200 OR BUST
GAMEDAYGUIDE saturday, november 26, 2016 volume 122, issue 54
K-STATE vs. KANSAS Bill Snyder Family Stadium 11 A.M.
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EDITORIAL BOARD Timothy Everson editor-in-chief
Scott Popp sports editor
Jessie Karst managing copy chief
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Jason Tidd news editor
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File Photo by Parker Robb | THE COLLEGIAN
Head coach Bill Snyder watches as the Wildcats line up center field after the game between K-State and TCU on Oct. 10, 2015, in Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
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Wildcats gear up for 114th Sunflower Showdown sas.
SCOTT POPP
THE COLLEGIAN
Head coach Bill Snyder has won a lot of games; 199 of them to be exact, with 20 of those wins coming against Kansas. Snyder and Kansas State will look to get numbers 200 and 21, today when the Wildcats take on the Jayhawks. K-State is coming off a big victory against Baylor Nov. 19. K-State struggled on both sides of the ball in the first half of that game but turned it around big time in the second half to win 42-21. The Wildcats’ success came on the shoulders of redshirt freshman running back Alex Barnes. Barnes ran for 129 yards and four touchdowns. “I knew that we as a unit would have a big day on the ground,” Barnes said of the rushing attack. “So I didn’t realize that it would be me specifically, but I knew that we were going to get it done.” K-State has rushed for 200 or more yards in its last four games and will keep with the hot hand at running back as Barnes will start the game against Kan-
File Photo by George Walker | THE COLLEGIAN
K-State fans hold a sign during the football game between K-State and Kansas on Nov. 28, 2015, at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence.
Things could bode well for K-State as the Jayhawks have struggled against the run all year. Kansas has the No. 111 rush defense in the nation, allowing 226.8 yards per game. The Wildcats will also look to take advantage of Kansas’ inability to win on the road. It’s no secret the Jayhawks have been a very bad team the last couple of years and that has especially been true for Big 12 road games. KU’s last Big 12 road win was in 2008 against Iowa State. Despite all those stats, the Jayhawks come in to the game riding an incredible high. KU had a potential program-changing win against Texas Nov. 19. It was the Jayhawks’ first Big 12 win in two years and the first of head coach David Beaty’s tenure. The Jayhawks’ newfound success has come with true freshman quarterback Carter Stanley at the helm. Stanley took over late in their game against West Virginia and started the last two games. Stanley threw for 220 yards against Texas. Snyder said they need to stay focused on playing Kansas. “When you think about how you try to prepare people
in your program,” Snyder said to K-State Sports. “We always talk about keeping it between the white lines and making every thought and every moment in every hour of every day focused on the task at hand. For them, that may be in the classroom or with their family. As it relates to football, it is that total investment in all that goes on. That is true for me and true for coaches as well.” Today will also be Senior Day for 24 K-State football players. The chance to play one last game in Bill Snyder Family Stadium looms large for those 24. Senior wide receiver Deante Burton said he will most remember the people at K-State. “Just the people,” Burton said to K-State Sports. “I have been blessed to be around a lot of interesting people. I got an opportunity to be around all of you. You have seen me grow up. I have been around a lot of good people and that is something that I will not forget — so many things that you learn and so many faces after being here for so long.” The Wildcats and Jayhawks will kick off in Bill Snyder Family Stadium at 11 a.m. The game can be seen on FS1.
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Senior Day ‘a long time coming’ for 24 football players SHELTON BURCH THE COLLEGIAN
If he could be remembered for anything, Kansas State senior defensive end Jordan Willis said he would like to be remembered as a guy who kept life off the field from affecting life on it. “I want people to see me as a guy that just always, regardless of what was going on around him, he just always came in to work and just put in the work every single day and prepared to be successful on Saturday regardless of the outcome,” Willis said. Mission accomplished, according to some of the younger players on the team. “He doesn’t say a lot, but he’s the hardest worker on this team by far,” redshirt freshman running back Alex Barnes said of Willis. “He’s going to have a great NFL career.” Sophomore right tackle Dalton Risner said he has learned a lot from Willis both on and off the field. “Jordan Willis is a great football player, I have a lot of respect for him,” Risner said. “He’s one of those guys that isn’t going to talk too much; he’s just going to go right by the book and he’s going to do everything right, and I’ve learned a lot from him just in film study and how to care yourself.” Risner said he has conversations with Willis every
File Photo by Nick Horvath | THE COLLEGIAN
Defensive end Jordan Willis chases down the opposition during the home-opening game against Florida Atlantic in Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Sept. 17. week, and Willis consistently talks about how he might be able to get around opposing players based on what he’s seeing them do on film. “It’s pretty cool sometimes to see how (Willis) studies film so much to where he knows some moves that he’s going try to do on these tackles,” Risner said. “He studies the game so much that he
knows what he’s going to do going into the game. I think that’s a good lesson that a lot of us football players can take
from him; the fact that studying film is really important.” Willis is just one of 24 seniors scheduled to be rec-
ognized at Senior Day when the Wildcats host the Kansas Jayhawks today. In a game full of potential storylines outside the Wildcats’ locker room, there’s at least one developing within it. “We have a bet to see who’s going to cry,” senior linebacker Charmeachealle Moore said. “Out of me, (senior safety) Dante (Barnett) and (senior wide receiver Steven West). I think Dante’s going to be the one.” Willis said there will be no crying on his part today. Moore is another of the seniors playing in his last game in Bill Snyder Family Stadium today. This game, Moore said, has been a long time coming. He’d like to be remembered as someone who overcame all that was thrown at him. “He overcame a lot, and he was a team player; that’s what I want my legacy to be,” Moore said. “He didn’t let the odds get him down; he fought through everything that was thrown his way.” Moore has overcome a lot to get to this game, much of it with the help of Barnett, who he called “a brother for life.”
“He’s helped me through so much,” Moore said. “My brain surgery, he was there; my dad passed and he was there; with my mom being sick this year, he was there.” Head coach Bill Snyder said he sincerely respects young people like the seniors on the team who have stuck with something this long, especially in today’s world. “For all of them it hasn’t been the greatest journey in the world,” Snyder said. “Some of them have gone through more difficult times than others and still managed to never give up and persevere through all of it and gain a great deal in terms of their value system.” This class is filled with players who have represented the university well, Snyder said, and ones he thinks will do well in life in part because of what they’ve gained toward their values. “(If) you look through it you don’t see guys that have gotten themselves into trouble or guys that haven’t done well in the classroom,” Snyder said. “You see guys that have done what they needed to do and been great teammates for the rest of the team.”
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Musical memories mark membership in the Pride of Wildcat Land JASON TIDD
THE COLLEGIAN
Spread. Flash. Blow. The fortissimo chord of the Blue Devils warm up reverberates back off the press box. A distorted reflection of myself and the baritone players to my right stares back at me from the underside of my instrument’s freshly polished bell. The morning sun peeks over the east side of Bill Snyder Family Stadium and brings the purple and gold sunrise through the cotton ball clouds with a blinding reflection off the silver instruments and platinum press box. The goosebumps spreading down my arm are not due to the crisp morning air. Nothing is more beautiful. Today is my last home game as a member of the Pride of Wildcat Land. This is senior day and my 22nd birthday. My first pregame three years ago in Bill Snyder Family Stadium featured few notes from my baritone. It was all I could do to stay in step as
50,000 screaming fans swayed back and forth to the “Wabash Cannonball” — the Big 12’s No. 1 pregame tradition. Even at the halftime show of last year’s Liberty Bowl, I was not myself while marching. I remembered neither the next note nor the next move. I could not think — I could only do. My fingers and legs took over as the baseline of the opera section of “Bohemian Rhapsody” overtook me. I placed all trust in the hours of rehearsal that had burned the moves into my muscle memory. The two hours of rehearsal become the best part of your day when you allow yourself to forget about all your other worries and focus on making music with your friends. In band, you have two jobs: march your dot and play your part. Those two jobs are the brief escape from the real world of classes, work, relationships, rent and everything else. After four years of collegiate marching band, today’s memories are bittersweet. The eruption of yells of
“zah” from the Oklahoma band with each “zah” step during the Les Miserables halftime show my freshman year. The discovery that valves could freeze at the same game. The eruption of cheers from the small but passionate crowd of high school bands as the first note of the Chicago show hit them at this year’s Central State Marching Festival. The marching with severe sickness that left me unable to play — but still able to march — at last year’s festival. Performing three times with the Boston Brass and once with Travis Cloer, who plays Frankie Valli in the Las Vegas production of “Jersey Boys” and is a K-State graduate. The social media backlash over the Starship Enterprise destroying a Jayhawk in our first show after earning the Sudler Trophy. Surprising Eric Stonestreet’s parents at their home for a 50th wedding anniversary pep band. The unmatched excitement of tailgaters during a pregame pep band. Waking up at 4 a.m. for rehearsals before an 11 a.m. kickoff.
Seeing my face on the big screen. Missing my step off because I was watching the big screen. Missing my step off because I was watching the Classy Cats dance in front of me. Storming the field for the halftime show at Kansas my freshman year. The slosh of melted ice seeping through the cracks in the soles of my shoes at the KU game junior year. The improbable comeback win against Iowa State junior year. The cacophony of Harley Day at the Auburn game sophomore year. The heartbreaking loss. A wedding proposal during a Fort Riley Day halftime show. The playing of “Taps” by a soldier in the 1st Infantry Division band during pregame as the names of lost soldiers are scrolled before the quietest audience ever in the stadium. Yelling “Welcome to K-State” to opposing football players as they run by. High-fiving future Wildcats before we charge the field. Never seeing my roommates because I am always at class, band or work.
File Photo by Emily Starkey | THE COLLEGIAN
Jason Tidd, senior in mass communications, performs during the marching band’s halftime show of the 2016 home opener in Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Sept. 17. Dressing up as a section, as a box of crayons and as the aliens from “Toy Story” for Halloween rehearsals. The love and companionship of dating another baritone player. The agony of the reminder at every single band function of the heartbreak after the breakup. I have more memories than these, and today I will add new memories to my list. I don’t
know how it will feel to march pregame and halftime knowing that it will be my last time in the stadium with the Pride. But I am ready now. Four years of playing in the Pride has given me the best of friends, the fondest of memories and a greater appreciation for music, hard work and the K-State Family than any other class could have taught me.
One more time: Marching band chapter reaches bittersweet conclusion JESSIE KARST
THE COLLEGIAN
It’s strange when one chapter of your life comes to a close. You look anxiously toward the beginning of a new chapter, and yet you’re also not quite sure if you are ready for this one to end. At least, that’s how I feel today. Today I will wear a purple plume with all of the graduating seniors, while the rest of the Kansas State marching band wears Photo Courtesy of Terri Pearson
Jessie Karst (center), senior in journalism and mass communications, marches into Bill Snyder Family Stadium with the Pride of Wildcat Land on Nov. 5.
white. I will be recognized in front of a sea of purple, and then I will sprint back to the 5-yard line to march my last halftime show in Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Last. It’s such a weird word to say when this day felt so far off not too long ago. I remember calling my dad after my first day of band camp freshman year, and saying “I think I know what boot camp feels like now.” He laughed, and I’ve survived five band camps since then. Now here I am, tearing up as I think about the next time I will be in Bill Snyder Family Stadium, when I’ll have to watch the game from a different section in normal clothes instead of a uniform, and I’ll have to cheer on the band from the sidelines instead of performing on the field. These tears aren’t just sad
ones, though. They’re also happy ones, because some of my favorite college memories were made with this band. I met my best friend on the first day of band camp my rookie year. We were practically attached at the hip through four years of band together. I watched fans rush the field when K-State was named Big 12 Champions in 2012, only staying in my seat because Dr. Frank Tracz told us to. I still get chills when I think of the roar of the crowd as we finished the Les Mis show at the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in 2013. I remember the excitement of learning we had won the Sudler Trophy; the pressure and exhilaration of performing during Sudler Season. I still can’t believe we actually scrolled “Star Wars.” I stuck around for a fifth year,
not just to graduate, but to perform in the Sudler Encore season, to experience a brand-new section of the stadium dedicated just to the Pride of Wildcat Land and most importantly, to earn that fifth-year marching band ring. Words cannot express how much I appreciate and respect Dr. Tracz, and how much he has done for me these past five years. All of the high-fives, the jokes, the pep talks and even the tirades. If I’ve learned anything from marching band, it’s when the going gets tough, the tough push through it. This may be the end of one chapter in my life, but I know at the end of one chapter is the beginning of another. As I turn the page, I’ll cherish the memories and carry the lessons I’ve learned into the next.
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Will this be Bill Snyder’s final game in Manhattan? coach that much easier. The cupboard is full and there are successful ingredients aplenty for co-offensive coordinator Dana Dimel or associate head coach Sean Snyder or Clemson University defensive coordinator Brent Venables or whomever Athletics Director John Currie hires to take Snyder’s place. Snyder even acknowledges that the amount of youth playing a major part in the program currently should lead to good things down the road, even if every season offers a different situation, no matter the personnel on the field. “It’s always a seemingly positive thing whenever you have an ample number of returning players or starters that have been on the field a significant amount of time,” Snyder said. “But as I’ve said so many times, next year will
TIMOTHY EVERSON THE COLLEGIAN
The first one I remember seeing was on Nov. 7, 1998. I was four and I couldn’t have cared less about No. 4 Kansas State’s 49-6 dismantling of Baylor, or head coach Bill Snyder recording his 75th win during one of his most magical seasons. No, brandishing a purple foam hand, I left then KSU Stadium completely unaware of Michael Bishop’s offensive poetry in motion or Mark Simoneau’s defensive tenacity and grit. I was just sad that I didn’t get an autograph from the biggest celebrity there in my mind, Willie the Wildcat. On Saturday, roughly 18 years and 124 wins later, Snyder and his K-State team will take the field, to achieve yet another milestone in the Hall of Fame coach’s career: 200 wins. It’s been a milestone that many people outside of Vanier Football Complex have had their eyes on and it also brings some questions to mind. Like every season since Snyder returned to K-State for his second stint as head coach, murmurs of the 77-year-old coach’s retirement grow louder and louder. Now, on the second-tolast game of the season, the stars have seemingly aligned for Snyder’s departure. Two hundred wins, 25 seasons, 18 bowl games, after K-State became bowl eligible with their sixth win of the season versus Baylor, and last but certainly not least, Senior Day against in-state rival Kansas. The perfect confluence of events for a fitting end to an amazing career. Well ... so we say... Yes, talk of Snyder’s retirement by folks who have zero inside information into the situation (I am one of those people) is loud and unending. As for Snyder, when
Emily Starkey | THE COLLEGIAN
Head football coach Bill Snyder looks toward the field during the game between K-State and Oklahoma State in Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Nov. 5. asked if he’d even considered that Saturday may be his final game in the stadium that adorns his name, the legendary head coach insisted that his mind has been on more important things. The fact that Saturday could be the final day that K-State fans see him pace the sidelines in a windbreaker and headset apparently hadn’t even crossed his mind. “No, not until you just brought it up,” Snyder said wryly. “I’ll hold that against you.” If you ask the players, they’ve given just as much thought into the situation as their coach has: very little. “We really don’t know,” junior linebacker Elijah Lee said. “Coach Snyder probably doesn’t really know right now. That’s something that we can probably worry about after the season but we don’t have to worry about that too much right now.” And while some players
don’t think about it, others have heard the noise and seen Snyder on the sideline next season anyway so that they question even the possibility of K-State without Snyder at the helm. “I don’t think about it that much because I don’t expect it happen,” junior quarterback Jesse Ertz said. “Ever since I’ve been here people have been saying that he’s not going to be back next year and he keeps coming back. As far as I know he’s going to be here for the rest of my time, and I guess if something were to change I’d deal with it when the time comes.” However, it’s not just the milestones that point to what could be a perfect handoff of the program. This season, K-State has 107 starts from freshmen or sophomores, which is the most ever in Snyder’s 25 seasons. The program is full of talented youth, making the transition for the next head
be a new year. The dynamics will be totally different.” But the question remains: Is this year the year? Will Saturday be the final time that Snyder takes the field with his team while a sea of purple loudly chants his name? Will Saturday be the final time Snyder puts his personal mark on the Sunflower Showdown? I think it’s impossible to be sure either way. What I am sure of, though, is that I enjoyed getting to see win number 75, even if the game really didn’t interest me, and whether it’s this Saturday or next Saturday, the bowl game or after, I’ll enjoying seeing win number 200 as well. Who knows, maybe I’ll go find that purple foam hand? Timothy Everson is a senior in English. Please send comments to sports@ kstatecollegian.com.
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Big 12 football power rankings: Week 13 RILEY GATES
THE COLLEGIAN
1. OKLAHOMA (9-2) (LAST WEEK: 1) (NEXT: BYE)
decide it.
ings with two games left.
3. WEST VIRGINIA (8-2) (LAST WEEK: 2) (NEXT: AT IOWA STATE)
5. TCU (5-5) (LAST WEEK: 7) (NEXT: AT TEXAS)
In a game that had big implications on the Big 12 Championship race, Oklahoma blasted the doors off of West Virginia by taking a 34-7 lead into the halftime break, before cruising to a 56-28 win. If the Sooners can win the Bedlam Series in two weeks, they’ll win another Big 12 title.
For as embarrassing as West Virginia’s 28-point loss to Oklahoma may look on paper, West Virginia is still a good team. A second Big 12 loss puts the Mountaineers out of contention for the conference title, but they’ll have an easier game with Iowa State and then a struggling Baylor team to potentially play in a solid bowl game.
2. OKLAHOMA STATE (9-2) (LAST WEEK: 3) (NEXT: BYE)
4. KANSAS STATE (6-4) (LAST WEEK: 4) (NEXT: KANSAS)
Behind 154 rushing yards from freshman running back Justice Hill and 146 from senior running back Chris Carson, Oklahoma State won at TCU, 31-6, to stay in a fight for the conference championship. It all comes down to the Cowboys’ matchup with the Sooners to
For the seventh-straight year, the Wildcats are going bowling after a 42-21 beatdown of Baylor in Waco, Texas. Kansas State got 129 yards and four touchdowns on the ground from redshirt freshman Alex Barnes, which could be a big factor as the team looks to increase its bowl stand-
Not very often can you lose a game 31-6 and slide up two spots in the standings, but TCU did just that this week, mainly due to the results of those before them. If the Horned Frogs can win one of their last two, a bowl game would be quite a way to finish this mess of a season.
6. BAYLOR (6-4) (LAST WEEK: 6) (NEXT: TEXAS TECH IN ARLINGTON)
Baylor has quit on this season. Simple as that. After taking a 14-7 lead over K-State to halftime, the Bears laid down and gave it up. Baylor is bowl eligible and you’d like to think it will accept a bid. But with the program’s current state, anything is possible.
7. TEXAS (5-6) (LAST WEEK: 5) (NEXT: TCU)
In the Big 12 there are good teams, there are bad teams and then there is Kansas. The Jayhawks are the bottom feeders of Big 12 football, and Texas lost to them, 24-21. It was a downright embarrassing game that will likely cost head coach Charlie Strong his job.
8. IOWA STATE (3-8) (LAST WEEK: 9) (NEXT: WEST VIRGINIA) Perhaps Iowa State is not as bad as we thought. Then again, a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. The Cyclones clobbered Texas Tech, 66-10 behind 285 yards and two touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Jacob Park. Nice win, but it’s too little, too late for Iowa State.
9. KANSAS (2-9) (LAST WEEK: 10) (NEXT: AT KANSAS STATE)
File Photo by Emily Starkey | THE COLLEGIAN
Oklahoma State players sing their alma mater after OSU’s 43-37 win over K-State in Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Nov. 5. Kansas is slowly showing signs of improvement and its upset over Texas was a culmination of those signs finally paying off. The Jayhawks are not about to be bowl contenders, but head coach David Beaty might have their program on the right track.
10. TEXAS TECH (47) (LAST WEEK: 8) (NEXT: BAYLOR IN ARLINGTON)
Harsh to drop Texas Tech
below Kansas and Iowa State? Probably. But it’s also harsh to lose to Iowa State 66-10. The Red Raiders do not have a good defense, but as one of the more explosive offenses in the conference, 10 points is an embarrassment and enough to drop you big time. Riley Gates is a sophomore in mass communications. Please send comments to sports@ kstatecollegian.com.
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