KSU expects to beat NU...

[Blackshirt]

Wildcats expect victory

BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star

There was a time when Brian Casey reveled among the throngs of goal post-toppling fans at KSU Stadium following a victory against Nebraska.

 

"When I got here, it was a storied program and it meant a lot to beat them my first year (in 2000)," the Wildcats' fifth-year senior tight end said. "It was one of my best memories."

 

To Casey, it's a distant memory.

 

"We expect to beat them now," he added.

 

 

KSU tight end Brian Casey says the Wildcats' mentality toward the game against Nebraska has changed in the last couple of years. (Journal Star).

 

Yes, even now. Even though he and his teammates are in the midst of a three-game tailspin.

 

On Saturday, Kansas State will be aiming for a third straight victory against NU, and fourth in five years. Never before in the 89-game series has that happened.

 

"Before I got here, we really didn't expect to beat them, and if you did, it was a great victory," Casey said. "We got over the hump last year and beat them at their place. Now, I just feel we have the confidence that we can beat Nebraska and they are not the bigger program than us."

 

While Nebraska shares the Big 12 Conference North Division lead with Missouri, the Wildcats (2-4) must win four of their final five games just to become bowl-eligible. But even though they're 0-3 in Big 12 play, they can still climb to the top of the North and have an opportunity to defend their league title.

 

So, yeah, to Casey and every other Wildcat, Saturday's game against the Huskers, shunned by television networks for the first time since the teams met in Tokyo in 1992, is as big as ever.

 

"It's the same feeling as it always is when we play Nebraska," senior center Mike Johnson said. "It's a rivalry every time we play them."

 

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said Saturday's game is "as meaningful" as any his club has this season. Of course, when the Wildcats play Texas Tech the following week, he'll say the same thing about the Red Raiders.

 

But at least in recent years, Snyder has been more willing to acknowledge the impact of the series with NU, one he now classifies as a rivalry.

 

"Obviously, there's some built-in motivation that comes with playing an excellent program like the University of Nebraska," he said. "Our youngsters will be motivated, and I'm quite certain theirs will be, too."

 

Last year, K-State beat the Huskers in Lincoln for the first time since 1968. As the teams made their way off the field following the contest, then-Nebraska defensive coordinator Bo Pelini confronted Snyder and angrily told him what he thought of him keeping many of the Wildcats' first-team players in to the finish.

 

Snyder handled the tense scene with a calm demeanor — a trait he hopes his club brings to Saturday's game.

 

"This team has its hands full right now," Snyder said when asked whether Nebraska being a big rival will play a part in this week's preparations. "I just don't think that is what's on their minds. They are so involved with what they can do to get things going in the right direction and make themselves better. I think we are more internal right now than concerned with who we'll line up and play against."

 

Saturday will mark the first time since 1989 the Wildcats bring a losing record into the Nebraska game.

 

Offensively, they have struggled to keep first-year starting quarterback Dylan Meier healthy and create room for All-America running back Darren Sproles. Meier has thrown for more than 240 yards in each of the last three games, but he's only finished two all season. After being knocked out of last week's 31-21 loss to Oklahoma with a vicious fourth-quarter hit, his status for Saturday is questionable. Meanwhile, Sproles' top rushing total in Big 12 action has been 73 yards.

 

Defensively, K-State has missed middle linebacker Ted Sims. With the junior having made just two brief appearances because of a foot injury, the Wildcats have given up an average of 146.2 yards rushing, which ranks ninth in the Big 12.

 

Nebraska coach Bill Callahan still contends Kansas State has the best talent of any NU opponent he's scouted on film.

 

"They've got speed. They've got strength. They've got versatility. "They've got depth," he said. "They've got all those elements that you look for in a championship team. The way they competed against Oklahoma, they're a very confident team. The record doesn't indicate their level of performance."

 

It also hides the fact that while they need some help to get back in the North Division race, they're far from out of it. Of their remaining five games, three are against the four teams now ahead of them in the standings.

 

"If frustration is what you want to call it, that's where we're at," Johnson said. But "the feeling is to beat Nebraska, and that's where our focus is at."

 

The recent success against the Huskers — and the fact that in eight years they're an incredible 36-4 over the final five games of Big 12 play — should help the Wildcats feel that they've got more lives.

 

"We consider anyone who steps on our turf a rival, whether it be Oklahoma, Nebraska or anyone — even KU," sophomore free safety Maurice Mack said. "It's going to be a big game for us, as far as what we want to do and where we want to go. We just have to step up."

 

http://journalstar.com/articles/2004/10/21...21974808753.txt