4B
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2006
'Bold and daring' philosophy pays off f
Kansas State's first-year coach Ron Prince led the Wildcats to one of the biggest victories in program history Saturday when they knocked off No. 4 Texas in Manhattan, In Monday's K-State Collegian, Austin Meek credits the new coach for bringing a new attitude to town.
Ron Prince stood at the podium,
a Texas-sized grill plastered across
his face.
The question was something to the effect of, "Do you
realize you're the first coach in the history of the universe to run a wide receiver pass and a halfback pass on consecutive plays?"
Prince scanned the room full of reporters and gave his answer.
"I'm not going to say 'bold and daring,' because you all will laugh," he said.
See, Prince has used that phrase about 12,000 times in the last three
months (not that anyone's counting). He probably has coffee cups and bath towels that say "bold and daring." It's just who he is.
Prince's bold and daring philosophy has been discussed, dissected and maligned since K-State's first play of the season, a deep pass that was intercepted.
Now, after an improbable 45-42 upset of No. 4 Texas, the last laugh is Prince's.
First, let's make it clear that this was a truly remarkable football game.
Sometimes, in the rosy afterglow of postgame celebrations, games grow like tall tales. Exciting games become epics by the time last call rolls around at Rusty's.
But this game was the real thing. Each team won and lost about five times.
Texas converted a fourth down, scored a touchdown and lost its starting quarterback - all on the same play.
— The Wildcats, who said all week they needed a perfect game to beat Texas, gave up 14 points on
two disastrous special teams plays.
- Four Wildcats attempted passes, and it would have been five if punter Tim Reyer hadn't be sacked on a fake punt.
Texas gained more yards, picked up more first downs, ran 21 more plays than K-State - and still lost.
In this topsy-turvy game, the only constant was Prince. He never let up and never went conservative, even when Texas mounted the inevitable fourth-quarter charge.
"We knew they were going to go on a run. That's just how it is." Prince said. "They have too many good players, terrific coaches.
"We were going to respond. We were going to stay aggressive and pass the ball if we needed to."
The proof came with 53 seconds remaining and K-State facing third-and-6. Another coach would have run the ball, milked the clock, put his defense back on the field. But that's not Prince.
It all goes back to a lesson he learned from Al Groh, his old boss at Virginia.
"He told me something I'll never forget. He said, 'Think players first, then plays,' Prince recalled.
"Those were my words before we went out there. I told Josh (Freeman), 'Don't throw to anybody but Jory Nelson. He's our best player."
Sure enough, Freeman avoided a sack, dumped the ball to Nelson and K-State fans began their assault on the Snyder Family Stadium goal posts.
A few weeks ago. K-State was mired in a losing streak, and former coach Bill Snyder begged fans to support Prince.
Now Prince has put his stamp on the program by pulling off one of the biggest upsets in K-State history. He might even be Coach of the Year in the Big 12 Conference. It's a bold prediction, but that's what Prince is all about.
And that's no joke.
BEST CHOICE TURKEYS
Despite significance, Longhorns cla
As the clock ran out on Texas, there wasn't much time to consider the big picture.
In Monday's University Daily Texan, columnist Eric Ransom examines Texas' loss to Kansas State, which knocks the Longhorns out of national championship contention.
Kansas State fans jumped the railing and formed a crush of purple at midfield. The Longhorn players managed to find one another and slowly headed for the locker room.
Join us
As players turned to watch the celebration, the significance couldn't have completely sunken in.
Wednesday, November 15
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.at OREAD BOOKS
Kansas Union I Level 2
First conference loss in 21 games. First loss on the road in 17 games. Most points given up in three years. At a point in the sea-
ONE STOP SHOPPING FOR ALL YOUR GRADUATION NEEDS.
Booths: Official KU Grad Announcements, Caps and Gowns, Class Rings by Balfour, Alumni Association, University Career Center, Commerce Bank and STA Travel
jostens
1. 800.854.7464 www.iostens.com
son when teams are grooming themselves for the postseason, the timing didn't help either.
didn't win."
"At Texas, there's never a good time to lose," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "Ohio State wasn't good timing either. What you do is play the best that you can play, do the best that you can do, and tonight we just
The Longhorns came out of the locker room.
As the fans in Manhattan tried to tear down the goal posts, a curious thing happened.
The line of players and coaches walked back down the ramp to shake hands with the Wildcats and sing the school song.
It was a classy gesture for a team which had suddenly been knocked out of the national-title picture.
Even had Texas won, a series of things would have needed to happen. Louisville's loss was the first, and Auburn's loss wouldn't have hurt either.
At the very least, the loss simplifies things for Texas.
Win the division, win the conference and win the bowl game. There's no positioning or politicking needed this year.
Texas' first goal this season was not to get back to the national title game, but to win the Big 12 South. The Longhorns have one more game to do that, so don't buy the fact there's nothing to play for anymore this season.
And with as many injuries as Texas' players have, the bye week couldn't come at a better time. At the very least, the Longhorns hope to have their quarterback back.
---