2006 Kansas State Wildcats football team
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University
in the college football
season of 2006.
The team's
head football coach was Ron Prince
. 2006 was the first year for Prince who came to K-State from Virginia
as their offensive coordinator. Prince had no other head coaching experience prior to accepting the K-State job.
The Wildcats played their home games in Bill Snyder Family Stadium. It was the first year with that name. The stadium was previous called KSU Stadium. After the 2005 season, the university's athletic department decided to name the stadium after legendary head coach, Bill Snyder
.
2006 saw the wildcats finish with a record of 7-6, and a 4-4 record in Big 12
play. The season culminated with a loss to Rutgers
in the 2006 Texas Bowl
.
!colspan=8| Regular season
would face. Illinois State, out of the Gateway Football Conference
would prove to be a tough task for Kansas State as the Wildcats narrowly won, 24-23
Kansas State scored two special teams touchdowns and stopped Illinois State quarterback Luke Drone on a 2-point conversion in the final minutes to preserve a 24-23 victory in the head coaching debut of Ron Prince.
Trailing 17-16 with 8:25 to go, Kansas State's Marcus Perry popped the ball out of the arms of Illinois State's Jason Horton and into the hands of cornerback Byron Garvin, who sprinted 9 yards into the end zone to give the Wildcats the lead.
Dylan Meier hit tight end Rashaad Norwood for the 2-point conversion to make it 24-17, but the Redbirds came right back, just as they had all game.
Driving 47 yards in just over 5 minutes, Drone hit a wide open Pierre Jackson in the corner of the end zone to pull within 24-23 with 3:02 to go.
But instead of kicking the extra point, coach Denver Johnson elected to go for 2 and the win. Drone dropped back to pass but was quickly swallowed by the Kansas State defensive line to preserve the victory.
Justin McKinney became the first Kansas State player in 70 years to run back an opening kickoff for a touchdown. McKinney sprinted to his right and went 88 yards down the sideline for Kansas State's first game-opening score since Red Elder's touchdown return in a 6-6 tie at Oklahoma on Nov. 7, 1936.
Dylan Meier threw for 125 yards and two touchdowns for the Wildcats (2-0), who extended their winning streak against Sun Belt teams to 10 straight games. It was the first shutout for Kansas State since a 45-0 win over Iowa State on Nov. 8, 2003.
After managing just 207 yards of offense in its first game, Kansas State rolled up 346 yards on the Owls (0-2). The Wildcats' defense, meanwhile, had three sacks and nine other tackles for loss, holding Florida Atlantic to 202 yards.
Kansas State's defense dominated for the second straight game and forced three turnovers, and the Wildcats' offense found its groove late in a 23-7 victory over Marshall.
Kansas State outgained the Thundering Herd 355 yards to 142, but didn't mount a sustained TD drive until late in the fourth quarter.
Kansas State’s defense stood tall and Thomas Clayton
rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown, but No. 8 Louisville proved to be too much as the Cardinals handed the Wildcats their first setback of the season, 24-6.
The Wildcats held the nation’s top scoring offense to less than half its average and its fewest points in nearly a year. But K-State had a tough time cashing in on opportunities, coming away without any points on three drives that ended inside the Louisville 30-yard line.
In the end, Kansas State held the high-octane Cardinal offense to their fewest passing yards in 15 games, but it wasn’t enough to derail Louisville.
Hunter Cantwell
threw for 173 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown to Harry Douglas to cap a 97-yard drive on Louisville’s opening possession of the game.
The K-State defense settled in and held the Cardinals to just 87 yards the rest of the half as Louisville took a 10-0 lead into the locker room, thanks to a 25-yard Art Carmody field goal with 4:17 to go in the second quarter.
The Wildcats were unable to dent the scoreboard until early in the fourth quarter, when Clayton ripped off a 69-yard run for K-State’s only points of the game.
After George Stripling's 1-yard run put the Cardinals on top 17-0 in the third quarter, Louisville turned the ball over on two fumbles and an interception.
Kansas State won the battle of the stat sheet but was unable to turn yards into points as the Wildcats dropped a 17-3 decision at Baylor to open Big 12 play at Floyd Casey Stadium
.
Josh Freeman
threw for 196 yards in relief of starter Dylan Meier, including a 68-yard pass to Yamon Figurs
and a 55-yard hook-up with Jermaine Moriera, but five turnovers, including three in the red zone helped keep the Wildcats off the scoreboard.
Baylor, meanwhile, used three big plays to generate all of its points as the Bears held on for just their second win of the season.
got rolling late in his first start, running for a 21-yard touchdown with 1:11 left to help Kansas State rally for a 31-27 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Leon Patton, another freshman making his first start for the Wildcats, ran for 151 yards and one touchdown and returned a kickoff 95 yards for another score.
Safety Marcus Watts also had a huge game for the Wildcats (4-2, 1-1 Big 12), who trailed 27-17 with just over three minutes left before coming back to beat the Cowboys (3-2, 0-1) for the sixth straight time in Manhattan and the 10th time in their last 11 meetings.
Watts blocked a punt that Daniel Gonzalez returned 21 yards for Kansas State's first score. In the closing seconds, Watts broke up what would have been a game-winning catch by D'Juan Woods then intercepted Bobby Reid's tipped pass in the end zone as time ran out.
Freeman, the first freshman to start for the Wildcats since Duane Howard in 1976, was sacked four times and had just six passing attempts going into the fourth quarter. But in the last four minutes, he was spectacular. His 43-yard completion to Jermaine Moreira set up Patton's 1-yard TD run with 3:04 left. That score, which broke a seven-quarter stretch without an offensive touchdown, got the Wildcats within 27-24. Oklahoma State couldn't muster a clock-killing drive in response, and Freeman needed only three plays to give Kansas State the lead.
He threw to Gonzalez for 20 yards and Yamon Figurs for 17, then went the rest of the way on his own after his protection broke down and the middle of the field opened up. He finished the day 10-for-15 for 177 yards and did not throw an interception.
Nebraska gambled and won on a pair of tricky fourth-down calls, beating Kansas State 21-3 snapping the 21st-ranked Cornhuskers' four-game losing streak in Manhattan.
Kansas State (4-3, 1-2) had not lost at home to Nebraska since a 39-3 defeat on Oct. 5, 1996.
The Huskers (6-1, 3-0 Big 12) earned the program's 800th victory.
Nebraska's first touchdown, a 17-yard pass play less than four minutes into the game, came on a fake field goal. Holder Jake Wesch, a backup kicker who played quarterback in high school, rolled right and found reserve tight end Hunter Teafatiller all alone just outside the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
And on the Cornhuskers' first drive of the second quarter, Zac Taylor's 24-yard bootleg on fourth-and-2 from Kansas State's 27 set up a 3-yard TD pass to Josh Mueller -- also a backup tight end -- for a 14-0 lead.
Marlon Lucky
's 40-yard TD burst up the middle made it 21-0 shortly before the midpoint of the third quarter.
Jeff Snodgrass' 53-yard field goal in the third quarter kept Kansas State from being shut out for the first time since a 12-0 loss at Colorado on Nov. 16, 1996.
Missouri fell behind on the first play Saturday before Chase Daniel
threw four touchdown passes to lead the No. 24 Tigers to a 41-21 victory over Kansas State, breaking a 13-game losing streak to the Wildcats.
The game, played in a driving rain, marked Missouri's first win over Kansas State since a 27-14 victory in Columbia in 1992.
Kansas State seemed poised for the upset early. Defensive end Rob Jackson broke around left end on the first play from scrimmage at the Missouri 41 and blindsided Daniel, forcing a fumble that was scooped up by linebacker Zach Diles, who ran 43 yards for the score.
After a Jeff Wolfert 30-yard field goal for Missouri, the Wildcats had a chance to go up 14-3 early in the second quarter. But on fourth-and-goal from the 1, James Johnson was stopped for no gain.
Missouri then drove 99 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a 14-yard pass from Daniel to tight end Martin Rucker.
James Johnson had 115 yards rushing and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 32-yard run late in the third quarter, as Kansas State scored 31 straight points to beat Iowa State 31-10 on Saturday.
Linebacker Brandon Archer recovered a muffed punt and a fumble for Kansas State which broke a two-game losing streak. The Cyclones lost their fifth straight, had a two-game winning streak against the Wildcats snapped.
Josh Freeman
was efficient in the passing game going 22-26 and throwing for 251 yards and two touchdowns. Freeman led the Wildcats to their first win in Boulder since the 2000 season. K-State lost the 2002 and 2004 games in Boulder.
Behind Josh Freeman
’s three-touchdown performance, Kansas State shocked No. 4 Texas. The game was broadcast nationally on ABC
's Saturday Night Football. The fans stormed the field after the game and tried unsuccessfully for several minutes to tear down the goalpost on the north endzone. The Longhorns got within a field goal on Chris Ogbonnaya's 1-yard touchdown run with 1:36 to go. But Jordy Nelson
recovered the ensuing onside kick and then caught a 6-yard pass for a first down that sealed the Wildcats' win.
Freeman threw for 269 yards and three scores and ran for another TD for Kansas State, which scored three touchdowns over a 3:06 span in the third quarter on its way to breaking a six-game losing streak against ranked opponents.
Texas' Colt McCoy
got pinned under the pile on the first play from scrimage and came up favoring his right shoulder after a crushing hit by Wildcat linebacker Brandon Archer. He left the game and never returned.
Kansas State had a tough day on the gridiron, turning the ball over six times (all six were credited to Josh Freeman
, including three fumbles and three interceptions). The six turnovers led to 30 of Kansas' 39 points.
The Wildcats closed out the regular season with a 7-5 overall mark, 4-4 in Big 12 play, for their best record since the 2003
.
Josh Freeman
, the freshman sensation who accounted for four touchdowns in the previous week's upset of Texas, was manhandled by a Kansas pass defense ranked 117th in the country.
It was the first time since 1917 that both teams came into this state rivalry on winning streaks of at least two games.
Kansas' attendance of 51,821 set a Memorial Stadium record.
Kansas State hung with No. 16 Rutgers for 30 minutes, but the Scarlet Knights scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to hand the Wildcats a 37-10 loss in the inaugural Texas Bowl before 52,210 fans at Reliant Stadium. It was the Wildcats' first bowl game appearance since the 2004 Fiesta Bowl
, also a loss.
Rutgers, which just missed out on a BCS Bowl berth, was as good as advertised and kept K-State off balance all night long.
Ray Rice
, the Texas Bowl
MVP, rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown and Tim Brown caught two TD passes, for the Scarlet Knights (11-2), who claimed their first bowl victory in 137 seasons of intercollegiate football.
The game was held at Reliant Stadium
in Houston, Texas
and was broadcast on the NFL Network
. This matchup was the innagural Texas Bowl
. The game replaced the Houston Bowl
.
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
in the college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
season of 2006.
2006 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 31, 2006 and, aside from all-star exhibition games that followed, concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game on January 8, 2007 in Glendale, Arizona, where the #2 Florida...
The team's
Kansas State Wildcats football
The Kansas State Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate football program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference...
head football coach was Ron Prince
Ron Prince
Ron Prince is an American football coach who currently is the assistant offensive line coach with the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. From 2006 through 2008, Prince was the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was one of six African-American head coaches in the NCAA Division I-Bowl...
. 2006 was the first year for Prince who came to K-State from Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
as their offensive coordinator. Prince had no other head coaching experience prior to accepting the K-State job.
The Wildcats played their home games in Bill Snyder Family Stadium. It was the first year with that name. The stadium was previous called KSU Stadium. After the 2005 season, the university's athletic department decided to name the stadium after legendary head coach, Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making Snyder one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. Snyder previously served as head coach at the school from 1989 to...
.
2006 saw the wildcats finish with a record of 7-6, and a 4-4 record in Big 12
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
play. The season culminated with a loss to Rutgers
2006 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
The 2006 Rutgers Scarlet Knights campaign was considered by many to be the breakout season for the Rutgers football team. Led by Draddy Trophy winning senior fullback Brian Leonard, sophomore quarterback Mike Teel, sophomore halfback Ray Rice, sophomore wide receiver Tiquan Underwood, junior...
in the 2006 Texas Bowl
2006 Texas Bowl
The 2006 Texas Bowl, part of the 2006 college football season, was played on December 26, 2006 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The game featured the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Kansas State Wildcats....
.
Schedule
|-!colspan=8| Regular season
Illinois State
Illinois State would be the first opponent that new head coach Ron PrinceRon Prince
Ron Prince is an American football coach who currently is the assistant offensive line coach with the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. From 2006 through 2008, Prince was the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was one of six African-American head coaches in the NCAA Division I-Bowl...
would face. Illinois State, out of the Gateway Football Conference
Gateway Football Conference
The Missouri Valley Football Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision as a football-only conference.-History:The Missouri Valley Football Conference has a convoluted history...
would prove to be a tough task for Kansas State as the Wildcats narrowly won, 24-23
Kansas State scored two special teams touchdowns and stopped Illinois State quarterback Luke Drone on a 2-point conversion in the final minutes to preserve a 24-23 victory in the head coaching debut of Ron Prince.
Trailing 17-16 with 8:25 to go, Kansas State's Marcus Perry popped the ball out of the arms of Illinois State's Jason Horton and into the hands of cornerback Byron Garvin, who sprinted 9 yards into the end zone to give the Wildcats the lead.
Dylan Meier hit tight end Rashaad Norwood for the 2-point conversion to make it 24-17, but the Redbirds came right back, just as they had all game.
Driving 47 yards in just over 5 minutes, Drone hit a wide open Pierre Jackson in the corner of the end zone to pull within 24-23 with 3:02 to go.
But instead of kicking the extra point, coach Denver Johnson elected to go for 2 and the win. Drone dropped back to pass but was quickly swallowed by the Kansas State defensive line to preserve the victory.
Florida Atlantic
The Wildcats were favored by 22 points going into the game.Justin McKinney became the first Kansas State player in 70 years to run back an opening kickoff for a touchdown. McKinney sprinted to his right and went 88 yards down the sideline for Kansas State's first game-opening score since Red Elder's touchdown return in a 6-6 tie at Oklahoma on Nov. 7, 1936.
Dylan Meier threw for 125 yards and two touchdowns for the Wildcats (2-0), who extended their winning streak against Sun Belt teams to 10 straight games. It was the first shutout for Kansas State since a 45-0 win over Iowa State on Nov. 8, 2003.
After managing just 207 yards of offense in its first game, Kansas State rolled up 346 yards on the Owls (0-2). The Wildcats' defense, meanwhile, had three sacks and nine other tackles for loss, holding Florida Atlantic to 202 yards.
Marshall
The Wildcats were favored by 10½ points going into the game.Kansas State's defense dominated for the second straight game and forced three turnovers, and the Wildcats' offense found its groove late in a 23-7 victory over Marshall.
Kansas State outgained the Thundering Herd 355 yards to 142, but didn't mount a sustained TD drive until late in the fourth quarter.
Louisville
The Cardinals were favored by 14 points going into the game.Kansas State’s defense stood tall and Thomas Clayton
Thomas Clayton (American football)
Thomas Clayton is an American football running back who is currently signed to the Cleveland Browns. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown, but No. 8 Louisville proved to be too much as the Cardinals handed the Wildcats their first setback of the season, 24-6.
The Wildcats held the nation’s top scoring offense to less than half its average and its fewest points in nearly a year. But K-State had a tough time cashing in on opportunities, coming away without any points on three drives that ended inside the Louisville 30-yard line.
In the end, Kansas State held the high-octane Cardinal offense to their fewest passing yards in 15 games, but it wasn’t enough to derail Louisville.
Hunter Cantwell
Hunter Cantwell
Hunter Cantwell is an American football quarterback who most recently was a member of the practice squad with the Baltimore Ravens and has also played for the Carolina Panthers. He was signed by the Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2009...
threw for 173 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown to Harry Douglas to cap a 97-yard drive on Louisville’s opening possession of the game.
The K-State defense settled in and held the Cardinals to just 87 yards the rest of the half as Louisville took a 10-0 lead into the locker room, thanks to a 25-yard Art Carmody field goal with 4:17 to go in the second quarter.
The Wildcats were unable to dent the scoreboard until early in the fourth quarter, when Clayton ripped off a 69-yard run for K-State’s only points of the game.
After George Stripling's 1-yard run put the Cardinals on top 17-0 in the third quarter, Louisville turned the ball over on two fumbles and an interception.
Baylor
The Bears were favored by 2½ going into the game.Kansas State won the battle of the stat sheet but was unable to turn yards into points as the Wildcats dropped a 17-3 decision at Baylor to open Big 12 play at Floyd Casey Stadium
Floyd Casey Stadium
Floyd Casey Stadium is a stadium in Waco, Texas. It is primarily used for football, and is the home field of the Baylor Bears. Floyd Casey Stadium is about four miles from the Baylor campus. Floyd Casey Stadium was built in 1950 and cost $1.8 million dollars to construct...
.
Josh Freeman
Josh Freeman
-2009:On November 8, 2009, Freeman started his first professional game at home against the Green Bay Packers. The Buccaneers won, ending an 11-game losing streak. He completed 14 out of 31 passes for 205 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 1 INT, including a fourth down touchdown pass to rookie Sammie...
threw for 196 yards in relief of starter Dylan Meier, including a 68-yard pass to Yamon Figurs
Yamon Figurs
Yamon Figurs is an American football wide receiver and return specialist who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
and a 55-yard hook-up with Jermaine Moriera, but five turnovers, including three in the red zone helped keep the Wildcats off the scoreboard.
Baylor, meanwhile, used three big plays to generate all of its points as the Bears held on for just their second win of the season.
Oklahoma State
Freshman quarterback Josh FreemanJosh Freeman
-2009:On November 8, 2009, Freeman started his first professional game at home against the Green Bay Packers. The Buccaneers won, ending an 11-game losing streak. He completed 14 out of 31 passes for 205 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 1 INT, including a fourth down touchdown pass to rookie Sammie...
got rolling late in his first start, running for a 21-yard touchdown with 1:11 left to help Kansas State rally for a 31-27 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Leon Patton, another freshman making his first start for the Wildcats, ran for 151 yards and one touchdown and returned a kickoff 95 yards for another score.
Safety Marcus Watts also had a huge game for the Wildcats (4-2, 1-1 Big 12), who trailed 27-17 with just over three minutes left before coming back to beat the Cowboys (3-2, 0-1) for the sixth straight time in Manhattan and the 10th time in their last 11 meetings.
Watts blocked a punt that Daniel Gonzalez returned 21 yards for Kansas State's first score. In the closing seconds, Watts broke up what would have been a game-winning catch by D'Juan Woods then intercepted Bobby Reid's tipped pass in the end zone as time ran out.
Freeman, the first freshman to start for the Wildcats since Duane Howard in 1976, was sacked four times and had just six passing attempts going into the fourth quarter. But in the last four minutes, he was spectacular. His 43-yard completion to Jermaine Moreira set up Patton's 1-yard TD run with 3:04 left. That score, which broke a seven-quarter stretch without an offensive touchdown, got the Wildcats within 27-24. Oklahoma State couldn't muster a clock-killing drive in response, and Freeman needed only three plays to give Kansas State the lead.
He threw to Gonzalez for 20 yards and Yamon Figurs for 17, then went the rest of the way on his own after his protection broke down and the middle of the field opened up. He finished the day 10-for-15 for 177 yards and did not throw an interception.
Nebraska
The Cornhuskers were favored by 11 going into the game.Nebraska gambled and won on a pair of tricky fourth-down calls, beating Kansas State 21-3 snapping the 21st-ranked Cornhuskers' four-game losing streak in Manhattan.
Kansas State (4-3, 1-2) had not lost at home to Nebraska since a 39-3 defeat on Oct. 5, 1996.
The Huskers (6-1, 3-0 Big 12) earned the program's 800th victory.
Nebraska's first touchdown, a 17-yard pass play less than four minutes into the game, came on a fake field goal. Holder Jake Wesch, a backup kicker who played quarterback in high school, rolled right and found reserve tight end Hunter Teafatiller all alone just outside the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
And on the Cornhuskers' first drive of the second quarter, Zac Taylor's 24-yard bootleg on fourth-and-2 from Kansas State's 27 set up a 3-yard TD pass to Josh Mueller -- also a backup tight end -- for a 14-0 lead.
Marlon Lucky
Marlon Lucky
Marlon Lucky is an American football running back for the Omaha Beef of the Indoor Football League. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Nebraska.-Early years:...
's 40-yard TD burst up the middle made it 21-0 shortly before the midpoint of the third quarter.
Jeff Snodgrass' 53-yard field goal in the third quarter kept Kansas State from being shut out for the first time since a 12-0 loss at Colorado on Nov. 16, 1996.
Missouri
The Tigers were favored by 16½ points going into the game.Missouri fell behind on the first play Saturday before Chase Daniel
Chase Daniel
William Chase Daniel is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2009...
threw four touchdown passes to lead the No. 24 Tigers to a 41-21 victory over Kansas State, breaking a 13-game losing streak to the Wildcats.
The game, played in a driving rain, marked Missouri's first win over Kansas State since a 27-14 victory in Columbia in 1992.
Kansas State seemed poised for the upset early. Defensive end Rob Jackson broke around left end on the first play from scrimmage at the Missouri 41 and blindsided Daniel, forcing a fumble that was scooped up by linebacker Zach Diles, who ran 43 yards for the score.
After a Jeff Wolfert 30-yard field goal for Missouri, the Wildcats had a chance to go up 14-3 early in the second quarter. But on fourth-and-goal from the 1, James Johnson was stopped for no gain.
Missouri then drove 99 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a 14-yard pass from Daniel to tight end Martin Rucker.
Iowa State
Kansas State was favored by 5 points going into the game.James Johnson had 115 yards rushing and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 32-yard run late in the third quarter, as Kansas State scored 31 straight points to beat Iowa State 31-10 on Saturday.
Linebacker Brandon Archer recovered a muffed punt and a fumble for Kansas State which broke a two-game losing streak. The Cyclones lost their fifth straight, had a two-game winning streak against the Wildcats snapped.
Colorado
The Buffaloes were favored by 4 points going into the game.Josh Freeman
Josh Freeman
-2009:On November 8, 2009, Freeman started his first professional game at home against the Green Bay Packers. The Buccaneers won, ending an 11-game losing streak. He completed 14 out of 31 passes for 205 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 1 INT, including a fourth down touchdown pass to rookie Sammie...
was efficient in the passing game going 22-26 and throwing for 251 yards and two touchdowns. Freeman led the Wildcats to their first win in Boulder since the 2000 season. K-State lost the 2002 and 2004 games in Boulder.
Texas
The Longhorns were favored by 17½ points going into the game.Behind Josh Freeman
Josh Freeman
-2009:On November 8, 2009, Freeman started his first professional game at home against the Green Bay Packers. The Buccaneers won, ending an 11-game losing streak. He completed 14 out of 31 passes for 205 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 1 INT, including a fourth down touchdown pass to rookie Sammie...
’s three-touchdown performance, Kansas State shocked No. 4 Texas. The game was broadcast nationally on ABC
ESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
's Saturday Night Football. The fans stormed the field after the game and tried unsuccessfully for several minutes to tear down the goalpost on the north endzone. The Longhorns got within a field goal on Chris Ogbonnaya's 1-yard touchdown run with 1:36 to go. But Jordy Nelson
Jordy Nelson
Jordy Ray Nelson is an American football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kansas State....
recovered the ensuing onside kick and then caught a 6-yard pass for a first down that sealed the Wildcats' win.
Freeman threw for 269 yards and three scores and ran for another TD for Kansas State, which scored three touchdowns over a 3:06 span in the third quarter on its way to breaking a six-game losing streak against ranked opponents.
Texas' Colt McCoy
Colt McCoy
Daniel "Colt" McCoy is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Browns in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft...
got pinned under the pile on the first play from scrimage and came up favoring his right shoulder after a crushing hit by Wildcat linebacker Brandon Archer. He left the game and never returned.
Kansas
The Jayhawks were favored by 2 points going into the game.Kansas State had a tough day on the gridiron, turning the ball over six times (all six were credited to Josh Freeman
Josh Freeman
-2009:On November 8, 2009, Freeman started his first professional game at home against the Green Bay Packers. The Buccaneers won, ending an 11-game losing streak. He completed 14 out of 31 passes for 205 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 1 INT, including a fourth down touchdown pass to rookie Sammie...
, including three fumbles and three interceptions). The six turnovers led to 30 of Kansas' 39 points.
The Wildcats closed out the regular season with a 7-5 overall mark, 4-4 in Big 12 play, for their best record since the 2003
2003 Kansas State Wildcats football team
The 2003 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the college football season of 2003-2004. The team's head football coach was Bill Snyder. The Wildcats played their home games in KSU Stadium. The team finished the season with a win-loss record of 11 and 4, and a...
.
Josh Freeman
Josh Freeman
-2009:On November 8, 2009, Freeman started his first professional game at home against the Green Bay Packers. The Buccaneers won, ending an 11-game losing streak. He completed 14 out of 31 passes for 205 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 1 INT, including a fourth down touchdown pass to rookie Sammie...
, the freshman sensation who accounted for four touchdowns in the previous week's upset of Texas, was manhandled by a Kansas pass defense ranked 117th in the country.
It was the first time since 1917 that both teams came into this state rivalry on winning streaks of at least two games.
Kansas' attendance of 51,821 set a Memorial Stadium record.
Rutgers
Rutgers was favored by 7 points going into the game.Kansas State hung with No. 16 Rutgers for 30 minutes, but the Scarlet Knights scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to hand the Wildcats a 37-10 loss in the inaugural Texas Bowl before 52,210 fans at Reliant Stadium. It was the Wildcats' first bowl game appearance since the 2004 Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
, also a loss.
Rutgers, which just missed out on a BCS Bowl berth, was as good as advertised and kept K-State off balance all night long.
Ray Rice
Ray Rice
Raymell Maurice Rice is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers. He is currently ranked as the Baltimore Ravens third all-time rusher in...
, the Texas Bowl
Texas Bowl
The Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, formerly known as the Texas Bowl, is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that was held for the first time in 2006 in Houston, Texas. The bowl replaced the now-defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005...
MVP, rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown and Tim Brown caught two TD passes, for the Scarlet Knights (11-2), who claimed their first bowl victory in 137 seasons of intercollegiate football.
The game was held at Reliant Stadium
Reliant Stadium
Reliant Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Houston, Texas, USA. Reliant Stadium has a seating capacity of 71,500, a total square footage of with of natural grass playing surface....
in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
and was broadcast on the NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
. This matchup was the innagural Texas Bowl
Texas Bowl
The Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, formerly known as the Texas Bowl, is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that was held for the first time in 2006 in Houston, Texas. The bowl replaced the now-defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005...
. The game replaced the Houston Bowl
Houston Bowl
The Houston Bowl is a now-defunct NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that was played annually in Houston, Texas from 2000 to 2005. The game was originally known as the galleryfurniture.com Bowl in 2000 and 2001...
.