Category Archives: Football

This week’s player to watch: Jared Crick

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Everybody knows about Ndamukong Suh, the senior Nebraska defensive tackle who is a sure-fire bet to earn All-America status at the end of the season.

But the Cornhuskers have another defensive tackle who is pretty good, too. He actually leads the team in tackles with 60, four more than Suh.

His name is Jared Crick (pictured above on the right) and as a sophomore he has recorded nine sacks, 13 quarterback hurries and three pass breakups this season.
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Postgame: K-State 82, Western Illinois 50

The second game of the season was a lot like the first.

Kansas State beat a mid-major opponent by more than 30 points and no one, from coach Frank Martin on down, was thrilled about the performance.

But K-State looked much tougher during its 82-50 win over Western Illinois on Sunday, and outrebounded the Leathernecks 48-31.
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Postgame: Mizzou 38, K-State 12

Kansas State had no answer for Danario Alexander, couldn’t get its running game going and fell victim to the mistakes it has been so good about avoiding all season.

For those reasons, the Missouri Tigers easily defeated the Wildcats 38-12. There’s not much more to be analyzed from yesterday’s game.

K-State players said they had already moved on from it in the interview room afterward. With a winner-take-all battle in Lincoln up next there isn’t anywhere to look but forward.

If the Wildcats win their season-finale at Nebraska, they win the Big 12 North and qualify for a bowl game. If they lose to the Cornhuskers, their season is finished.
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Snyder enters Coach of the Year race

He’s been a strong candidate for Big 12 Coach of the Year all season, but now that Bill Snyder has Kansas State one win away from bowl eligibility and possibly a North division title, he’s beginning to be mentioned in the national race as well.

In his first season back, at the age of 70, he has led a K-State squad comprised of 12 first-year starters to a 5-2 record in its last seven games and a 4-2 mark in conference play. Compared to the beginning of the season, when the Wildcats struggled to beat UMass and lost to Louisiana-Lafayette, it is a remarkable turnaround.

There are lots of other wonderful candidates out there (we’ll get to them in a second) and climbing to the No. 1 spot in the country will be difficult. But he is in the conversation, and that is impressive.
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Postgame: K-State 17, KU 10

Kansas State’s 17-10 victory over Kansas on Saturday goes to show just how far good coaching combined with a strong running game can take a team.

Daniel Thomas ran over, around and through the Jayhawks for 185 yards and a touchdown. K-State’s defense tightened up every time Kansas threatened to score and allowed 10 points. Grant Gregory made no major errors.

Just like that, the Governor’s Cup returned to Manhattan.
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For K-State, the number is 7

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Kansas State’s bowl hopes this week. Here is one of them: Could K-State get a bowl bid with six wins?

The answer: No, at this point the Wildcats need seven wins to become bowl eligible.
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Postgame: Oklahoma 42, K-State 30

Before Saturday’s game at Oklahoma, Kansas State coach Bill Snyder joked that he wanted to appeal the NCAA and start this contest in the second quarter.

Had he gone through with the plan and somehow had that idea approved, the Wildcats would have left Norman with an impressive victory.

Instead, they were outscored by 21 points in the first quarter and lost 42-30. The first-quarter onslaught was nothing new for Oklahoma. Coming into the day, the Sooners had outscored their opponents 58-0 in the first quarter.
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Live Blog: OU 42, K-State 30

FINAL
Kansas State made things closer than many expected in Norman tonight, but couldn’t quite pull out the win.

The Wildcats fell to the Sooners 42-30, and can point to a 21-0 deficit at the end of the first quarter as the reason why. From that point on, K-State outplayed Oklahoma and looked like the better team.

Daniel Thomas played through a sore shoulder and 129 yards of total offense to go along with a rushing touchdown. Grant Gregory threw for 174 yards. Brandon Banks cuahg nine passes for 156 yards and also returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.

Landry Jones, though, threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns. Three of them came in the first quarter. Check back later for a full report.
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A look at Oklahoma’s 27 straight home wins

OU Stadium

When asked about Oklahoma’s amazing home winning streak, which at 27 games is the longest active streak in the country, K-State coach Bill Snyder took a light approach.

“We might stay home,” he said. “That’s impressive.”

Indeed it is. The streak is the longest in program history (boy, that’s saying something) and stretches back to Sept. 3, 2005 when the Sooners lost their season-opener to TCU 17-10.
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Lamur, Hartman a dynamic duo at safety

Secondary

Look at Kansas State’s defensive statistics and they are the first two players you see.

Emmanuel Lamur leads the Wildcats in tackles (41) and blocked kicks (2).

Tysyn Hartman leads the Wildcats in interceptions (4), is second on the team in tackles (37) and is third on the team in pass breakups (6).

Both players are extremely athletic and can make a wide variety of plays on the football field, but here’s what makes them such a special combination at K-State’s two safety positions: they are only sophomores.
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