2008 Kansas State Wildcats football team The 2008 Kansas State Wildcats football team ( variously " K - State " or " KSU " ) represented Kansas State University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Wildcats played their home games in Bill Snyder Family Stadium . The head coach was Ron Prince , who was in his third and final season at the helm of the Wildcats . The 2008 signing class was one that saw 26 signees , including 19 junior college transfers . The schedule kicked off with four non - conference games , including a first ever trip to Louisville , Kentucky to face the Louisville Cardinals . After the non - conference schedule , K - State headed into Big 12 Conference play with Texas Tech , and ended the season with Iowa State . Schedule . ! colspan = 8 | Non - Conference Season ! colspan = 8 | Big 12 Regular Season Game notes . North Texas . Josh Freeman was dominant throwing 3 touchdown passes and running for two more scores in an impressive with over Sun Belt Conference member UNT . K - State scored on 6 of their first 7 possessions and held the Mean Green to 205 total yards . Kansas State was favored by 24½ going into the game . Montana State . Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman ran for two scores and threw for two more and K - State returned two blocked punts for touchdowns for the first time in school history in a 69 - 10 rout of Montana State . Kansas State also scored on a fumble recovery while ringing up their most points since a school - record 76 - 0 pounding of Ball State in 2000 . Freeman hit 16 of 21 passes for 288 yards , including two 36 - yard touchdown strikes , before being lifted midway through the third quarter in favor of back - up Carson Coffman . While rolling up 481 total yards , the Wildcats averaged 7 . 3 yards per play . Louisville . Kansas State traveled to Louisville , Kentucky for the first time in the program ' s history and did not fare well . Kansas State was favored by 4 going into the game . Josh Freeman went 22 - 42 , threw for 313 yards , 3 TD ' s , and two interceptions . K - State scored on a spectacular 86 - yard punt return by Deon Murphy but it wasn ' t enough . Receiver Brandon Banks continued to shine as he caught seven balls for 153 yards and two TD ' s . The defense was clearly the issue , giving up 578 yards to the Cardinals , including 303 rushing yards . Freeman broke the Kansas State career completions record of 501 held by Lynn Dickey ( 1968 – 70 ) . Louisiana - Lafayette . Kansas State was favored by 21 points going into the game . The Wildcats took on Louisiana - Lafeyette for first time since the 2004 season . The Wildcats won that game by a score of 40 - 20 . The last time K - State lost at home to an unranked non - conference opponent was in 2004 against Fresno State . Josh Freeman broke K - State ’ s career yardage record and threw three TD ' s to help the Wildcats beat Louisiana - Lafeyette 45 - 37 . Freeman was 21 - of - 28 for 272 yards and has 6 , 238 career yards to eclipse Lynn Dickey for number 1 all - time on the Kansas State list . With 35 touchdowns passes , he ’ s two short of Ell Roberson ’ s school record . Freeman , a 6 - foot - 6 , 250 - pound junior who has started every game since his freshman year , also ran for two TDs . He threw TDs of 12 and 3 yards to Deon Murphy in the first half and connected with Brandon Banks on a 53 - yard scoring play that made it 42 - 23 with 1 : 49 left in the third . Lamark Brown , who has been a wide receiver since coming to K - State , started at running back and had 137 yards , including a 3 - yard TD that put Kansas State on top 35 - 17 in the third quarter . Texas Tech . Coming into the game , K - State had lost the last 3 of 4 to the Red Raiders . Their last win against Texas Tech was in 2000 in Manhattan . Texas Tech was favored by 7 . K - State was completely outmatched in the game , with the defense giving up 626 yards . It was the third consecutive game that the Wildcats gave up more than 600 yards on defense . Graham Harrell threw six touchdown passes and shattered the Texas Tech record for career yards passing , leading the No . 7 Red Raiders past Kansas State 58 - 28 in the teams ' Big 12 Conference opener . Lyle Leong snared three touchdown passes from Harrell , who was 38 - for - 51 for 454 yards . Texas Tech ( 5 - 0 , 1 - 0 Big 12 ) , with its highest ranking in 32 years , scored on seven straight possessions and did not attempt a punt until Taylor Potts replaced Harrell late in the fourth quarter . Heisman candidate Michael Crabtree had nine catches for 107 yards and two TDs . The Red Raiders , leading the nation in total offense ( 572 . 8 yards per game ) , and passing ( 426 . 2 ) , had 417 and 316 while putting up a 38 - 14 halftime lead . The six TD passes tied the career - best for Harrell , who spread his passes around to 10 different receivers . The three - year starter ran his career total to 12 , 709 yards , erasing the record of 12 , 429 yards by Kliff Kingsbury from 1999 - 02 . Facing fourth - and - inches from their own 29 late in the first quarter , the Red Raiders sent Shannon Woods on a sweep . But he was stuffed , and four plays later , Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman scored on a 1 - yard run , knotting the game 14 - all . A moment later , Texas Tech ’ s Richard Jones recovered Lamark Brown ’ s fumble on the Kansas State 34 and Baron Batch made it 58 - 21 on a 9 - yard run . On successive possessions in the second quarter , Harrell led quick - hitting drives of 53 , 70 and 54 yards . Freeman , in the meantime , went cold , misfiring on 9 of 10 passes , several of which Tech defenders got their hands on . The Kansas State junior , who a week earlier had become his own school ’ s career passing leader , was 13 - for - 28 for 170 yards , including a 33 - yard TD pass to Ernie Pierce . Pierce also scored on an 18 - yard return of a blocked punt late in the game . Kansas State has now lost 4 out of the last 5 games against Texas Tech . The two teams will play again in 2009 in Lubbock . Texas Tech leads the all - time series 6 - 3 . Texas A & M . K - State had lost four games in a row to Texas A & M going into the game . Their last win against the Aggies came in 1997 . The last win at Kyle Field came in 1996 . Kansas State was favored by 3 going into the game . Kansas State junior quarterback Josh Freeman completed 21 of 26 passes and ran for four touchdowns as Kansas State snapped its five - game losing streak to Texas A & M with a 44 - 30 win . Courtney Herndon returned a blocked punt for a touchdown for the Wildcats ( 4 - 2 , 1 - 1 Big 12 ) , who moved the ball at will in the first half and led 27 - 10 at the break . Sophomore quarterback Jerrod Johnson tried to rally the Aggies , but the comeback stalled when Kansas State ’ s defense stuffed Jorvorskie Lane twice at the goal line midway through the fourth quarter . Freeman led a 98 - yard drive the other way and sealed the win on a short touchdown run with 4 : 37 left . Johnson , starting again for the injured Stephen McGee , completed 29 of 41 passes for a school - record 419 yards . He also ran for a score and finished with 487 total yards , also a school record . The Aggies ( 2 - 4 ) , dropped to 0 - 2 in the Big 12 for the first time . The Wildcats found the end zone on their opening drive for the fourth time this season . Freeman threw a 32 - yard pass to Brandon Banks before scoring on a 12 - yard run just over three minutes into the game . Kansas State forced a punt by Justin Brantly , who was blocked by linebacker Reggie Walker . Herndon ’ s touchdown made it 13 - 3 . The Wildcats have returned four blocked punts for touchdowns this season . The Wildcats glided down the field again on their next possession . Logan Dold finished the drive with a 4 - yard TD run . Freeman went 6 - for - 7 and scampered for 12 yards on a fourth - and - 1 from the Aggies 28 . Freeman finished a quick drive with another touchdown run with 4 : 20 left in the half . At that point , the Wildcats had 269 total yards and were averaging 7 . 7 yards per play . On fourth down from the 1 , Lane barreled into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season . Lane set two school records with his 46th career touchdown and his 45th rushing . He had been tied with Darren Lewis for first on both lists . The Aggies drove to the Kansas State 2 early in the fourth quarter , but Lane was gang - tackled on third and fourth down . After Kansas State ’ s 98 - yard drive , Johnson threw a 23 - yard touchdown pass to Goodson . The Wildcats recovered the ensuing onside kick near midfield and Freeman scored again with 1 : 14 left . Johnson threw a 55 - yard touchdown pass to Tannehill in the final minute . Colorado . Going into the game , K - State had beaten Colorado two years in a row , including a win in Boulder in 2006 . Colorado was favored by 3½ . Colorado leads the all - time series 43 - 19 - 1 . The Colorado Buffaloes found an answer to their quarterback troubles , turning to freshman Tyler Hansen , who sparked them to a 14 - 13 win . Cody Hawkins , the son of Buffs coach Dan Hawkins , was benched and switched offensive series with Tyler Hansen . Although Hawkins mostly handed off to Rodney Stewart ( 29 carries for 141 yards ) , he also hit J . R . Smith for 22 yards on third - and - 15 from his own 29 on the drive . His fourth - and - 4 pass to Smith , however , fell incomplete and Kansas State took over at its own 31 with 59 seconds remaining . Josh Freeman ’ s fourth - down desperation heave to Brandon Banks at the Buffs ’ 20 - yard line was broken up by free safety Ryan Walters on the last play of the game . Hansen finished a modest 7 - of - 14 for 71 yards with one TD and one interception , but he also ran 19 times for 86 yards , bringing a dimension that Hawkins doesn ’ t have . Hawkins was 6 - of - 11 for 35 yards . Trailing 6 - 0 and in need of a spark to break out of their monthlong slump , Hansen entered the game and promptly fumbled his first snap out of bounds . But on third - and - 12 from his 28 , Hansen gained 13 yards on a draw play and suddenly the Buffs , who snapped a three - game skid , had the momentum . He drove them to the Kansas State 4 , where Hawkins re - entered and handed off to Stewart , who ran into the end zone to give Colorado a 7 - 6 lead . The next time Hansen drove the Buffs downfield , Hawkins stayed on the sideline and Hansen hit Scotty McKnight with a 21 - yard touchdown pass down the left sideline for a 14 - 6 lead . Brooks Rossman kicked field goals of 37 and 53 yards but was wide right from 47 yards and wide left from 42 in the first half . The Wildcats pulled to 14 - 13 when Freeman scored untouched on 17 - yard keeper early in the third quarter . Colorado had a chance to pad its slim lead but Aric Goodman ’ s 47 - yard field goal try sailed wide right at the last moment . Goodman ’ s 48 - yard attempt in the first half was blocked by Ian Campbell , Kansas State ’ s seventh block in seven games , best in the nation . Oklahoma . Going into the game , K - State had lost four regular season games in a row to OU ( 2000 , 2001 , 2004 and 2005 ) . K - State has now lost three games in a row to the Sooners . The Wildcats ' last regular season win against the Sooners came in 1997 ( and another win in 1996 ) , though the Wildcats beat the Sooners in the 2003 Big 12 Championship Game , after losing in 2000 to OU in the Championship game . Oklahoma now leads the all - time series , 69 - 17 - 4 . The game was scheduled for the 2008 Homecoming game . OU was favored by 19 . DeMarco Murray racked up 167 total yards and four touchdowns , and No . 4 Oklahoma sustained a 21 - point Kansas State rally in the highest - scoring first half in school history to beat the Wildcats 58 - 35 . Sam Bradford added three TD passes in the first half in which the Sooners ( 7 - 1 , 4 - 1 Big 12 ) give up a 28 - 7 lead before taking control by scoring 27 consecutive points . The capper was a 68 - yard punt return touchdown by redshirt freshman Ryan Broyles that gave the Sooners a 55 - 28 halftime lead . That total matched the school record for points in a half , set in the second half of Oklahoma ’ s 76 - 0 shutout of the Wildcats in 1942 . Josh Freeman threw for a career - high 478 yards for K - State , with all three of his touchdown passes coming as the Wildcats charged back to tie it at 28 . But with 8 minutes left in the half , the Sooners found time to score four touchdowns . Murray ended up running for 104 yards on 17 carries and making four catches for 63 yards , with two touchdowns each way . Chris Brown ran 20 times for 142 yards and one touchdown . Bradford , who came in completing 71 percent of his passes , went only 13 - for - 32 for 255 yards . The 40 percent completion rate was the lowest of his career and only the second time more than half of his passes were incomplete . Oklahoma looked as if it might cruise after snuffing out K - State ’ s deceptive onside kick attempt after its first touchdown . After tailback Logan Dold threw an 8 - yard touchdown pass to Deon Murphy on a trick play , kicker Brooks Rossman took a designed fall on his approach to the tee and backup Jared Parker kicked the ball instead . The ball squirted loose momentarily before Jermaine Gresham pounced on it for the Sooners . Murray caught a 15 - yard touchdown pass two plays later to make it 21 - 7 , and Brown ’ s 11 - yard run stretched the lead to 21 . Freeman rallied K - State back with touchdown passes on three straight drives — a 77 - yarder to Brandon Banks , a 29 - yarder to Jeron Mastrud and a 9 - yarder to Murphy to tie it up at 28 . Freeman ’ s second touchdown pass pushed him past Ell Roberson ’ s school record for TDs in a career . Freeman now has 38 career touchdown passes and his singe game passing total ranked only behind Chad May ’ s 489 yards against Nebraska in 1993 . Kansas . The game was the 106th meeting between Kansas and Kansas State . Kansas has now won three two years in a row , and four out of the last five . The Wildcats last beat the Jayhawks in Lawrence in 2002 , by a score of 64 - 0 . Heading into the game , the Jayhawks were favored by 8½ . Lamark Brown rushed for three scores but was outdone by KU running back Jake Sharp had 257 total yards and tied a school record with four touchdowns , as Kansas defeated Kansas State 52 - 21 . Kansas ( 6 - 3 , 3 - 2 Big 12 ) was reeling after giving up more than 1 , 200 yards in losses to Oklahoma and Texas Tech the previous two weeks . The Jayhawks bounced back quickly , defeating Kansas State ( 4 - 5 , 1 - 4 ) . Kansas ran for six touchdowns — one short of the school record — and harassed Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman into four turnovers , giving him 14 during Kansas ’ first three - game winning streak in the Sunflower Showdown since 1988 - 90 . Brown was the only bright spot for Kansas State , scoring on runs of 4 , 11 and 1 yards , though all three came after the game was out of reach . Sharp had 118 yards on nine carries and scored on runs of 4 , 20 and 47 yards in the first quarter to put Kansas up 21 - 0 . Sharp added a 2 - yard touchdown run in the third to put Kansas up 45 - 7 and finished with a career - best 181 yards rushing . He also caught five passes for 76 yards . On the other side of the ball , Kansas gave Freeman fits — again . The junior had five interceptions and four fumbles his first two games against Kansas , and had given the ball away three more times before the first half was over in this one . Freeman threw an interception on his third pass attempt of the game , the ball fluttering into the hands of Kansas ’ Russel Brorsen at the Jayhawks ’ 42 after he was hit from behind by defensive end Jake Laptad . Sharp scored 70 seconds later , bursting off right tackle on a 20 - yard run . Freeman finally got the Wildcats going late in the second quarter , converting a pair of fourth downs to get the Wildcats to the 1 - yard line , only to lose the ball while trying to reach over the goal line . Kansas recovered and methodically marched 80 yards for a 15 - yard touchdown run by quarterback Todd Reesing to go up 31 - 0 . Freeman ’ s third turnover of the first half came on a Hail Mary pass in the end zone after Kansas State knocked down Jacob Branstetter ’ s 33 - yard field goal try , its nation - best eighth blocked kick of the season . Freeman also fumbled in the third quarter — Kansas State recovered — and threw his third interception in the fourth . Missouri . K - State had beaten Mizzou 13 years in a row ( including 14 of 15 years from 1991 to 2005 ) . Mizzou finally ended the Wildcat dominance with wins in 2006 , 2007 and 2008 . Jeremy Maclin scored three touchdowns and totaled 278 all - purpose yards , helping No . 13 Missouri shake off a slow start in its home finale and beat Kansas State 41 - 24 to grab first place in the Big 12 North . Missouri ( 8 - 2 , 4 - 2 Big 12 ) took control with 17 points in the final 5 : 46 of the half , including a pair of touchdown passes from Chase Daniel to Maclin . Maclin had eight receptions for 118 yards and two TDs , four carries for 84 yards and a third TD on a 56 - yard jaunt on a direct snap . Kansas State ( 4 - 6 , 1 - 5 ) has lost five of six under head coach Ron Prince , the latest setback coming only three days after Prince was fired effective at the end of the season . It was a familiar feeling of helplessness for the Kansas State defense , burned by Maclin as a freshman last year for three touchdowns and a school - record 360 yards total offense in Manhattan , Kan . Maclin entered the game averaging 189 . 67 all - purpose yards , second in the nation . Kansas State scored twice , Brandon Banks ’ 93 - yard run and a 3 - yard touchdown pass from Carson Coffman to Banks — in the final 1 : 11 to make the final appear respectable . Missouri is 11 - 2 against the North the last three seasons and can clinch its second straight Big 12 championship game berth next week with a victory at Iowa State combined with a Kansas loss at home against No . 5 Texas . Kansas State trailed 24 - 3 at the half and barely avoided getting shut out in the first 30 minutes for the second straight game , getting a 43 - yard field goal from Brooks Rossman on the final play . Nebraska . All - time , Nebraska leads the series 76 - 15 - 2 . In 1998 , K - State beat Nebraska in Manhattan for the first time since 1959 . The Wildcats last beat Nebraska in 1968 ( in Lincoln ) . Since then , K - State had beaten Nebraska four games in a row in Manhattan ( wins in 1998 , 2000 , 2002 and 2004 ) . Nebraska finally won in Manhattan in 2006 for the first time since 1996 . Nebraska was favored by 6½ points going into the 2008 game . Junior Brandon Banks tallied 167 yards in kick returns , including a 98 - yard touchdown jaunt , as Kansas State dropped a 56 - 28 decision to Nebraska . Nebraska senior quarterback Joe Ganz accounted for 365 total yards and four touchdowns and the Cornhuskers ( 7 - 4 , 4 - 3 Big 12 ) dropped Kansas State for the fourth straight year . The Huskers did it with a balanced attack this time , punishing the Wildcats ( 4 - 7 , 1 - 6 ) at the line of scrimmage for 340 yards and four touchdowns rushing . They complemented it with Ganz ’ s arm to finish with 610 total yards . Nebraska established the running game early . Roy Helu Jr . scored on runs of 1 and 24 yards , and Quentin Castille had a 37 - yarder on a fourth - and - 1 late in the first quarter . That set up Ganz , who had 270 yards and two touchdowns on 16 - of - 25 passing after his first attempt of the game was intercepted and returned for a touchdown . He also had 95 yards rushing on 11 carries , scoring on runs of 25 and 14 yards in the fourth quarter . Josh Freeman , the nation ’ s 13th - ranked passer at 292 yards per game , faced constant pressure and was sacked five times . He had to hurry or throw off his back foot on several other throws , going 7 - for - 18 for 114 yards before being replaced by Carson Coffman midway through the third quarter . Kansas State ’ s running game certainly didn ’ t help , managing a dismal 59 yards on 32 carries . Courtney Herndon intercepted Ganz ’ s first pass of the afternoon and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown , then Freeman answered two Nebraska TDs by hitting Ernie Pierce on a 63 - yard scoring pass to tie it at 14 - all . The momentum carried over to the defense , which held Nebraska to three plays and a punt . Then Deon Murphy fumbled the punt at his own 30 . Helu scored two plays later on a 24 - yard run . Ganz hit Todd Peterson for a 5 - yard touchdown pass on the next possession , then found Mike McNeill for an 18 - yard score to put Nebraska up 35 - 14 . Kansas State had a chance to pull closer in the closing seconds of the first half , but Nebraska pressured Freeman into an incompletion after Ron Prince decided to go for a touchdown instead of a field goal . Iowa State . The Wildcats are 8 - 3 against the Cyclones since 1998 . Iowa State leads the all - time series 49 - 39 - 4 . Kansas State was favored by 9½ going into the game . Josh Freeman threw four touchdown passes and Kansas State sent Ron Prince out a winner , beating Iowa State 38 - 30 three weeks after the Wildcats fired their embattled coach . Prince , hired three seasons ago without any previous head coaching experience , leaves with a record of 17 - 20 . The victory enabled the Wildcats ( 5 - 7 , 2 - 6 Big 12 ) to squeeze past Iowa State ( 2 - 10 , 0 - 8 ) and escape last place in the Big 12 North . As of November 23 , 2008 , Kansas State has not hired a replacement for Prince , although athletic director Bob Krause said when announcing the firing that he wanted to pick a successor before the end of the season . Among those whose names have been mentioned are TCU coach Gary Patterson and former Kansas State coach Bill Snyder , who retired after the 2005 season and was followed by Prince . Prince ' s Big 12 record got progressively worse , going from 4 - 4 in 2006 to 3 - 5 last year and 2 - 6 in 2008 . Given a contract extension before this season , he was rewarded with a buyout of almost $ 1 . 3 million when he was fired but asked to stay for the three final games . The Wildcats got blown out by Missouri and Nebraska in their first two games with a lame duck coach . The future could become similarly perilous for Gene Chizik , who is 5 - 19 in two seasons as Iowa State head coach . After winning their first two games , the Cyclones ended the season on a 10 - game losing streak . Austen Arnaud was 31 - for - 45 for 440 yards and three touchdowns for Iowa State , which lost its 17th straight on the road and has given up 226 points in its last five games . Brandon Banks had seven catches for 116 yards for Kansas State , including a 20 - yard touchdown , and became the sixth receiver in school history to go over 1 , 000 yards in a season . It might also have been the last game at Kansas State for Freeman , the 6 - foot - 6 junior quarterback who holds career school records for attempts , completions , yards , touchdowns and total offense . Freeman , whose four TD passes tied a school record , has said he intends to come back for his senior season . But an early entry into the NFL might be tempting if he ' s assured of first - round draft status . The most highly sought recruit Prince signed at Kansas State , Freeman was 17 - for - 30 for 279 yards and four TDs against Iowa State ' s weak defense . The four touchdown passes had been accomplished 12 other times . Freeman showed on several throws why NFL scouts have been at every game . His first scoring pass was a beauty of a 44 - yard strike to Deon Murphy , who was double - covered but caught the ball perfectly in stride . He also snapped off a 5 - yard TD pass to Murphy that made it 35 - 17 in the third quarter and connected with Ernie Pierce on a 19 - yard strike after Josh Moore interception . Lamark Brown ' s 1 - yard run gave Kansas State a 7 - 0 lead in the first quarter after Ian Campbell blocked his third field goal of the year , a Kansas State record . Arnaud threw TD passes of 19 and 5 yards to R . J . Sumrall and 28 to Marquis Hamilton . His 5 - yarder to Sumrall came as the final seconds of the season ticked off . Statistics . Stats accurate as of 12 / 22 / 2008 .