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Kansas State knows Texas has revenge on its mind
By Tim Griffin
Special to ESPN.com
Updated: September 25, 2007, 3:42 PM ET
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Kansas State coach Ron Prince knows that Texas will be bent for revenge Saturday in Austin.
The Wildcats' upset triumph over the Longhorns in Manhattan, Kan., last November helped mark Prince's first season as their coach. He recalls that achievement as his program's moment of arrival in terms of increased national awareness.
Prince emptied his bag of tricks in that game, blistering UT with an assortment of gadget plays that helped spark a 45-42 triumph. That stunner effectively knocked the Longhorns out of the national title hunt and remains the signature victory for Prince's program in his short head-coaching career.
And it's also made him a little bit wary about his return trip Saturday (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET) to meet the Longhorns in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
"I'm not saying that beating Texas wasn't terrific," Prince said. "But I thought our most significant game was a few weeks earlier when we won like we did at Colorado. The Texas win gave us a lot of exposure. From that standpoint, I'm glad we won, but this is a different team."
KSU is one of the Big 12 North's mystery teams. While not picked to challenge Missouri and Nebraska in most preseason polls for the division title, the Wildcats were thought to be a solid challenger for a bowl berth.
And the Wildcats have proved to be as good as advertised. They led most of the way before falling in the final three minutes of a 23-13 season-opening loss at Auburn.
"We got a lot of confidence in playing the Auburn game," KSU nose tackle Steven Cline said. "Even though we weren't fortunate enough to win, it got us ready to play with a big hostile crowd like we'll see in Austin. It was good preparation for our later games this season and especially for this one."
The Wildcats have had more success in their past two games, posting impressive triumphs over San Jose State and Missouri State by a combined margin of 95-24.
And while the Spartans and Division I-AA Bears probably won't be confused with any upcoming Big 12 opponents on KSU's schedule, both represent solid building blocks for the Wildcats' confidence.
"Those wins were good for us in terms of getting where we want to go," KSU wide receiver Jordy Nelson said.
That emerging attitude will be tested Saturday in Austin against the Longhorns, who struggled in their first three games before putting together a 58-14 beatdown over Rice last week.
That strong game has caught the attention of KSU quarterback Josh Freeman, who said he expects a difficult challenge from the Longhorns -- even without last season's game factored into the equation.
"I'm sure everybody remembers what we were able to accomplish, but you can't look back to last year for a whole lot," Freeman said. "Coach Prince has made a big point of telling us that every season the team is reborn. We've got a good sense we can play with them, but both teams are different and it won't count for much."
The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Freeman was pressed into the starting lineup as a freshman last season. He struggled with an erratic start, throwing eight interceptions before his first touchdown pass. But he settled down to have his breakout game against the Longhorns, singeing them for 269 passing yards and three touchdown passes in his strongest performance of the season.
However, he followed that big game with no touchdowns, five interceptions and a pass efficiency rating of 83.59 in season-ending losses to Kansas and to Rutgers in the Texas Bowl.
"It was an emotional game that was highly draining for us last season," Freeman said. "But it didn't affect what we were trying to do."
Freeman has shown progress this season, capped by a career-best 287 passing yards and no interceptions against Missouri State in his last game.
"Josh has gained a lot of confidence and is in a great rhythm," Nelson said. "We have a lot of confidence in him and he's a very productive quarterback when he gets into a rhythm like that."
Nelson was the biggest beneficiary of Freeman's big night, setting school records with 15 receptions and 209 yards. He started off the scoring blitz by throwing a 24-yard touchdown on a reverse pass to Deon Murphy.
The Kansas State defense has had success getting to the quarterback this season.
The big game represented a career highlight for Nelson, who came to the KSU program as a walk-on safety. After a redshirt season, he emerged as a breakout wide receiver in 2005.
"He's just a good player who is tough and blocks and hustles," UT coach Mack Brown said. "He's been involved with their trick plays. They had those trick plays against us last year and they've had two weeks to put more in. I'm sure we'll see some of those on Saturday."
Brown is just as concerned about Prince's change to an unconventional 3-4 defense under new coordinator Tim Tibesar. The move was made to highlight an athletic group of linebackers. UT coaches estimate the Kansas State defense brings at least four players on a blitz at least 60 percent of the time.
The schematic change has enabled KSU to rank fourth nationally in sacks, seventh in tackles for losses and ninth in rush defense, allowing 68 yards per game.
"They are pro-oriented defense with their 3-4, but they are really aggressive with it," Brown said. "They don't drop [the linebackers] as often as they bring them. And if you can't pick up their blitz, it is a nasty-looking day. You have got to be able to handle their blitz to have a chance."
The Wildcats made their mark in last season's game when they knocked UT quarterback Colt McCoy out with a nerve injury in his neck that bothered him for the rest of the regular season.
That aggressive nature has carried over into the Wildcats' attitude -- in fact, it's been too aggressive in some respects. Prince spent much of his team's bye week trying to figure out a way to cut down on penalties. The Wildcats lead the nation with an average of 133 penalty yards per game -- 25 yards more per game than the next team behind them. The Wildcats have committed 41 penalties in three games, including 16 penalties twice.
"Against good competition, that's going to be more than we can overcome," Prince said. The Wildcats are the only North Division team with a series edge over the Longhorns since the start of the Big 12. KSU holds a 3-2 series edge and remains the only North team to beat UT in Austin since Brown took over in 1998.
"We have to always start out saying that we are going to play aggressively to take control of the game," Prince said. "But a team like Texas has no thoughts about coming to the stadium and allowing us to just hang in there. So we have to do our part to play very aggressively and take momentum in the game. And that's how we've tried to put the team together -- to play fast when we have the chance."
Tim Griffin covers the Big 12 for the San Antonio Express-News.
By Tim Griffin
Special to ESPN.com
Updated: September 25, 2007, 3:42 PM ET
Comment
Kansas State coach Ron Prince knows that Texas will be bent for revenge Saturday in Austin.
The Wildcats' upset triumph over the Longhorns in Manhattan, Kan., last November helped mark Prince's first season as their coach. He recalls that achievement as his program's moment of arrival in terms of increased national awareness.
Prince emptied his bag of tricks in that game, blistering UT with an assortment of gadget plays that helped spark a 45-42 triumph. That stunner effectively knocked the Longhorns out of the national title hunt and remains the signature victory for Prince's program in his short head-coaching career.
And it's also made him a little bit wary about his return trip Saturday (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET) to meet the Longhorns in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
"I'm not saying that beating Texas wasn't terrific," Prince said. "But I thought our most significant game was a few weeks earlier when we won like we did at Colorado. The Texas win gave us a lot of exposure. From that standpoint, I'm glad we won, but this is a different team."
KSU is one of the Big 12 North's mystery teams. While not picked to challenge Missouri and Nebraska in most preseason polls for the division title, the Wildcats were thought to be a solid challenger for a bowl berth.
And the Wildcats have proved to be as good as advertised. They led most of the way before falling in the final three minutes of a 23-13 season-opening loss at Auburn.
"We got a lot of confidence in playing the Auburn game," KSU nose tackle Steven Cline said. "Even though we weren't fortunate enough to win, it got us ready to play with a big hostile crowd like we'll see in Austin. It was good preparation for our later games this season and especially for this one."
The Wildcats have had more success in their past two games, posting impressive triumphs over San Jose State and Missouri State by a combined margin of 95-24.
And while the Spartans and Division I-AA Bears probably won't be confused with any upcoming Big 12 opponents on KSU's schedule, both represent solid building blocks for the Wildcats' confidence.
"Those wins were good for us in terms of getting where we want to go," KSU wide receiver Jordy Nelson said.
That emerging attitude will be tested Saturday in Austin against the Longhorns, who struggled in their first three games before putting together a 58-14 beatdown over Rice last week.
That strong game has caught the attention of KSU quarterback Josh Freeman, who said he expects a difficult challenge from the Longhorns -- even without last season's game factored into the equation.
"I'm sure everybody remembers what we were able to accomplish, but you can't look back to last year for a whole lot," Freeman said. "Coach Prince has made a big point of telling us that every season the team is reborn. We've got a good sense we can play with them, but both teams are different and it won't count for much."
The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Freeman was pressed into the starting lineup as a freshman last season. He struggled with an erratic start, throwing eight interceptions before his first touchdown pass. But he settled down to have his breakout game against the Longhorns, singeing them for 269 passing yards and three touchdown passes in his strongest performance of the season.
However, he followed that big game with no touchdowns, five interceptions and a pass efficiency rating of 83.59 in season-ending losses to Kansas and to Rutgers in the Texas Bowl.
"It was an emotional game that was highly draining for us last season," Freeman said. "But it didn't affect what we were trying to do."
Freeman has shown progress this season, capped by a career-best 287 passing yards and no interceptions against Missouri State in his last game.
"Josh has gained a lot of confidence and is in a great rhythm," Nelson said. "We have a lot of confidence in him and he's a very productive quarterback when he gets into a rhythm like that."
Nelson was the biggest beneficiary of Freeman's big night, setting school records with 15 receptions and 209 yards. He started off the scoring blitz by throwing a 24-yard touchdown on a reverse pass to Deon Murphy.
The Kansas State defense has had success getting to the quarterback this season.
The big game represented a career highlight for Nelson, who came to the KSU program as a walk-on safety. After a redshirt season, he emerged as a breakout wide receiver in 2005.
"He's just a good player who is tough and blocks and hustles," UT coach Mack Brown said. "He's been involved with their trick plays. They had those trick plays against us last year and they've had two weeks to put more in. I'm sure we'll see some of those on Saturday."
Brown is just as concerned about Prince's change to an unconventional 3-4 defense under new coordinator Tim Tibesar. The move was made to highlight an athletic group of linebackers. UT coaches estimate the Kansas State defense brings at least four players on a blitz at least 60 percent of the time.
The schematic change has enabled KSU to rank fourth nationally in sacks, seventh in tackles for losses and ninth in rush defense, allowing 68 yards per game.
"They are pro-oriented defense with their 3-4, but they are really aggressive with it," Brown said. "They don't drop [the linebackers] as often as they bring them. And if you can't pick up their blitz, it is a nasty-looking day. You have got to be able to handle their blitz to have a chance."
The Wildcats made their mark in last season's game when they knocked UT quarterback Colt McCoy out with a nerve injury in his neck that bothered him for the rest of the regular season.
That aggressive nature has carried over into the Wildcats' attitude -- in fact, it's been too aggressive in some respects. Prince spent much of his team's bye week trying to figure out a way to cut down on penalties. The Wildcats lead the nation with an average of 133 penalty yards per game -- 25 yards more per game than the next team behind them. The Wildcats have committed 41 penalties in three games, including 16 penalties twice.
"Against good competition, that's going to be more than we can overcome," Prince said. The Wildcats are the only North Division team with a series edge over the Longhorns since the start of the Big 12. KSU holds a 3-2 series edge and remains the only North team to beat UT in Austin since Brown took over in 1998.
"We have to always start out saying that we are going to play aggressively to take control of the game," Prince said. "But a team like Texas has no thoughts about coming to the stadium and allowing us to just hang in there. So we have to do our part to play very aggressively and take momentum in the game. And that's how we've tried to put the team together -- to play fast when we have the chance."
Tim Griffin covers the Big 12 for the San Antonio Express-News.
