During Bill Snyder’s tenure as head football coach at Kansas State, the Wildcats have registered seven 11-win seasons over his 21 seasons at the helm.
No. 7 Kansas State (11-1) has a difficult matchup in its quest for an ever-elusive 12th win, when it takes on No. 5 Oregon (11-1) in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 3, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
“We have one more game and if we win, we make history,” Kansas State wide receiver Tyler Lockett said.
Kansas State clinched a share of the Big 12 championship and an automatic berth in the Fiesta Bowl after beating Texas 42-24 on Dec. 1, overtaking Oklahoma, which lost to the Wildcats earlier in the season.
“Just to see Coach Snyder smile, you don’t get to see that a lot,” Lockett said. “It allows us to keep on pushing and keep on fighting … just being in the moment and embracing it.”
Oregon’s explosive offense is nothing short of a juggernaut, averaging 550.1 yards per game.
“They have a variety of different tempos that they move at and certain situations are faster than other situations,” Snyder said of the Ducks. “They can go faster than anybody when they choose to do so and a good portion of the time, they do that.
“As far as the style of offense is concerned, people would get the perception that they kind of run-and-gun, when they really run-and-run and they have balance in their system, which I have always felt was extremely important. The numbers would indicate that.”
Oregon running back Kenjon Barner accumulated 1,624 yards and 21 touchdowns on the season, and quarterback Marcus Mariota, a redshirt freshman, completing 69.9 percent of his passes, totaled 2,511 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also rushed for 690 yards.
“They run it for more yards than they throw it, but their throwing yardage is very substantial as well,” Snyder said. “They have a lot of things that you have to have great concern about.”
• Didn’t you know?
K-State, which is 6-9 all-time in bowl games, has lost its last four. … Senior running back John Hubert, not Collin Klein, led the Wildcats in rushing during the regular season — by two yards. Hubert finished with 172 carries for 892 yards and 15 touchdowns, while Klein had 194 carries for 890 yards and 22 touchdowns. … Klein threw for 2,490 yards and 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions. … Senior wide receiver Chris Harper led K-State with 50 catches for 786 yards and three touchdowns. … Sophomore Lockett had 40 catches for 652 yards and four scores.
• Eleven-win seasons
Kansas State established 11-win seasons four straight years — 1997 (11-1), 1998 (11-2), 1999 (11-1) and 2000 (11-3) — along with 2002 (11-3), 2003 (11-4) and now 2012.
KANSAS STATE’S BOWL APPEARANCES
Record: 6-9
Jan. 6, 2012 Cotton Bowl — Arkansas 29, Kansas St. 16
Dec. 30, 2010 Pinstripe Bowl — Syracuse 36, Kansas St. 34
Dec. 28, 2006 Texas Bowl — Rutgers 37, Kansas St. 10
Jan. 2, 2004 Fiesta Bowl — Ohio St. 35, Kansas St. 28
Dec. 27, 2002 Holiday Bowl — Kansas St. 34, Arizona St. 27
Dec. 29, 2001 Insight.com Bowl — Syracuse 26, Kansas St. 3
Jan. 1, 2001 Cotton Bowl — Kansas St. 35, Tennessee 21
Dec. 29, 1999 Holiday Bowl — Kansas St. 24, Washington 20
Dec. 29, 1998 Alamo Bowl — Purdue 37, Kansas St. 34
Dec. 31, 1997 Fiesta Bowl — Kansas St. 35, Syracuse 18
Jan. 1, 1997 Cotton Bowl — Brigham Young 19, Kansas St. 15
Dec. 29, 1995 Holiday Bowl — Kansas St. 54, Colorado St. 21
Dec. 25, 1994 Aloha Bowl — Boston College 12, Kansas St. 7
Dec. 29, 1993 Copper Bowl — Kansas St. 52, Wyoming 17
Dec. 11, 1982 Independence Bowl — Wisconsin 14, Kansas St. 3
