K-Stated

The fans were happy but Bill Snyder was angry.

Even with his team having just defeated Colorado 20-6 — and maintained its position atop the Big 12 North standings in the process — on Saturday at the stadium that features his name, he saw an offensive effort so poor that he couldn’t be happy.

Most reporters were a little shocked by his anger. Sitting at 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12, especially with Nebraska and Kansas losing, puts K-State in a fantastic position to win the division. If the Wildcats win their final two home games, odds are they will win the division.

But Snyder doesn’t look ahead or get caught up in that stuff. He focuses on the now, and even though Daniel Thomas rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown against the Buffaloes, he didn’t like Grant Gregory’s 80 passing yards or the zero points K-State scored in the second half.

Thanks to a brilliant defensive effort that allowed only 79 yards in between an opening touchdown drive from Colorado and a finishing 90-plus yard drive that ended with an interception in the end zone, and let Colorado cross midfield just two times, the Wildcats won.

Their 20-6 halftime advantage was all they needed.

Snyder liked his defense. Especially Emmanuel Lamur, who recorded five tackles and picked off two passes, and Jeffrey Fitzgerald, who made 1.5 sacks despite battling the flu all week.

If that play continues, K-State will be in games moving forward. But to make a run at Oklahoma next week, it will take a passing game too. That’s probably why Snyder was upset after this one. That, and he sees great potential in this team. He wants them to stay motivated.

Personally, I think K-State should be happy about its two-game winning streak and first-place status. At 5-3, the Wildcats are exceeding expectations right now.

But Snyder feels differently.

“It’s not about being 3-1,” Snyder said. “It’s about whether you’re football team gets better. That hasn’t changed, and we didn’t get better.”

He continued: “If that was the only deal I’d be a happy camper in here and we’d be all smiles. I’d be saying all kinds of nice things, but that’s not what we’re about. That’s not what we’re trying to be about. I don’t want us to feel good about playing poorly.”

Key Stats
0 points scored in the second half
0 points scored by Colorado after an opening TD
80 Grant Gregory’s passing yardage
145 Daniel Thomas’ rushing yardage
2 great open-field tackles by Emmanuel Lamur
2 interceptions by Emmanuel Lamur
46 number of push-ups performed by K-State’s mascot. Far less than last week
2 times Colorado’s offense crossed midfield
5 games without a missed field goal by Josh Cherry
- 8 rushing yards by CU QB Tyler Hansen
42,019 total attendance
204 rushing yards by K-State
2-of-11 third down conversions for K-State
3,000 yards accounted for by Brandon Banks in his career

Quotes of note
“Emmanuel gets better on a pretty consistent basis. I have been pleased with his improvement. I truly have.” — Snyder on Lamur

“Jeff just plays well.” — Snyder on Jeffrey Fitzgerald

“It stunk, bad.” — Snyder on the play of Gregory

“Maybe if we get to 7-1 I’ll bask a little bit. But that’s a long way from now. We’re a long way from getting to that point.” — Gregory on not basking in K-State’s 3-1 record.

“I feel good about our team and the position that we’re in. But we’ve got a tough schedule coming up the next couple games. We’ve gotta keep winning and stay on top of the Big 12 north.” — Brandon Banks.

“You name it and we did it wrong,” — Snyder on the offense.

“We just did not execute. There is always one guy missing a sign. We didn’t play solid football. It’s just frustrating and disappointing. We should have won that game.” — Tyler Hansen.

“We owe this one to the defense today.” — Gregory.