2004 Here We Come?

We're only 4 games in and I'm already tired of losing.

What have we learned since we were last together?  Well, unfortunately we've learned a lot and none of it is that good (save for Lockett being unstoppable).

First, let me amend my original formula of:

 (Waters+Sams) x Snyder = Wins

What we currently have is:

[(Waters Running and Passing) +

Sams Running Only)] x Vanilla Offensive Play Calling 

/ Locker Room Angst =  Losses

When what we really need is:

[(Waters Passing and Not Running)

+ (Sams Running and Passing) x (The Mad Wizard Snyder)] x A Dose of Confidence = Wins

You all are sick of reading about it and so am I: why we are four games into the season and have not unleashed any creativity in our offense, and that includes Sams passing, while trying to run Waters. He's not THAT slow (Coffman), but he's not shifty (Manziel), not big enough to run over people (Klein), not fast (Roberson), and not really physical (Bishop).

And look, I love Waters. A student of the game.  A winner.  A film room junkie. A quiet leader. A brilliant passer.  I support him as our starting QB.

But so far running him to achieve balance is just not working.  Whether it's the O-line's fault or not, it's hard to say, but Snyder's insistence or running the ball with Waters (not Hubert or any other RB's for that matter) has been absolutely frustrating to watch.  Too many times we are running the ball only to gain 1 or 2 yards where last year we were gaining at least 5 with the potential for a lot more if Klein hit a seam.  

I'm not calling for Sams to start. I'm not calling for Sams to come out and throw 20 times a game.  But we need to establish an offensive identity around the strengths of our QBs, and not try and run Waters over and over again.  Honestly, I don't want Waters running at all.

If we are on goal line and need a TD in an important conference game on the road again and he doesn't bring Sams in to run that thing in, I'm going to lose it.

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Here's a list of plays I wish we would run because apparently none of these are currently in our offensive playcalling capablities:

• A pass to a TE.  ANY TE but preferrably the one we have on our roster that's a giant and could probably just put his hands up and catch pretty much anything.
• A bubble screen to Lockett breaking into the middle of the field like Morgan used to do for about a bazillion yards per catch.
• A pass from Sams to anyone.
• A pass from an RB back across the field to a waiting QB.
• A triple option where the QB ACTUALLY PULLS IT DOWN AND THROWS IT.
• An option NOT to the short side of the field.
• Puttings Sams into the game when we hit the redzone and letting him run it in for a TD which he has a knack for doing.
• Using our younger RB's who have a quicker burst than Hubert and shown more energy.
• A flea flicker.  Just one.  To Lockett.  Seriously have we EVER done one.  Ever.
• Putting 5-WR's into the game at once with no FB or RB.
• Putting Sams and Waters into the game at the same time.

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Yes, I was at the game.

The UT fans were nice.  The tailgating was great.  The free tickets were fantastic. 

Our crew before the game.  At this point we believe we have a chance to win.

This also contributed to our thinking we had a chance to win.

This was my original view but decided there were too many UT fans around.

See what I mean.  I think this is them praying for Mack Brown to lose.

This was my 2nd-4th quarter view.  Their big screen is > our big screen in Manhattan.
Even though I moved we still lost.

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No, I'm not comparing stats this week. I'm doing everything I can to have faith and I'm afraid if I look at the stats and how we compare with OSU I'll get depressed. So we're taking a break from that.

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So, onward to (or should I say, back to) 2004.

That was the year we came off a BigXII Championship and took a step back so far we pretty much fell off the cliff.  That was a year when the team had plenty of returning talent and just didn't execute, took things for granted, and never recovered from an early season, devestating home loss.    

Sound familiar?

We shockingly lost to Fresno (NDSU) in our 2nd (1st) game, and went on the road and lost to A&M (Texas) in our 4th.

We were starting a new dual-QB system with Dylan Meier (Waters) and Allen Webb (Sams).

We returned a record breaking RB in Sproles (Hubert I know he's not as good as Sproles, which makes this comparison more depressing).  (Here's the rest of the 2004 Roster if you're interested.)

We lost a lot of games, finished 4-7, and didn't make it to a bowl.  

All that being said, last week will go a long way in determining this season. I think we're better than 2-2.  I think we could actually be 4-0 right now without a lot of additional tweaks to what we've done or the way the ball has bounced. 

But unfortunately, this team has very little margin for error.  They have very little room to commit turnovers, make mistakes, create penalties, and generally not execute.  The margin between winning and losing for our little Wildcats is razor thin this year, just as it was in 2004.  

Let's hope this team has healed from its internal strife.  Let's hope some leadership has emerged.  Let's hope they begin to buy into what Snyder is preaching.  And let's hope we find an offense that's more than just throwing to Lockett.  Let's hope we get a break or two in Stillwater and pull off the win, which I think we can.  Let's hope for an epic run of wins that only Bill Snyder could conjour up.

Let's hope.

<< Thanks to everyone reading ... took a little over a year to eclipse 10,000 unique page views so I'm excited about that. I hope you continue to enjoy the Koolaid .. obviously it's a lot more fun when we are, you know, winning! >>

The Most Wonderful Week of the Year

It's Texas week, ya'll.

And yes, I know. The Longhorns are due to beat K-State. 

It's a matter of odds, after all.

Sure, UT has only beaten KSU twice since the inception of the Big XII, by a combined total of 7 points (with 7 losses by 129 combined points, but who's counting), but come on.  This is UT we are talking about.

This it the mighty longhorns.  With an athletic budget that is #1 in the country ...

The Longhorns took in a little more than $150 million in 2010-11, the most recent year for which public schools' filings with the NCAA are available. That outdistanced second-place Ohio State by $18.5 million. The 'Horns' outlay for football and 19 other varsity sports was $133.7 million, almost $11.5 million more than Ohio State put into its 36 teams.

(That's close to 3x that of Kansas State, coming in with a paltry $58 million for 2013)

... and recruiting classes that KSU can only dream of.

And yet, somehow UT is one of only three schools the Cats hold an all-time winning conference record against (joining Baylor and West Virginia):

So yes, we have looked forward to this week, every time, since the "rivalry" began.  

Sure, it's not really a rivalry.  After all, OU holds the distinguished rival tag with UT, and certainly the Aggies did until they moved away. But while Texas would never admit it, it's there. Knowing that the Longhorns can't seem to solve the Snyder puzzle has made this game an intriguing one for over a decade.  

Will the trend continue this year for Snyder and his Wildcats? Very tough to say. 

Both defenses are struggling. Both offenses are looking for identity. Both schools feature embarrassing losses on the resume. Both still have plenty to prove. Both need this win for some validity. Both will be on the outside looking in of the BigXII race with a loss.  

One needs this game FAR more than the other.  And with the pressure mounting in Austin, Brown must find a defense in the next week or he may be facing a very serious alumni base looking to make some very dramatic changes.

The Bleacher Report addressed their 2012 defense this summer, chalking up most of the drop off from their #11 ranked 2011 squad to injuries:

Defensively, Texas would finish 2012 ranked 90th against the rush and 68th in total defense, far cries from what it was merely a season before. Littered with underclassmen, the Longhorns suffered throughout the season with the hopes that the experience gained will pay huge dividends in 2013.

 So far it hasn't.

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Hey, remember the stats comparisons from last year you love so much?  

Well, I've brought it back since now we've started conference play, and man, does it ever tell us everything we need to know about these two teams:

In reality, this tells us nothing.

Yes, KSU is dominate in special teams, that much is obvious.  We lead the Big XII in Punt Returns and Kickoff Returns. Why?  Doesn't UT have fast, athletic guys, too?  Yes they do.  They just don't practice it into a lethal killing machine like KSU does.  Snyder has always prided himself on exceptional Special Teams and this year will prove to be no different. We should finish the year atop this category as well.

Two big weapons we have UT doesn't:  Thompson is your current Punt Return National Leader at 19.75 yards per return (ridiculous) and Lockett is currently #3 in Kickoff Returns at 32.76 (equally ridiculous).

Hey look at that, a Tramaine video from KSTATEHD talking about his role in the special teams (with highlights):

The rest of it? Not much disparity.

Yes they have us in TFL and a couple other worthless stats like Net Punting.  And their Passing Offense is slightly better.  But most these stats won't mean much until we get about 4 conference games under our belt.  And even then I'm not sure how valuable it is to look at them but its fun anyway.

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Last year's BigXII Championship highlights over Texas never get old. 

(By the way, if you are viewing this via email or your phone, there's about a 100% chance these YouTube videos will not show up. You'll need to come straight to the site to view these in the best possible format.)

Enjoy.

This is a great video by ProtectEMAW that's equally as good to get you ready:

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Here are some awesome BSFS pics:

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This guy has always been hilarious after a KSU/UT win.  He's hilarious ANYTIME UT loses.  CowboyTD is a very knowledgeable, passionate fan who, by the way, I can commiserate with. When the Koolaid runs deep, losing is not fun.

Anyway, check out this string of videos from:

1) Predicting the Horns to win the BigXII to 

2) Reacting to the BYU loss to 

3) Reacting to the Ole Miss loss 

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Bottom line: this game will be tough for the Cats to pull out.

We will of course unleash Sams.

We will open up another 10% of the playbook.

We will make the UT QB's look bad:

But will it be enough? If Snyder has anything to say about it, it will be plenty.

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Care to see what my tax dollars are going to?  

Putting my daughter in Aggie gear, that's what.  

I demanded a refund for the 2013-2014 school year from Sydney's 3rd grade class due to propaganda being pushed onto my unsuspecting, sweet, innocent, little girl in the Texas public "school" system.

More like a place of Texas brainwashing, I say.

The school district will pay as soon as I can prove she's damaged psychologically.  I mean, look how devastated she is in that picture.

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"Dad, you're just worried I'll like the Aggies so much I won't like K-State anymore, aren't you?"

"Whaaat? No, no, no.  That's not it all.  It's actu--, actually, yes. That's exactly it."

"I know, I know. But don't worry. I won't stop cheering for K-State because I looooove K-State.  I just like their little dog.  He's so cute!"

"Yes, I get that.  But we have Willie!  He's fun and cute, too."

"No, he's not.  He's just a guy with a big weird head."

And so it begins.

(Waters + #Life) x Snyder = Wins

When Snyder says he likes QB competition, this isn't what he has in mind.

Every spring and summer during a QB transition year, we hear it loud and clear:  the QB position is "... competitive and both youngsters are making strides in the right direction.  And both are making enough mistakes there's not clear cut #1, so no, I don't know who it will be yet."

So it was no surprise we heard it again this year.

And when Waters was named the starting QB, beyond a mild raise of the eyebrows, no one was really that surprised. Yes, a QB who had only been in the system eight months won out over a QB with serious athletic skills who has been mentored by Collin Klein for two year, but he was the NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year. It would stand to reason if he could learn the playbook, run the offense, limit mistakes, and move the chains, he would get the starting nod.

This year, however, is different.

This year, it's clear that both Waters and Sams should, and will, see playing time depending on the game situation, and this is new territory for Snyder, who in over 20 years of head coaching, has probably never been in a personnel situation quite this daunting, this precarious, or likely this intriguing.

Bring On The Cats does a great job breaking down the game and offers the best summary of the QB situation and how to approach it:

But this "controversy" is really nothing at all.  This isn't Highlander.  There can be more than one. 

Through two games, both quarterbacks have proved to be valuable and they compliment each other well. Based on what the we've seen so far, playing just one of them would be doing a disservice to the team as a whole.

There's a great post game wrap up here as well.

"We've got two really good quarterbacks who are good at two completely different things and who both, if we're being completely honest, deserve significant playing time ... the coaching staff is going to have to devise a system in which both quarterbacks are capable of entering the game in any situation and do whatever the situation calls for, rather than thinking "Waters pass, Sams run".

Highlander VI -- We Were Wrong: There CAN Actually Be More Than One

We also all know Snyder is notorious for keeping things so vanilla in our the OOC games there's a very high likelihood he didn't want to showcase Sams at all.  The less tape the BigXII has on our secret weapon, the better off we'll be unveiling basically a 2nd offense that D coordinators will have to prepare for.  

And since Sams has basically only thrown one pass during a game to date, and considering the balls he put in the air in the Spring Game, it's fair to say that last 10 pages of our playbook Snyder is keeping tightly guarded until it's absolutely needed.

Case in point, we had a 4th and 1 in the 2nd half of the game this past weekend, Waters was in, and we called a timeout. I would venture to say EVERY COACH IN AMERICA would have brought Sams in to run for 1-yard and keep the drive going.

Not Snyder.  

He asked Jake to run an option left that was blown up for no gain. If I had been wearing my headset on my head I would have chucked it at the TV at that moment. Hard.  Now, maybe Waters should have pitched it. Maybe Waters audibled to that play.  Maybe an o-lineman missed a key.  No matter -- it was an odd call.

So, why didn't Snyder bring Sams in to get that first down?  Why didn't he put his team in the best position to make one lousy yard in September against Louisiana? Why didn't he just do the obvious thing and bring in a guy who average 9.2 yards a play this season?

It's because Snyder doesn't care about that play, that series, that game, or that moment in general ... at all. He is 2,3, maybe 4 games ahead of you and I.  It was evident as Thompson raced down the sideline on a 60-yard punt return for a near TD.  Snyder stands completely still, hands on his hips, as the wind from Thompson blows his hair back as he glided by .. no emotion, no movement, no smile, nothing.

Why?  Because Snyder was thinking about 4 and 1 against OSU in three weeks.  And he wants absolutely no film on that play for the OSU D-coordinators.  He wants to win with the most basic, vanilla, boring, offense he can possibly get away with so that when 4 and 1 comes at OSU, if Daniels Sams does happen to be in there, he wants to have the defense completely at his mercy.  

And that's why we will continue to see this offense evolve.  By the time the Wizard is done, it's more than likely he will have created an offense that's almost impossible to stop. Waters running one offense, Sams running another.  

Two offenses, both able to move the ball, both using the same personnel, both striking at key weaknesses in the other team, could mean big things for this team in 2013.  

And our special teams are going to be pretty amazing too. (If they would just kick it to us.)

North Dakota State Rewind

Well, that didn't exactly go as planned.

After taking a day off work and driving until 1:00 am to arrive in Kansas for a bright and early start on the 2013 season, my worst case scenario for the day was not hitting the pillow until midnight with three tired kids in tow.  

And maybe a sunburn.  The thought of losing this game really never crossed my mind.  

Actually, that's not entirely true. I was very nervous about this game, primarily because of one phone interview --

The Salute podcast does a great job every week of preparing the KSU faithful for games, and this week, they did a special interview with NDSU's John Neis of BisoNation.com.  

Mr. Neis (starting at the 24:40 mark) gave me everything I needed to know about this game when he said NDSU will remind Kansas State fans of ... Kansas State.  He was ecstatic about their chances, ecstatic about their team, ecstatic about their fans ... ecstatic about the opportunity.  All in all, he sounded very confident they would probably be a pretty good test for the Cats and of course, he turned out to be right.

And all of their fans were resonating that same confidence before the game, in Aggieville, at the stadium, at the tailgate, and well, during the game.  It was unsettling to say the least.  I was hoping more for a fanbase just sort of happy to be in town and on TV scoring a $400k payout like our usual OOC fare.  

Here are some biyzon overtaking the best seats in the house @ Kites before the game.  Our waitress was overwhelmed with biyzon.  The biyzon also took our seats when we left and while waiting, chatted our ears off.  The biyzon were in an entirely too good of a mood before the game -- not a good sign.

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I attended the WSC Dedication ceremony so you didn't have to.  On the hot West Side concrete in the full sun, my kids and wife lastly approx. 90 seconds before heading back to the car.  I stayed and listened and drank warm water they were handing out, hoping to find something worth sharing.

Because of the premium content you all demand, I was able to shoot a couple videos that didn't turn out that great because as you probably know, videoing a video screen (especially a large one), doesn't really work. 

However, I did happen to get there just in time to shoot Eric Stonestreet's video sent to KSU from the cast of Modern Family.

You will also get mooned by my daughter.  

I wish I could say the rest of my videos are worth watching but they aren't.  

The quality probably isn't good enough but in summary:  Snyder spoke a long time about his family, mentioning each by name, the first donors to the new WSC spoke, Currie and Schultz both spoke, an intern for the construction team and a KSU basketball player spoke a bit, Brownback spoke. Standard KSU fair to be sure but it was a great event and it's incredible the expansion was built in 16 months.

Hey look it's the photo the guy used to do Snyder's statue.  Except, there's no headset which we can all agree is a key prop for any true authentic Snyder statue.

I couldn't get any closer than this as my press pass has expired.

When I asked Willie to do something "funny" for this shot this is what he did.  My kids were none too happy they missed this but then again they got to sit in the car for an hour.

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I know, I know.  You came here for the GAME breakdown.

Unfortunately, I don't have the stomach for it.  

I had the chance to rewatch the game and didn't.  I've had the chance to read up on the message boards and haven't.  I barely could bring myself to get this post out but decided the readers deserve my best effort and this is it.  

All my "10-wins!" and "our OLINE cannot be stopped!" and "we won't need a defense, we have Snyder!" bravado to start the season is now precariously in jeopardy.  

We probably won't get to 10 wins (but we might), our OLINE actually looked worse than last year on Friday (how is that possible), and we will actually need a D despite having Snyder (A Brown was probably going be more missed than we ever thought).

The good news, historically we jump light years ahead from Week 1 to Week 2, and let's not forget -- it took a Michael Bishop miracle to beat Ohio in 1997 (at the 1:40 mark of this clip) ...

and Collin Klein basically last minute heroics to beat Eastern Kentucky in 2011.

The point is, we need to all breathe and take heart knowing that two of our greatest QB's in history both had their moments that could of ended in disaster in early games to start their record breaking seasons.  

Also, let's also not forget in 2003, our history making, record breaking squad lost to Marshall (at home), OSU, and Texas on the road  ... then went on to destroy the North, win the division, and win the conference title over the BEST TEAM of ALL TIME in the Oklahoma Sooners.  Ironically, we open up on the road @ OSU and @ UT -- could we be in for a repeat?  (hopefully not because losing to those two will effectively eliminate us from any possible contention in this new format, but you never know.)

Now, I'm not comparing Jake Waters to Bishop or Klein or Roberson, but after all of those games we had our doubts, just like we do in 2013.  And seriously, NDSU is probably the most talented, well coached team to come to Manhattan in the OOC in a long, long time - probably since USC in 2002.

If we make one defensive stop we are looking at this thing in an ENTIRELY different way this week and yes, even though our lines were dominated for a lot of the game, we still had a chance to win and probably SHOULD have won. 

It isn't as if we lost by 4 TD's ... it was a last minute win and unfortunately we aren't use to that sort of a loss (not since OSU 2011).  And definitely not before the conference season start.

So, to that end, let's see how we do with another over athletic, well coached, disciplined, fast, team coming in here on Saturday and we can dive into this a little further.

As of right now, I'm assuming we are still on track for the Cotton Bowl.

And in the mean time, no more Green and Gold teams, please. I've had all I can stand.

Epic Finish

"I've been following KSU for over 50 years ... I never remember us getting a break like that."

 -- GoPowercat post after what might be the best finish in KSU basketball history.

Here's Irving taunting the crowd before it goes in.

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And just like that, Rodney McGruder makes up for Pervis Pasco in one ... beautiful ... stroke.

May we now rest in peace.

 Up until tonight this had haunted KSU fans for 13 years ...almost to the day.

If you don't know what that's all about, I implore you to watch the video and understand exactly how this feels to exorcise the demons of perhaps one of the biggest blunders in KSU history.

And you'll note both shots were made from exactly the same spot.  Most of you reading this were aware of Kansas State sports 10 years ago, so you'll want to skip reliving this disastrous night in KSU history.

If not, check it out.  This sadly was one of Jim Woolridge's defining moments. 

Does this make up for the football loss to Baylor?  No, not by a mile.  But this one does go down as perhaps the greatest finish in a long long time.  A finish that keeps us squarely on track for our first conference title in a long, long time.

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Baylor wore its special neon yellow uniforms unveiled earlier this week by Adidas, including camouflage-patterned shorts in the same bright color. The Bears were one of six teams to get special uniforms for anticipated tournament appearances.

Anticpating the ... NIT? 

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#1 in Defensive Rebounding and Assist-To-Turnover Margin as well. And yet, not one player in the top 20 in rebounding.  Does that say more about our overall depth and team play ... or our glaring lack of presence inside?

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Still tied for first place despite KU paying off refs to keep them there.

We played a team that clearly has superior athletes ... maybe at every position, and beat them in their gym in early foul trouble and shorthanded with Spradling on the bench.  Baylor needed this win to get themselves out of the bubble and now find themselves right back on it.  

TCU comes Manhattan Tuesday night and it's senior night for McGruder.  Hopefully there will be a full house to see one of the most successful Kansas State basketball players in history finish his career.  

Go Cats!

Happy KSU New Year

I've recovered.

Like you, I expected the Cats to beat Oregon.  I expected us to dominate time of possession and control field position.  I expected Klein to eventually take over.  I expected we'd be able to contain their speed.

I of course wanted, and expected, more.  As we all did.

Unfortunately, a grim reality sank in when thinking about the little Wildcats: when someone (and I mean a good coach with quality athletes and team speed), has a month to prepare for KSU, the Cats lose a major competitive advantage they carry throughout the year -- the element of preparedness.

One of Snyder's greatest strengths is his ability to prepare. He has always gotten his teams (and assistant coaches) to out scheme, out adjust, and in some ways, out will -- our opposition.  However, as our bowl competition has steadily risen in Snyder's career, as we've faced teams with faster team speed and better athletes on their offensive and defensive lines, and with teams having had several weeks to break down the KSU offense and find weakness in our defense, we have not had a tremendous amount of bowl success.

Now, certainly, game by game, you can find reasons (excuses) for the losses (see below).

One little thing that I don't think helped much in the Fiesta Bowl for example? Scott Frost (now coaching for the Ducks) both played against, AND coached at, KSU under Snyder and said in an interview before the game, he said he had lots of insights on our offense.  Never good ... similar to what Phil Bennett was able to do to the KSU offense in Waco.

Of course, I'm not suggesting because those two guys had both coached at KSU that was why we  lost.  We had plenty of chances in the Fiesta Bowl.  In fact, the game came down really to two critical moments:

1) The opening kickoff return for a TD.

2) Right after we stuff their 4th down fake punt at the end of the 2nd quarter, we false start and then proceed to get a FG blocked. They of course go down and score right before half. 

In hindsight, Snyder should have probably tried to go for that 4th down, as going into the half up 17-15 (or even just being down 15-10) is clearly better than being down 22-10.

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Snyder is a mere 6-8 in 14 bowl appearances dating back to 1993 (.430).

Here's a breakdown of those games:

• (LOSS) Jan. 3, 2013 Fiesta Bowl -- Oregon 35, Kansas State 17

Oregon was far better and had better athletes and we made too many mistakes.

• (LOSS) Jan. 6, 2012 Cotton Bowl -- Arkansas 29, Kansas St. 16

Arkansas defense was incredible and QB/RB combo were very very good. Terrible first half was too much to overcome.

• (LOSS) Dec. 30, 2010 Pinstripe Bowl -- Syracuse 36, Kansas St. 34

Syracuse probably not better but we had Coffman at QB and he was playing with Ron Prince's team. Screwed on "The Salute."

• (LOSS) Dec. 28, 2006 Texas Bowl_Rutgers 37, Kansas St. 10

 Ray Rice kills Ron Prince and we fall down a lot on a wet field that was left outside in the rain. (This is not considered in Snyder's record above.)

• (LOSS) Jan. 2, 2004 Fiesta Bowl -- Ohio St. 35, Kansas St. 28

 Was OSU better? Maybe. Having Roberson Controversy was a deal killer.

• (WIN) Dec. 27, 2002 Holiday Bowl -- Kansas St. 34, Arizona St. 27

This was Snyder's last win. KSU had a far superior team and still only won by a TD.

• (LOSS) Dec. 29, 2001 Insight.com Bowl -- Syracuse 26, Kansas St. 3

 No words for this one. Our 2001 team was a major major disappointment.

• (WIN) Jan. 1, 2001 Cotton Bowl -- Kansas St. 35, Tennessee 21

The last time Snyder-lead team kicked a good team's butt in a bowl game.

• (WIN) Dec. 29, 1999 Holiday Bowl -- Kansas St. 24, Washington 20

Score should have never been this close but it was still a win.

• (LOSS) Dec. 29, 1998 Alamo Bowl -- Purdue 37, Kansas St. 34 

Should not have lost this game but it was a loss to Brees. Lots and lots of BigXII Championship hangover.

• (WIN) Dec. 31, 1997 Fiesta Bowl -- Kansas St. 35, Syracuse 18

Bishop/McDonald dominate McNabb.

• (LOSS) Jan. 1, 1996 Cotton Bowl -- Brigham Young 19, Kansas St. 15

This game sucked at every level. Should have had the win.

• (WIN) Dec. 29, 1995 Holiday Bowl -- Kansas St. 54, Colorado St. 21 

Domination over an over matched team.

• (LOSS) Dec. 25, 1994 Aloha Bowl -- Boston College 12, Kansas St. 7 

Team partied heavily the night before, May's arrogance lost team and OL gave up and let BC kick the crap out of him. 

• (WIN) Dec. 29, 1993 Copper Bowl -- Kansas St. 52, Wyoming 17 

Domination over an over matched team.

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But, bowl wins (and losses) are not indications of a good football team, or even a healthy football program. In fact, in some ways, since bowl games bring with them such a unique set of circumstances, it's hard to know what you're going to get with any particular game.

As much as I want to find the blame for the Oregon loss on our coaching, our scheme, our style, whatever, ultimately it might just be ... we are playing teams that are better than we are -- and with a month to prepare, they find ways to take advantage.  It might be just that simple.

You can't really look at bowl wins and losses as an indicator of ... anything.

Take this example (for example):

10-2 (#6 AP), 11-2 (#10 AP), 10-2 (#11 AP), 9-3 (#24 AP), 9-2-1 (#15 AP), 9-3 (#14 AP) and 11-1 (#3 AP)

That team lost their bowl game ... every year, seven years in a row.

That was Tom Osborne's record at Nebraska from 1987-1993. (NU obviously went on to win 3 out of the next 4 National Titles, sooo maybe not quite apples to apples, but you get the point:  bowl wins are fairly meaningless to the overall success of any particular coach.)

Let's look at two other of Snyder's contemporaries and their bowl records -- Phil Fulmer and Frank Beamer ... both respected coaches with long tenures at the same school, all fielding top 25 teams during that period.

• Beamer has played in 20 bowls since starting at VT in 1991. They started their bowl run in 1993. He's 9-11 (.450).

• Fulmer has played in 15 bowls since starting at Tennessee in 1992. They started their bowl run in 1992. He's 8-7 (.533)

Great coaches.  Lots of success.  Lackluster bowl records.  Happens to the best of them.  (Except somehow Mack Brown, who has only lost 4 bowl games in 14 attempts.  Crazy.)

Time to move on to the 2013 Spring Game.

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Ah, we can't just yet.

So this was/is disappointing.

It's disappointing in that it's lateral move away from his alma mater.  It's disappointing in that he can definitely recruit.  It's disappointing that he appeared to have a great relationship with Snyder who brought him back to his staff after Smith left to coach RB's at Rice and then at AZ.

And yet, as I was so engrossed in KSU in early December, I didn't really even follow the news that Bielema had left Wisconsin and was hired to Arkansas on Dec. 4th.  

So, now this connection makes a whole lot more sense as I dug into this a little further:

"During my two seasons at Kansas State, I learned that Michael Smith is one of the masters of the fundamentals of the game," Coach Bielema said. 

"As a player, he was part of building the foundation at Kansas State and as a coach he played an instrumental part in one of the greatest turnarounds for a program in the history of college football. He has a proven track record of leading his student-athletes to reach their full potential. He is also a tremendous recruiter who has very strong ties in his hometown of New Orleans. 

When I came to Arkansas, I said I wanted to assemble a staff second to none. The administration has shown tremendous support of that goal and Michael Smith completes the group in exciting fashion. Our staff is made up of individuals who have earned respect within the profession and should generate excitement for our program."

One of the youngest coaches in the game pulling together some other younger assistants in the recruiting rich hot bed of the SEC, near his hometown of New Orleans, LA?  Yes.  You can start piecing this all together now.

With Snyder's future beyond the next 2 years in serious doubt, I can't blame Smith for making this move, now matter how disappointing it appears to you and I.

Same story for Clements heading to OSU?  Well, this one hurts a little more because it's in the same conference, with recruiting battles occurring directly against KSU.

Clements has had considerable success coaching the defensive line for the Wildcats, including Meshak Williams this past season. Clements is also a very good recruiter that has specialized in Texas, the Midlands including Oklahoma, and the junior college ranks for the Wildcats. 

This is an excellent hire for Oklahoma State that on the field will give them a young and fiery defensive line coach that has a very solid football background that compliments what Oklahoma State will be doing under new defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer. 

It also solidifies recruiting in this region and helps in Texas as Clements has been one of the top recruiters for Kansas State under Snyder. During Snyder's time away from Kansas State, Clements expanded his coaching resume geographically going to San Diego State and he also served as an assistant at Kansas.

So they both had to do what was best for their careers and their families, something we can all understand.  I'm just hopeful this is not the smoke before the inevitable fire coming in 2 to 3 years.

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There's a big basketball game tomorrow.  

I won't pretend to have the same obsession for KSU Basketball as I do for KSU Football, but I will dedicate some posts to it this season. The more wins we compile, the more posts you can expect to see. 

An eight game win streak with 2 true BigXII road wins?  Mighty impressive.  Wins over now #8 Florida and our only losses to #2 Michigan and #10 Gonzaga?  Even better.  

So tomorrow pits #11 KSU vs. #3 Kansas -- it would appear this game has the potential to be as big of a game as we'll have all season.  Maybe THE biggest of the year if we want this one to be truly special in Bruce Weber's first year as a head coach.

Let's post this while we can:

So yes, expect a much bigger breakdown and post season celebration after a Tuesday night win in Manhattan.  

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One last item -- You want team balance?  Well, DO you?  

Check this chart out:

See anyone other than McGruder in the Top 25 in scoring? No? Kansas has three. Baylor? Three. OSU and ISU? An unbelievable ... four each.

 Pretty amazing a team with only one player in the Top 25 in the league is sitting in first place with a 4-0 record. He does lead the league in made FG however while shooting considerably less FT's a game than his competition.

Let's hope he and the rest of the team are in for a groundbreaking win tomorrow night.

Go Cats.