2002 Kansas State Wildcats football team

2002 Kansas State Wildcats football
Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 34–27 vs. Arizona State
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Division	North Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 7
Record	11–2 (6–2 Big 12)
Head coach	Bill Snyder (14th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ron Hudson (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Co-defensive coordinator	Bret Bielema (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Bob Elliott (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	KSU Stadium

2002 Big 12 Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Division
No. 20 Colorado xy		7	–	1					9	–	5
No. 7 Kansas State		6	–	2					11	–	2
Iowa State		4	–	4					7	–	7
Nebraska		3	–	5					7	–	7
Missouri		2	–	6					5	–	7
Kansas		0	–	8					2	–	10
South Division
No. 5 Oklahoma xy$		6	–	2					12	–	2
No. 6 Texas x		6	–	2					11	–	2
Texas Tech		5	–	3					9	–	5
Oklahoma State		5	–	3					8	–	5
Texas A&M		3	–	5					6	–	6
Baylor		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Oklahoma 29, Colorado 7
$ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2002 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Bill Snyder. The Wildcats play their home games in KSU Stadium. 2002 saw the Wildcats finish with a record of 11–2, and a 6–2 record in Big 12 Conference play. The season culminated with a win over Arizona State in the 2002 Holiday Bowl. Prior to the 2002 season, the artificial turf was updated to a more cushioned FieldTurf surface at a cost of $800,000.

The Wildcats finished the 2002 season leading NCAA Division I-A in scoring defense (11.8 points per game) and also tied a school record by posting three shut outs. The team shut out Louisiana–Monroe, Kansas, and Missouri. The Wildcats also recorded a shut out on the road for the first time since the 1973 season. They recorded two shut outs on the road, beating Kansas and Missouri. The Wildcats scored 582 points in the season, good for second most all-time at Kansas State.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	6:10 p.m.	No. 18 (I-AA) Western Kentucky*		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS		W 48–3	45,844
September 7	6:10 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe*		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS		W 68–0	43,104
September 14	1:10 p.m.	No. 8 (I-AA) Eastern Illinois*		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS		W 63–13	45,642
September 21	6:00 p.m.	No. 11 USC*	No. 25	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	TBS	W 27–20	49,276
October 5	2:30 p.m.	at Colorado	No. 13	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	ABC	L 31–35	52,584
October 12	1:10 p.m.	Oklahoma State	No. 19	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS		W 44–9	48,404
October 19	6:00 p.m.	No. 8 Texas	No. 17	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	FSN	L 14–17	50,659
October 26	2:00 p.m.	at Baylor	No. 20	Floyd Casey Stadium Waco, TX		W 44–10	20,247
November 2	1:00 p.m.	at Kansas	No. 14	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (rivalry)		W 64–0	43,000
November 9	6:00 p.m.	No. 21 Iowa State	No. 12	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	TBS	W 58–7	49,504
November 16	11:30 a.m.	Nebraska	No. 11	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	FSN	W 49–13	52,221
November 23	2:30 p.m.	at Missouri	No. 10	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	ABC	W 38–0	47,507
December 27	7:00 p.m.	vs. Arizona State*	No. 6	Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	ESPN	W 34–27	58,717
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

2002 Kansas State Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 65 Thomas Barnett Sr OT 79 Jon Doty So QB 5 Marc Dunn Sr TE 88 Thomas Hill Jr OL 53 Nick Leckey Jr OL 64 Ryan Lilja Jr QB 3 Ell Roberson Jr RB 36 Ayo Saba Fr QB 14 Jeff Schwinn Jr WR 13 Brandon Solt Sr RB 43 Darren Sproles So WR 82 James Terry Jr WR 8 Taco Wallace Sr TE 81 Nick Warren Sr C 78 Steve Washington Sr OL 71 Michael Weiner So QB 14 Eric Williams Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 90 Henry Bryant Sr LB 7 Josh Buhl Jr LB 58 Quinton Dunham Fr LB 18 Bryan Hickman Jr DB 9 Randy Jordan Jr DB 8 James McGill Sr CB 4 Terence Newman Sr LB 56 Terry Pierce Jr DL 30 Tank Reese Sr DE 83 Blake Seiler Fr DE 98 Andrew Shull Jr LB 45 Ted Sims Fr DB 29 Henry Thomas So DT 96 Jerry Togiai Sr CB 2 DeRon Tyler Sr CB 1 Bobby Walker Sr FS 2 Rashad Washington Jr DT 62 Corey White Sr DE 97 Melvin Williams Sr DB 26 Tyler Woolfolk So FS 12 Derrick Yates Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K/P 6 Jared Brite Jr K 15 Joe Rheem So K/P 19 Jeff Snodgrass Fr LS 52 Russ Vanover So LS 72 Mike Wilson Jr	Head coach Bill Snyder Coordinators/assistant coaches Ron Hudson – Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks Michel Smith – Running backs Greg Peterson – Wide receivers, passing game coordinator, & recruiting coordinator Matt Miller – Tight ends Paul Dunn – Offensive line Bret Bielema – Co-Defensive coordinator Bob Elliot – Co-Defensive coordinator & secondary Mo Lattimore – interior Defensive line Del Miller – Defensive ends Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Rankings

Further information: 2002 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	25	15	13	19	17	20	14	12	11	10	8	6	6	7
Coaches	—	—	—	—	23	17	16	23	19	21	14	12	11	10	8	6	6	6
BCS	Not released									—	15	15	12	11	10	8	8	Not released

Game summaries

Western Kentucky

See also: 2002 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

No. 18 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Kansas State Wildcats – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Hilltoppers	0	0	0	3	3
Wildcats	3	31	7	7	48

at KSU Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas

• Date: August 31
• Game time: 6:10 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Clear, 89 °F (32 °C)
• Game attendance: 45,844
• Referee: John Laurie
• Box score, Recap

Game information

First quarter KSU – Joe Rheem 36-yard field goal, 10:26. Wildcats 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 4:34. Second quarter KSU – Ayo Saba 2-yard run (Joe Rheem kick), 12:57. Wildcats 10–0. Drive: 14 plays, 80 yards, 5:57. KSU – Bobby Walker 73-yard interception return (Joe Rheem kick), 8:56. Wildcats 17–0. KSU – Danny Morris 7-yard run (Joe Rheem kick), 4:51. Wildcats 24–0. Drive: 3 plays, 62 yards, 1:01. KSU – Darren Sproles 9-yard run (Joe Rheem kick), 3:45. Wildcats 31–0. Drive: 1 play, 9 yards, 0:06. KSU – Joe Rheem 38-yard field goal, 0:00. Wildcats 34–0. Drive: 7 plays, 27 yards, 0:00. Third quarter KSU – Ell Roberson 18-yard run (Joe Rheem kick), 3:47. Wildcats 41–0. Drive: 9 plays, 69 yards, 4:31. Fourth quarter WKU – Peter Martinez 30-yard field goal, 7:18. Wildcats 41–3. Drive: 13 plays, 60 yards, 6:09. KSU – Ayo Saba 2-yard run (Jared Brite kick), 1:27. Wildcats 48–3. Drive: 14 plays, 89 yards, 5:51.

Statistics	WKU	KSU
First downs	12	23
Total yards	183	412
Rushing yards	110	240
Passing yards	73	172
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	31:55	27:14

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Jason Michael	7/11, 73 yards, INT
	Rushing	Maurice Bradley	19 rushes, 64 yards
	Receiving	Casey Rooney	2 receptions, 28 yards
Kansas State	Passing	Ell Roberson	4/8, 108 yards
	Rushing	Darren Sproles	19 rushes, 135 yards, TD
	Receiving	Derrick Evans	3 receptions, 74 yards

Louisiana–Monroe

See also: 2002 Louisiana–Monroe Indians football team

Eastern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	13	0	0	0	13
Wildcats	15	28	13	7	63

See also: 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

Tony Romo was 13-14 for 120 yards and a TD in the first quarter, but Kansas State grabbed control and cruised to the 50-point win.

No. 11 USC

USC at Kansas State

1 2 3 4 Total No. 11 Trojans 0 6 0 14 20 • No. 25 Wildcats 0 12 7 8 27 Date: September 21 Location: KSU Stadium, Manhattan, KS Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Game attendance: 49,276 Referee: John Laurie TV announcers (TBS): Ron Thulin, Charles Davis, Craig Sager, and Erin Andrews

Scoring summary 2 5:43 KSU Jared Brite 35-yard field goal KSU 3-0 2 3:46 KSU Ell Roberson 1-yard fun (Brite kick) KSU 10-0 2 0:32 USC Mike Patterson 3-yard fumble return (kick blocked) KSU 10-6 2 0:32 KSU Terence Newman 98-yard PAT return KSU 12-6 3 3:55 KSU Darren Sproles 10-yard fun (Brite kick) KSU 19-6 4 14:55 KSU James Terry 10-yard pass from Ell Roberson (Roberson run) KSU 27-6 4 10:21 USC Keary Colbert 9-yard pass from Carson Palmer (Ryan Killeen kick) KSU 27-13 4 6:31 USC Sultan McCullough 25-yard run (Killeen kick) KSU 27-20

See also: 2002 USC Trojans football team

Junior quarterback Ell Roberson came off the bench early in the 2nd quarter to give the Wildcats a spark. Kansas State built a 27–6 lead before USC scored two 4th quarter touchdowns to make it a one-possession game. Eventual Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer completed only 18 of 47 passes for 186 yards.

Statistics	USC	KSU
First downs	16	19
Total yards	276	347
Rushing yards	90	188
Passing yards	186	159
Turnovers	1	5
Time of possession	29:37	30:23

At Colorado

No. 13 Kansas State at Colorado

1 2 3 4 Total No. 13 Wildcats 0 14 14 3 31 • Buffaloes 14 14 7 0 35 Date: October 5 Location: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado Game start: 2:30 p.m. CDT Game attendance: 52,584 Television network: ABC

See also: 2002 Colorado Buffaloes football team and Colorado–Kansas State football rivalry

Oklahoma State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	9	0	0	9
Wildcats	12	13	6	13	44

See also: 2002 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

No. 8 Texas

Texas at Kansas State

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 8 Longhorns 0 7 7 3 17 No. 17 Wildcats 0 6 0 8 14 Date: October 19 Location: KSU Stadium Game attendance: 50,659

See also: 2002 Texas Longhorns football team

At Baylor

See also: 2002 Baylor Bears football team

At Kansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	30	13	21	0	64
Jayhawks	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2002 Kansas Jayhawks football team

No. 21 Iowa State

Iowa State at Kansas State

1 2 3 4 Total No. 21 Cyclones 7 0 0 0 7 • No. 12 Wildcats 13 17 28 0 58 Date: November 9 Location: KSU Stadium Game attendance: 49,504 Referee: Cooper Castleberry TV announcers (TBS): Ron Thulin, Charles Davis, and Erin Andrews

See also: 2002 Iowa State Cyclones football team and Iowa State–Kansas State football rivalry

Nebraska

Nebraska at Kansas State

1 2 3 4 Total Cornhuskers 0 6 7 0 13 • No. 11 Wildcats 14 7 7 21 49 Date: November 16 Location: KSU Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas Game start: 11:39 a.m. CST Game attendance: 52,221 TV announcers (FSN): Bill Land, Gary Reasons, and Jim Knox

See also: 2002 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Statistics	NEB	KSU
First downs	15	24
Total yards	231	507
Rushing yards	97	415
Passing yards	134	92
Turnovers	0	3
Time of possession	27:30	32:30

At Missouri

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	10	7	14	7	38
Tigers	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2002 Missouri Tigers football team

Vs. Arizona State (Holiday Bowl)

Kansas State vs. Arizona State

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 6 Wildcats 0 14 0 20 34 Sun Devils 0 20 0 7 27 Date: December 27 Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA Game start: 7:00 p.m. CST Game attendance: 58,717 TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Tirico, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, and Dr. Jerry Punch

Main article: 2002 Holiday Bowl

See also: 2002 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

Statistics

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total Kansas State 128 191 148 115 582 Opponents 34 65 28 27 154

Team

KSU Opp Scoring 582 154   Points per Game 44.8 11.8 First Downs 273 175   Rushing 168 58   Passing 85 97   Penalty 20 20 Total Offense 5,499 3237   Avg per Play 6.3 3.7   Avg per Game 423.0 249.0 Fumbles-Lost 37–18 23–13 Penalties-Yards 100–759 95–723   Avg per Game 58.4 58.4

KSU Opp Punts-Yards 55–2,186 105–3974   Avg per Punt 39.7 37.8 Time of Possession/Game 31:13 28:47 3rd Down Conversions 76/166 58/205 4th Down Conversions 12/17 6/18 Touchdowns Scored 79 19 Field Goals-Attempts 11–16 7–12 PAT-Attempts 65–74 17–18 Attendance 384,654 163,338   Games/Avg per Game 8/48,082 4/40,834

Offense

Rushing

Name	GP	Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Darren Sproles	13	237	1,517	52	1,465	6.2	17	80	112.7
Ell Roberson	12	202	1,276	244	1,032	5.1	16	91	86.0
Terrence Newman	13	2	29	3	26	13.0	0	29	2.0
Total	13	655	3,823	390	3,433	5.2	53	91	264.1
Opponents	13	446	1,405	501	904	2.0	7	85	69.5

Passing

Name	GP-GS	Effic	Att-Cmp-Int	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg/G	Pct.
Ell Roberson	12	136.47	175–91–4	1580	7	56	131.7	52.0
Marc Dunn	10	199.92	35–22–2	383	6	58	38.3	62.9
Total	13	146.97	223–120–6	2,066	14	58	158.9	53.8
Opponents	13	91.69	418–191–20	2,333	11	94	179.5	45.7

Receiving

Name	GP	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Taco Wallace	13	39	704	18.1	5	58	54.2
James Terry	12	28	561	20.0	5	56	46.8
Total	13	120	2,066	17.2	14	58	158.9
Opponents	13	191	2,333	12.2	11	94	179.5

Awards and honors

• Terence Newman – Jim Thorpe Award and Consensus First-team All-American

See also: 2002 All-Big 12 Conference football team and 2002 College Football All-America Team

2003 NFL Draft

Main article: 2003 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Terence Newman	Cornerback	1	5	Dallas Cowboys
Terry Pierce	Linebacker	2	51	Denver Broncos
Melvin Williams	Defensive end	5	155	New Orleans Saints
Taco Wallace	Wide receiver	7	224	Seattle Seahawks