DaveH
Team HuskerBoard
Published Sunday
September 24, 2006
Lee Barfknecht: Wildcats not afraid to aim for upset
BY LEE BARFKNECHT
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Wow! What a day at Kansas State!
The fans bolted to their feet to applaud. The cheerleaders pranced, the band boomed and the university president smiled.
Yes, nothing like a preseason basketball workout to stir the Purple People and spark sale of those "Huggieville" T-shirts. New coach Bob Huggins was scheduled to have six or seven Top 100 recruits on campus Saturday, including two of the Top 5, and . .
What's that? Oh, you wanted to read about the football game.
Good, because this is worth digging into.
Despite a final score of No. 8 Louisville 24, Kansas State 6, this was far from the pistol-whipping many expected.
K-State, a near unanimous preseason pick to finish last in the Big 12 North-Worst Division, has things to feel good about. One was the game plan.
"We didn't come here today to finish in second place," KSU rookie coach Ron Prince said. "We came here to be bold and daring."
To get in position to upset a ranked and physically superior team, Prince said, the underdog can't play "just to get it to the fourth quarter and be close."
Hmmm. Isn't it interesting how philosophies can be so different from Big 12 schools just two hours apart on Highway 77?
Said Prince: "There was no doubt in our players' minds how we were going to conduct the game. Whether it was fake punts, fake field goals, onside kicks - we were going to use it all."
Prince was a man of his word.
After Louisville drove 97 yards for a touchdown on the game's first possession, Kansas State's first offensive play was a 40-yard bomb ruled out of bounds.
Later, the Wildcats tried a flanker reverse pass, a long lateral to a wide receiver who then passed, more than 40 other passes of various lengths and depths, plus an onside kick.
The offense needed any kick-start available because this is a unit that is, to be as polite as possible, ineffective.
The quarterbacking is suspect. Starter Dylan Meier completed 14 of 33 passes for 121 yards, and threw a crucial interception at the Louisville 2 with 22 seconds left in the first half when it was only 10-0.
Backup Josh Freeman, the wonder-recruit who turned his back on Nebraska last winter, went 3 of 10, took a sack and looked like the wobbly freshman that he is.
Of no help to either is an offensive line that may not even be Division I-AA caliber.
Too bad for Kansas State that the offense is in such rough shape because the defense is a unit that has earned - and deserves - a lot of love.
It's an odd mix of bodies. One tackle weighs just 254 pounds. The defensive backs' average height is 5-foot-10. Only one player up front is taller than 6-3.
Louisville, which entered the game ranked No. 1 nationally in total offense (563.7 yards) and scoring (50.7 points), hardly had an easy time. KSU's defense, despite being on the field for more than 35 minutes, posted respectable numbers of 401 yards and 24 points allowed. KSU also took the ball away on three straight possessions in the third quarter.
"I think the defense played well enough to win," said junior safety Marcus Watts, who returned an interception 68 yards.
In fairness, note that Louisville was without its No. 1 quarterback and No. 1 tailback because of injuries. Still, coach Bobby Petrino was impressed, saying, "You have to take your hat off to their defense, which has played well in every game."
I wanted to compliment former Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost, now a K-State graduate assistant, for his work with the defense. But no assistant coaches are allowed to be interviewed, part of Prince's "one voice" policy.
Frost's next possible interview availability would be "at a bowl game." I wonder which year that will be?
Anyway, we'll soon find out if gutty defense and solid special teams are enough for Kansas State to contend in the Big 12 North-Worst.
Apparently, not all the fans in purple are convinced. Even with the highest-ranked nonconference opponent in town since 1975, the crowd was about 5,000 short of a sellout.
With Huggins on board, the old fires for basketball are burning brightly right now in Aggieville. But the new football coach showed that he's not going to give up his sport's status around here without a fight.
September 24, 2006
Lee Barfknecht: Wildcats not afraid to aim for upset
BY LEE BARFKNECHT
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Wow! What a day at Kansas State!
The fans bolted to their feet to applaud. The cheerleaders pranced, the band boomed and the university president smiled.
Yes, nothing like a preseason basketball workout to stir the Purple People and spark sale of those "Huggieville" T-shirts. New coach Bob Huggins was scheduled to have six or seven Top 100 recruits on campus Saturday, including two of the Top 5, and . .
What's that? Oh, you wanted to read about the football game.
Good, because this is worth digging into.
Despite a final score of No. 8 Louisville 24, Kansas State 6, this was far from the pistol-whipping many expected.
K-State, a near unanimous preseason pick to finish last in the Big 12 North-Worst Division, has things to feel good about. One was the game plan.
"We didn't come here today to finish in second place," KSU rookie coach Ron Prince said. "We came here to be bold and daring."
To get in position to upset a ranked and physically superior team, Prince said, the underdog can't play "just to get it to the fourth quarter and be close."
Hmmm. Isn't it interesting how philosophies can be so different from Big 12 schools just two hours apart on Highway 77?
Said Prince: "There was no doubt in our players' minds how we were going to conduct the game. Whether it was fake punts, fake field goals, onside kicks - we were going to use it all."
Prince was a man of his word.
After Louisville drove 97 yards for a touchdown on the game's first possession, Kansas State's first offensive play was a 40-yard bomb ruled out of bounds.
Later, the Wildcats tried a flanker reverse pass, a long lateral to a wide receiver who then passed, more than 40 other passes of various lengths and depths, plus an onside kick.
The offense needed any kick-start available because this is a unit that is, to be as polite as possible, ineffective.
The quarterbacking is suspect. Starter Dylan Meier completed 14 of 33 passes for 121 yards, and threw a crucial interception at the Louisville 2 with 22 seconds left in the first half when it was only 10-0.
Backup Josh Freeman, the wonder-recruit who turned his back on Nebraska last winter, went 3 of 10, took a sack and looked like the wobbly freshman that he is.
Of no help to either is an offensive line that may not even be Division I-AA caliber.
Too bad for Kansas State that the offense is in such rough shape because the defense is a unit that has earned - and deserves - a lot of love.
It's an odd mix of bodies. One tackle weighs just 254 pounds. The defensive backs' average height is 5-foot-10. Only one player up front is taller than 6-3.
Louisville, which entered the game ranked No. 1 nationally in total offense (563.7 yards) and scoring (50.7 points), hardly had an easy time. KSU's defense, despite being on the field for more than 35 minutes, posted respectable numbers of 401 yards and 24 points allowed. KSU also took the ball away on three straight possessions in the third quarter.
"I think the defense played well enough to win," said junior safety Marcus Watts, who returned an interception 68 yards.
In fairness, note that Louisville was without its No. 1 quarterback and No. 1 tailback because of injuries. Still, coach Bobby Petrino was impressed, saying, "You have to take your hat off to their defense, which has played well in every game."
I wanted to compliment former Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost, now a K-State graduate assistant, for his work with the defense. But no assistant coaches are allowed to be interviewed, part of Prince's "one voice" policy.
Frost's next possible interview availability would be "at a bowl game." I wonder which year that will be?
Anyway, we'll soon find out if gutty defense and solid special teams are enough for Kansas State to contend in the Big 12 North-Worst.
Apparently, not all the fans in purple are convinced. Even with the highest-ranked nonconference opponent in town since 1975, the crowd was about 5,000 short of a sellout.
With Huggins on board, the old fires for basketball are burning brightly right now in Aggieville. But the new football coach showed that he's not going to give up his sport's status around here without a fight.
