But now on to other pressing matters, such as his replacement. A lot of people have wondered why I didn’t chime in more during this search, which is nearing its conclusion. The problem was there was a lot of misinformation out there, and verifying anything these days has been almost impossible.

What we do we know? Well, here’s what I know:

I’ve been told Gary Patterson has a meeting tomorrow with his athletic director at TCU. I know Bob Krause has called a meeting today with the Wildcats.

Here’s what I think I know:

I think there are people who conduct coaching searches who are friends with people close to Patterson, and the people who conduct coaching searches are letting it be known that the TCU coach isn’t interested in K-State because of the instability and uncertainty of the administration – but Patterson might be curious about other vacancies elsewhere.

I think the timing of Prince’s firing bothered the target K-State zeroed in on all along, and that target told the administration he wouldn’t provide a definitive answer until the season was completed, until there was an actual opening at K-State.

I think the target provided an answer either last night or this morning, and I believe the target will “meet” with the Wildcats tonight, not that they haven’t already met Bill Snyder.

Yep, Bill Snyder.

I don’t believe there was any real contact between the administration and Patterson. I honestly don’t. Maybe I’m naive. Maybe I don’t have enough sources. All I know, or all I think I know because this has been the wackiest coaching search I’ve been involved with, is that I expect a press release to be issued later this evening alerting the media to come to the Vanier Football Complex for a big announcement tomorrow.

I thought for a while about how to write that, because it’s different than writing Kansas State’s players knowing they weren’t going to win, and it struck me – there are games this team realizes it has no chance of winning, and then that triggered these thoughts:

How many other times has this happened? How many more times will it happen?

After Saturday’s game, the Wildcats trotted out expressions such as, “We played with them,” or “We were right there.” It was the type of stuff you would have anticipated hearing from North Texas or Montana State had those games been remotely close.

It was a complete mismatch, and K-State was relieved/happy to have been competitive for a quarter and a half. I understand OU is OU, with an array of the best-looking athletes around. I get it.

But if you don’t have those players, how do you get them? By winning. But if you don’t win…

You see what’s happening here? Expectations have been lowered. Less is expected.

There are teams, like OU, that believe all of the games on the schedule can be won. There are teams, like Missouri, that believe enough games on the schedule can be won to win its division. And then there is K-State, a team that hopes enough games on the schedule can be won to reach a bowl game and divert attention away from all that’s going wrong.

And shame on you, the fans, for falling for it if that happens.

You deserve better.

All season long, through six losses and a likely seventh today against Pittsburgh, I keep reading quotes from my favorite players, all insisting it’s just a matter of time before it all comes together, or how it’s just a matter of execution, or something similar.

But you know what the truth is? As much as it pains me to say this – and if you know me, you know it does – the Bengals aren’t very good. And you want to know how I know? Because you only hear those types of comments from teams that aren’t very good. It’s all talk instead of action, instead of implementing good, sound, winning football.

Which brings us back to Kansas State.

Are you tired of hearing about the game played out exactly how the Wildcats expected, but a play here or a play there would have been the difference?

This is the rhetoric of losing football teams.

This is what K-State is. And I’m not bagging on the Wildcats, or Ron Prince. This is just the reality.

We all know how the next three weeks will play out. Heck, Prince has known since January – why else do you buy out Fresno State? It’s always been about getting to six wins, about being bowl eligible, about being able to point to tangible evidence – five wins in 2007, six in 2008 – of growth and improvement.

The Wildcats should have emerged from Folsom Field with a victory. We all acknowledge this. But you know what the difference was? Colorado played its heart out. The Buffaloes have some athletes, but they’re not overly talented. And say what you want about Dan Hawkins, but he’s not messing around? Benching his son again? Do you realize how tough that must be? Then again, if he doesn’t go to Tyler Hansen, this offense has no life at all.

Suddenly, CU has to feel good moving forward, especially if Hansen can progress. At least there’s hope in Boulder, and let’s be honest here – K-State has been good about doing that for the opposition. Look at Texas A&M. The Aggies hung with Texas Tech after being competitive against the Wildcats.

When does K-State find its dose of hope? Not in the next three weeks. Maybe not against Nebraska, which will be a toss-up when the Huskers roll into Manhattan. And then there’s lowly Iowa State, but wasn’t that what we were saying a year ago before K-State went to Ames?

It’s not just a game of confidence any more. At some point, there’s a credibility aspect. What I mean is, if the coaching staff has consistently predicted or warned the Wildcats about what to expect every Saturday, and the Wildcats still aren’t performing well, that suggests to me some sort of disconnect. Something is amiss. No inside information or such, but it doesn’t make any sense otherwise.

But things could always be worse. You could be a Bengals fan.

Kansas State would be atop the conference standings right now – if the Wildcats were competing in the Sun Belt Conference. Yep, they’ve beaten North Texas – which lost 42-10 yesterday to Florida International, which lost to Kansas, 40-10 – and Louisiana-Lafayette.

K-State would own the Sun Belt.

And not to be too flip, but was this the ultimate goal? To lower expectations to this degree? All we kept hearing in August was how this team was going to be compete for championships – in the Big 12 North and the Big 12 overall.

Really? How foolish does that sound now? Ask yourself this – do you think K-State could win the Sun Belt championship? I’m not so sure.

These are issues of confidence and trust, and the Wildcats are suffering from a dearth of each. There is internal unrest – the players will never admit it publicly, but it’s there – and I’m only guessing on this, but running sprints at 3 a.m. in the morning probably didn’t sit well with all of the veterans. But there is some optimism, if only because there are games left to be played. While it’s impossible to know what will happen, with what we’ve seen so far, it’s not hard to predict what might happen, and it doesn’t look pretty.

But that’s the not the point.

Want to know how bad it is? There were Tech critics – and really, they’ve piped down a little but they’re still out there – who said all week the Red Raiders hadn’t played anybody. The case could be made that they still haven’t. Look at who Tech beat in non-conference, and note that the 30-point margin of victory was worse than the Red Raiders’ triumphs against Eastern Washington and at Nevada – and this was IN MANHATTAN?

In the closing moments of the debacle, I asked K-State president Jon Wefald – a good, possibly great man -
what he thought. He kind of shrugged his shoulders, looked at me and said, “That’s a really good football team.”

This is where K-State football is? Back to being a punchline on Saturday afternoons? The mere thought of what Oklahoma, Missouri and even Kansas might do this team must be terrifying. And you have to think A&M feels good about its chances next week, and you think Dan Hawkins isn’t drooling at the prospect of his team getting back in the win column when K-State comes to Boulder? Remember, Hawkins hasn’t beaten Ron Prince yet, and he probably feels as if he’s due.

Then again, with that logic, Prince probably feels as if he’s due against Pinkel and Mangino, and the odds are slim of that happening this season.

In closing, maybe the Wildcats were right all along. Maybe this is a championship team – in the Sun Belt. Then again, if K-State played Louisiana-Lafayette on the road, the outcome might have been different. At this point, can you be certain otherwise?

It’s all been said before, maybe too often.

Ask yourself this – how many more games can you see Kansas State winning?

Sure, it’s reasonable to expect a certain amount of improvement and growth from the Wildcats, but it was also reasonable to expect a certain amount of improvement and growth from the season opener against North Texas until yesterday, and have you seen it?

If anything, things have deteriorated, especially on defense. And that was all during the non-conference portion of the schedule. The competition during the next two months is going to be drastically better, and it’s unclear if efforts like yesterday’s against a Sun Belt Conference contender will be enough.

“Big 12, my a$%,” a ULL assistant said following the game. “Damn, that was some a$%-whipping.”

He was being sarcastic, spitting for emphasis. He wasn’t impressed, and neither were a lot of you.

Here’s a hypothetical – let’s say K-State wins six games, but does so in the same manner as Saturday’s performance against the Ragin’ Cajuns. I’m betting it might be embarrassing to some, but I’m also betting some won’t care because of the bottom line – a bowl game – and I firmly believe that is the end goal here.

Winning the North, as Prince and the players parroted during fall camp? With this defense? No chance.

So, again, I’m asking you, and I want legitimate feedback. Can you overlook poor tackling and a lack of fundamentals on defense as long as the offense and special teams picks up the slack and it results in a return to the postseason? If so, has K-State football come to this?

This is who the Wildcats have always been, even during those two lopsided victories against feeble competition to open the season. Maybe exposed to a national audience, but this was hardly a surprise. Don’t believe me? Ron Prince said as much afterwards. He’d been saying for weeks how concerned he was about pass protection and the play of both lines.

Now, I believe pass protection can be shored up. And it’s simple – protect Josh, and he’s as good as anyone around with time to throw. Allow him to get hit and he’s a shell of himself. It is what it is. Just protect the man – he’s your best offensive weapon. What’s troubling, in my estimation, is the defensive line. Shocking, right? Hardly any push on Hunter Cantwell. Stopping the run? The next open-field tackle will be the first. And this is where I disagree with Prince, who said all of the problem areas could be fixed – I’m not sure there is an answer already on this roster. The defensive scheme – multiple, 3-4, or whatever other mumbo-jumbo Tim Tibesar and Co. have concocted – is in place, and abandoning it now would be a disaster. But the playmakers up front? Where are they?

Last night was the first true example of the type of physical football K-State can expect at least half of the time in the Big 12 slate – Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Colorado and Nebraska – and the Wildcats, as Prince so eloquently stated last night, “failed miserably.”

For the third season in a row, it appears K-State has almost no margin for error in games. And by now, you’d think that wouldn’t be the case, especially when Prince has brought in many of his own guys – guys who would “row with us or get out of the boat,” I believe is how Ian Campbell termed it during Big 12 Media Days. Now, this isn’t the time to panic, because this team is the same team it was a month ago. Actually, maybe that’s reason enough to panic – there hasn’t much improvement in the last four weeks.

But things can only get better, right?

I don’t see how you can criticize what Kansas State did last night. The Wildcats did what was expected, and they were very efficient in doing so. Would you have preferred 20 more points? A shutout? Neither of those things is going to help K-State get to where it wants to be, and after a relatively smooth opener, Ron Prince and his staff have a base, a foundation from which they can teach and move forward.

If you’re not impressed with Josh Freeman, well, just wait. That’s all I’ll say on that subject.

Bob Lutz has developed a man-crush on little Brandon Banks, who was beaming in Aggieville late Saturday night after the game. He’s a good kid with some considerable skills. I’ll be curious to see what he does against top-flight competition.

Defensively, I was most impressed with Blair Irvin and Josh Moore. Man, K-State is in great shape at cornerback. At linebacker, too. But I shudder at the thought of what teams like Oklahoma, Nebraska and Colorado – teams who have that physical offensive persona – might do the Wildcats upfront. The depth is thin, and, while I’ll probably get killed for this, I’m not sure how good most of those guys are, either.

After some thought, I don’t understand using Deon Murphy on punt returns, but not on offense. If he’s injured, he’s injured, right? But I’m also not a football coach, and since I’m a reporter, that’s my bad for not asking Prince in the post-game news conference. It makes me wonder if he’s not back in Prince’s doghouse, or maybe it’s a simple case of wanting to spread the ball around to Ernie Pierce, Lamark Brown and the newcomers.

I’m not as concerned about the running game as most. Prince used dual tight ends for most of the night, and on some occasions. The extra blocker, and that’s all it is, makes a difference. Inside the red zone, there were always six people on the line of scrimmage. And you can see how much of a priority scoring in the red zone is – Freeman is using that 6-6, 250-pound frame to ram the ball into the end zone.

I think the offensive line is developing a little nastiness. Did anyone see Nick Stringer finish the block yesterday in the first half, driving the North Texas defensive lineman into the K-State sideline? Good stuff.

Do the Wildcats need to improve? In every area. But was there any cause for alarm from the season opener? Not really.

Anyway, that’s the only definitive conclusion I reached based on yesterday’s football events. What more needs to be said? This program is in need of something, a jolt of some kind. Right now, things have gotten stale, which is kind of odd considering Prince’s relative newness.

Instead, I’m going to focus on the basketball team. I watched the first half and listened to the second half on the radio. For the people concerned about how the Wildcats don’t do this or don’t do that, all I can say is relax. None of this is lost on Frank Martin, who was bothered immensely by last night’s performance. He’ll get it corrected, if it even needs to be corrected.

Here’s my theory – I believe, especially with young kids like this, there is a tendency to play to the level of the competition. Without a doubt, these kids are winners, and they’re competitors. They’re also 18 or 19 years old. It’s going to be difficult to get up for the Pittsburg State Gorillas and Western Illinois Leathernecks of the world. It’s not the way it should be, but it’s the way it is. There isn’t enough of a strong, veteran presence on the court – because David Hoskins is still sidelined – to maintain the necessary focus needed for 40 minutes.

My guess is, wait until Orlando. This group of kids, loosely labeled a team right now, will come together and surprise folks. We saw it a little last year in Las Vegas, and really, I expect the same type of effort. I believe, with this group and especially Mike Beasley, the higher the stakes, the better the performance.

I saw nothing last night to alter my stance that Ron Anderson is going to be a player. He can play – he just needs to become more fluid, a better athlete. That will come under the direction of Scott Greenawalt. The guards will knock down shots – they’re not as bad of shooters as we saw last night and they’re not as good as we witnessed in the season opener, either. As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

For some reason, there is some hesitancy by some fans to embrace this team as something special. Maybe it’s the Wooldrigde effect, or perhaps a Huggins hangover. I don’t know. But this team, already, is drastically different. For instance, K-State can get a basket virtually any time it needs one – if the Wildcats can deliver an entry pass to a double-teamed Beasley. He’s simply too good for this level – it had to be said.

As for Bill Walker, don’t worry about him. He’s trying to find his way back. I’m certain the coaches are encouraging him to be ultra-aggressive in the first half, knowing that Beasley is going to get his points whether K-State runs anything for him or not. Remember, this has to be difficult for Walker, who, as we’ve been told, is all about winning but hasn’t had a chance to really show what he can do for what? Two years now? He’s accustomed to playing at a high level, but that hasn’t quite happened yet. He’s playing Robin to Beasley’s Batman, and I’m certain Walker is in contact with his buddy O.J. Mayo, easily the most hyped freshman in this year’s stellar class, and all Mayo did in his debut was score 32 points.

Granted, the Trojans lost. Walker and the Wildcats haven’t lost yet, and I don’t see that happening this week in Orlando, either. Call it blind faith, but when you have the best player on the court every night in college basketball, you’re usually in a good place to start. It just takes the rest of the guys around him to stop watching and start playing, Walker included.

To the rest of the Wildcats, the message is: get yours. Beasley has certainly gotten his and will continue to do so. I suspect the best of the Wildcats will be on display this week, and what better time than on the national stage? Wait and see…

“They don’t have the personnel,” he said.

That’s kind of where I am right with this, the Ron Prince Experiment. And make no mistake, that’s precisely what this is because it’s become a dangerous time for K-State athletics. I can’t state this enough – if the Wildcats don’t finish with a winning record (more on that in a second) and KU somehow, improbably plays for the national title, does K-State become completely irrelevant in football? And does it happen only two years A.B. (after Bill)?

Hey, I’ve jokingly said to people who would listen that I think Ron Prince is going to be a great coach – the second time around. My point is, he needs to find out what works well, and really, this is trial and error. He’s going to make mistakes. He’s going to have successes. But, and we’ll be saying this about Frank Martin this winter, too, he’s going to be inconsistent, and every team follows its leader’s lead. My point is, some times, in order to become good, you have to fail. Look at Pete Carroll – he couldn’t hack it in the NFL. Went to USC, became arguably the best coach in college football. Bill Belichick struggled in his first go-around as a NFL coach in Cleveland, but look at him now.

I’m not comparing Prince to either of those men. The only thing he has in common with them is the fact that he is a coach. And he’s breathing. That’s not an insult. My point is, Prince doesn’t have a large enough body of work for us to give an accurate assessment of how he’s doing. Oh, you can be emotional and say he’s arrogant, and you might be right. But that’s a subjective “analysis,” if you could even call it that.

All he has is his record. He is 12-11 in two seasons. That is almost the definition of average. But for someone without head coaching experience, being average isn’t bad. Think of it like this – if you were immediately handed your boss’s job, and for the next year or two, as you got acclimated to the new job, you were “average,” would you be disappointed by that?

Maybe, maybe not. But there might be disappointment expressed by those beneath and around you, when really, their disappointment should be directed at the person who deemed you ready for the promotion.

If the Ron Prince Experiment doesn’t work – and at this point, again, the evidence is inconclusive – is it Prince’s fault because he was a novice head coach given an upper-tier job at a BCS school?

Do you turn down a date with Halle Berry because you’ve never, ever dated out of your league?

The answer to both questions is the same – of course not.

What Diles said is correct. Prince knows how he wants his team to play, but if you don’t have the personnel, doesn’t it become moot? Isn’t coaching also being able to make adjustments?

Clearly, he’s learning on the job, which had to be expected – given his inexperience. What happens now, though, might alter the football balance of power in the state. Maybe it’s already happened. And no, I’m not being too dramatic. Watch and see.

Usually, I tend to stray from predictions. But I truly believe K-State is in significant trouble the next two weeks. You can draw your own conclusions about Missouri, but the Fresno State game that everyone thought was such a sure thing when the season began? The Bulldogs battered Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan late Saturday night, but lost, 37-30, in Honolulu. They held Hawaii to THREE points in the second half, on the road. They have the week off, and you think Pat Hill isn’t geared up for that game? Here was his quote last night:

“We have two weeks to get ready for Kansas State. Kansas State is a good football team from the Big 12. They beat Texas earlier this year and I know they will have a lot to play for. They will be playing for their bowl life. It will be a big-time game at Bulldog Stadium.”

Pat Hill lives for these moments. He has a distinct coaching personality – he loves to play the underdog role and show up the big-boy programs. We know what Pat Hill is, so we feel like we know how his Bulldogs will play in the regular-season finale.

We’re still struggling with what to expect from Prince. And his team.

All of this is compelling, I give K-State that.

What else can he possibly do?

That’s good stuff, especially the part where he quoted me. Seriously, it’s nice to hear Nelson say the Wildcats need to come out and win because, let’s not forget – that should be the motivation. Winning every Saturday.

My reaction? Read my Q&A. I’ve answered several questions about this. If you’re upset at Ron Prince, this is the same Ron Prince some of you were touting as a great coach following some earlier wins. If you’re upset at Josh Freeman, this is the same Josh Freeman who was locking onto receivers in earlier wins. If you’re upset at the defense, this is the same defense that surprised teams earlier in the season but by now has been exposed to every team remaining on the schedule.

College football is an emotional game. And with how the Wildcats have played all season — get off to fast start, virtually everything in the first quarter scripted, with minimal room for error — a fumbled kickoff is going to be deflating. It was. And an inexperienced head coach didn’t know how to get his team out of its funk.

I’m in the weird position of kind of defending Prince. He’s still learning on the job, folks. His overall record is now 12-10, which is almost the epitome of mediocrity, but he’s been better than that, hasn’t he? Maybe he hasn’t. I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll hear plenty from all of you.

One last thing – Mike Beasley is the goods. You know how everyone groaned when Frank Martin was telling people Beasley would have a similar impact as Kevin Durant had at Texas? Martin wasn’t stretching the truth. He might have undersold it, to be honest. Listen, I know it was Fort Hays State, but that’s not even the point. Martin said Marquette coach Tom Crean said Beasley was “efficient,” and that really is the perfect word to describe him. He figures out ways to score – I was told he took 26 foul shots in the scrimmage against Marquette. Last night, he took 25 shots, which might seem like a lot, but he got 35 points out of it. Oh, and he made 15 of those shots.

And defensively? That was a treat. He’s real active, out on the wings, pressuring his man. Helping out Luis Colon and blocking Colon’s man’s shot.

He’s a once-in-a-lifetime talent, just like Durant was. If you have a chance to see him in person, you’d better do it soon before you have to pay those inflated NBA arena prices. It’s your own fault if you miss him, and it’s your own fault if you don’t fully appreciate what he is. I got the sense some people still don’t understand how good Beasley is. The man sitting next to me in those expensive floor seats – I was on press row – was harping on Beasley’s missed free throws. He hardly had any reaction when Beasley scored, or started a fast break, or made a steal, or found an open man, etc.

Tough crowd.