# 2002 Kansas State Wildcats football team

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 StadiumManhattan, KS | | W 48–3 | 45,844 |
| September 7 | 6:10 p.m. | Louisiana–Monroe* | | KSU StadiumManhattan, KS | | W 68–0 | 43,104 |
| September 14 | 1:10 p.m. | No. 8 (I-AA) Eastern Illinois* | | KSU StadiumManhattan, KS | | W 63–13 | 45,642 |
| September 21 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 11 USC* | No. 25 | KSU StadiumManhattan, KS | TBS | W 27–20 | 49,276 |
| October 5 | 2:30 p.m. | at Colorado | No. 13 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO (rivalry) | ABC | L 31–35 | 52,584 |
| October 12 | 1:10 p.m. | Oklahoma State | No. 19 | KSU StadiumManhattan, KS | | W 44–9 | 48,404 |
| October 19 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 8 Texas | No. 17 | KSU StadiumManhattan, KS | FSN | L 14–17 | 50,659 |
| October 26 | 2:00 p.m. | at Baylor | No. 20 | Floyd Casey StadiumWaco, TX | | W 44–10 | 20,247 |
| November 2 | 1:00 p.m. | at Kansas | No. 14 | Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS (rivalry) | | W 64–0 | 43,000 |
| November 9 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 21 Iowa State | No. 12 | KSU StadiumManhattan, KS (rivalry) | TBS | W 58–7 | 49,504 |
| November 16 | 11:30 a.m. | Nebraska | No. 11 | KSU StadiumManhattan, KS (rivalry) | FSN | W 49–13 | 52,221 |
| November 23 | 2:30 p.m. | at Missouri | No. 10 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | ABC | W 38–0 | 47,507 |
| December 27 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. Arizona State* | No. 6 | Qualcomm StadiumSan Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl) | ESPN | W 34–27 | 58,717 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | 15 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Western Kentucky

| 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
| 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 |
| Western Kentucky | Rushing | Maurice Bradley | 19 rushes, 64 yards |
| Western Kentucky | Receiving | Casey Rooney | 2 receptions, 28 yards |
| Kansas State | Passing | Ell Roberson | 4/8, 108 yards |
| Kansas State | Rushing | Darren Sproles | 19 rushes, 135 yards, TD |
| Kansas State | Receiving | Derrick Evans | 3 receptions, 74 yards |

### Eastern Illinois

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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Trojans | 0 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 20 |
| • No. 25 Wildcats | 0 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 27 |
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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 13 Wildcats | 0 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 31 |
| • Buffaloes | 14 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 35 |

### Oklahoma State

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

### No. 8 Texas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 8 Longhorns | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| No. 17 Wildcats | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 14 |

### At Kansas

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

### No. 21 Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 21 Cyclones | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • No. 12 Wildcats | 13 | 17 | 28 | 0 | 58 |

### Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cornhuskers | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| • No. 11 Wildcats | 14 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 49 |
| 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 |

### Vs. Arizona State (Holiday Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 6 Wildcats | 0 | 14 | 0 | 20 | 34 |
| Sun Devils | 0 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 27 |

## 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

## 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 |