances, including 292 yards vs. Oklahoma, 248 yards at Nebraska, 367 yards vs. Missouri, 257 yards vs. Kansas, 234 yards against Baylor and 356 at Iowa State. Heading into the 2004 campaign, K-State has topped the 200-yard rushing mark in 15 of its last 21 games.
Ground Game a Staple at K-State
Thanks in large part to 2004 Heisman Trophy candidate Darren Sproles, Kansas State has rolled up over 3,000 yards on the ground in each of the last two seasons. K-State rushed for 3,429 yards during 2003, falling just shy of the school-record 3,433 yards the Wildcats ground out during 2002.
Kansas State has now topped the 2,000-yard mark and ranked among the nation's top 25 teams in rushing offense in each of the last seven seasons, including three straight top-10 rushing rankings.
Piling up the Yards
Kansas State finished the 2003 season with a 441.0 yards per game average in total offense, making the Wildcats once again one of the nation's most potent attacks. It is the second highest single-season yards per game average in school history, while the Wildcats' total offensive output of 6,615 yards was a school record.
In 15 games during 2003, Kansas State has hit the 350-yard mark in total offense in 14 times, including 500-plus yard performances vs. Oklahoma (519) Nebraska (561), Iowa State (503) and California (535) and 400-plus yard outings vs. McNeese State, UMass, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Missouri.
Dating to the start of the 2003 season, K-State has reached 350 yards in total offense in 25 of 28 games with 17 400-plus yard outings. The only games the Cats failed to at least hit the 350-yard total offense mark came vs. USC (347, 9/21/02), vs. Texas (261, 10/19/02) and at Texas (298, 10/4/03). Since 1990, the Wildcats are 94-11 when gaining at least 350 yards of total offense.
Dominating on Defense
Not to be outdone by the offense, the defensive performance turned by Kansas State during 2003 was just as impressive. The Wildcats finished the year ranked No. 6 in total defense, yielding an average of just 283.07 yards per game. On the scoring front, K-State also ranked in the top 10, giving up 16.27 points per game to rank eighth.
Including the 2003 campaign, Kansas State has ranked in the top 15 in total defense in eight of the last nine years and is the only team to rank in the top six in each of the last seven seasons.
Stopping the Run
Kansas State's rushing defense finished the 2003 season ranked No. 17 and held four of its last seven opponents and seven of 15 overall below 100 yards on the ground. Dating to the 2002 season, K-State has held 15 of its last 23 opponents under 100 yards rushing, including 10 in a row at one point. Overall for 2003, opponents averaged just 108.5 yards per game on the ground as the Wildcats led the Big 12 in rushing defense.
No Red-Zone Rushing
Kansas State's rushing defense was particularly stingy inside the red zone during 2003, allowing just six rushing scores in 15 games. K-State did not give up its first rushing score of the season until the fourth quarter of game No. 6 at Texas. By the end of the season, the Wildcats were one of just three teams to allow six or fewer rushing touchdowns. Dating to the start of the 2002 campaign, K-State has only yielded nine rushing scores in its last 23 games and just 13 rushing TDs in its last 28 outings. Kansas State also led the Big 12 in total red zone defense during 2003, as opponents converted just 60 percent (20 of 33) of red zone opportunities into points.
Point-Less
Kansas State has held 15 of its last 28 opponents to 10 points or less, including Troy State, UMass, Kansas, Baylor, Iowa State, Nebraska and Oklahoma during the 2003 campaign. Over that 28-game stretch, the Wildcats have given up more than 20 points just seven times.
Kansas State also extended its consecutive seasons with at least one shutout to 10 during 2003 with its 45-0 blanking of Iowa State. Since Bill Snyder's arrival, K-State has posted 19 shutouts, including a Big 12-best 12 since the formation of the conference.
Beating the Best
USC and Oklahoma may have debuted in the No. 1 and 2 spots in both major polls, but can you name the only team in the country that has beaten both teams in the last two seasons? Kansas State gave USC its lone loss during the 2002 campaign, knocking off the Trojans 27-20 in Manhattan. The Wildcats also served up Oklahoma’s first loss of the 2003 campaign, defeating the Sooners 35-7 in the Big 12 Championship game in Kansas City. Overall, USC is 6-2 against the 2003 preseason AP top 25 over the past two seasons, while Oklahoma is 4-2. The only other currently ranked teams to defeat either USC or Oklahoma in the past two seasons are California (USC) and LSU (Oklahoma).
By virtue of its wins over USC and OU, K-State is also the only team in the country to knock off both of the last two Heisman Trophy winners -- Carson Palmer (USC) and Jason White (OU).
Sproles Rolls Into 2004
With every carry, 2004 Heisman Trophy candidate Darren Sproles continues to re-write the Kansas State record book. Sproles already owned K-State's career and single-season rushing records by the time K-State met Missouri in the 2003 regular season finale, then added the Wildcats' single-game rushing record to his list of accomplishments, ripping off 273 yards against the Tigers.
Amazingly, Sproles was nearly as good against the then top-rated defense in the country -- Oklahoma -- in the Big 12 championship game, slicing and dicing up the Sooners for 235 yards on just 22 carries. It was Sproles' fifth straight and 19th career 100-yard rushing performance. It was also the third time in the last four games of 2003 that he topped 200 yards rushing and the ninth time during the season that he rushed for more than 100 yards, including a 141-yard outing at Nebraska.
Leader of the Pack is Back
Darren Sproles' big push down the stretch of the 2003 season vaulted him to the top of the NCAA's total rushing yardage chart. He ended the season with 1,986 yards on 306 carries - both school records and the 10th-best single-season rushing total in NCAA history. He finished up No. 3 in the country in yards per game, averaging 132.4 per contest and became the first Wildcat ever to rush for over 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.
On a per-carry basis, Sproles averaged 6.5 yards per pop, tops among players in Division I-A with at least 180 attempts, but was even better over the last four games heading into the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, gaining 849 yards on 109 attempts for a staggering average of 212.2 yards per game and 7.8 yards per carry.
Rushing with the best
Darren Sproles may have finished third on the NCAA's rushing average chart with 132.4 yards per game. However, the Olathe, Kan., product had fewer carries than any player in the nation with over 1,600 net yards. The result was a nation-leading yards per carry average of 6.5 yards for Sproles, who more than proved his durability with 306 carries on the year.
Sproles Eyeing Big 12 Record
K-State's career rushing leader, Darren Sproles has amassed an incredible 3,661 yards on 571 carries in just two seasons as a starter. The figure includes a nation-best 1,986 yards on 306 attempts in 2003. Sproles' career rushing total ranks tied for fourth all time in the Big 12 Conference, 1,628 yards behind all-time leader Ricky Williams (5,289).
Just the seventh player in Big 12 history to accumulate 3,000 yards rushing and the first Wildcat to do so, Sproles re-set K-State's single-season rushing record during 2003, shattering the mark he set in 2002 as a sophomore, when he gained 1,465 yards on 237 carries.
On the scoring front, Sproles recorded his 19th touchdown of the season vs. Ohio State moving him into fourth place all-time at Kansas State with 224 points. He also ranks second on K-State's career TD list with 37, just three behind current record holder Ell Roberson (40).
All-Purpose Guy
Darren Sproles has gone over 100 yards of all-purpose yardage in 25 of the last 28 games, including a school-record 345-yard performance in the 2003 Big 12 Championship game vs. Oklahoma. Sproles also topped 300 yards against Baylor during 2003 and owns two of the three best all-purpose games in Kansas State history.
With 4,745 career all-purpose yards, a figure that ranks sixth on the Big 12 chart, Sproles has surpassed Aaron Lockett (4,023) as the Wildcats' all-time leader in all-purpose yardage. He also set K-State's single-season all-purpose record during 2003, totalling 2,735 yards, which stands as the best single-season performance in Big 12 history, obliterating Ricky Williams' 1998 conference record of 2,386 yards.
Nationally, Sproles concluded 2003 ranked No. 2 in all-purpose average and No. 1 in total all-purpose yards and was the first player in the country to top 2,000 all-purpose yards during the season.
