The 2003 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Bill Snyder. The Wildcats played their home games in KSU Stadium. The team finished the season with a win–loss record of 11 wins and 4 losses, and a Big 12 Conference record of 6 wins and 2 losses. They notched a stunning 35–7 victory over the #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 Championship Game. With their 1st conference championship since 1934, they earned a berth in one of the Bowl Championship Series bowl games, the 2004 Fiesta Bowl, where they were defeated by the Ohio State Buckeyes, 35–28. The Wildcats played 15 games, most in school history.
During the 2002 and 2003 seasons teams were allowed to schedule 12 games as well as a kickoff game. As a result, Kansas State became only the second team in the modern era to play a 15-game schedule. The first was the 1996 BYU Cougars.
Running back Darren Sproles led the nation in rushing, and the Wildcats scored 549 points, good for third all-time at Kansas State.Points scored fact
Until 2022, this was the only season in college football history in which Kansas State, Kansas, and Missouri all played in a bowl game in the same season.
Schedule
Rankings
Game summaries Vs. California
Troy State
McNeese State
UMass
Marshall
At Texas
At Oklahoma State
Colorado
Kansas
Baylor
At Iowa State
At Nebraska
Missouri
Darren Sproles ran for a school-record 273 yards in the win over Missouri. Sproles also broke the single-season rushing record for the second consecutive year.
Vs. Oklahoma (Big 12 Championship game)
Kansas State manhandled the #1 Sooners at Arrowhead Stadium to win their first conference title since 1934.
Vs. Ohio State (Fiesta Bowl)
Source:
Roster
Statistics Scores by quarter
Team KSU Opp Scoring 549 244 Points per game 36.6 16.3 First downs 319 232 Rushing 176 98 Passing 127 121 Penalty 16 13 Total offense 6,615 4,246 Avg per play 6.2 4.3 Avg per game 441.0 283.1 Fumbles-Lost 22-13 13-9 Penalties-Yards 98-726 104-846 Avg per game 48.4 56.4 KSU Opp Punts-Yards 71-2,859 112-4,113 Avg per punt 40.3 36.7 Time of possession/Game 30:24 29:36 3rd down conversions 82/205 63/229 4th down conversions 10/20 8/20 Touchdowns scored 73 31 Field goals-Attempts 12-17 8-18 PAT-Attempts 67-68 28-29 Attendance 376,878 247,868 Games/Avg per Game 8/47,110 4/61,967
Offense
Rushing Name GP Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G Darren Sproles 15 306 2,067 81 1,986 6.5 16 73 132.4 Ell Roberson 13 227 1135 160 975 4.3 15 33 75.0 Total 15 688 3,817 388 3,429 5.0 42 73 228.6 Opponents 15 549 2,113 486 1,627 3.0 6 45 108.5
Passing Name GP-GS Effic Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Lng Avg/G Pct. Ell Roberson 13 143.19 294-152-12 2,545 24 63 195.8 51.7 Jeff Schwin 6 119.99 68-37-3 563 1 41 93.8 54.4 Total 15 137.50 371-194-17 3,186 25 63 212.4 52.3 Opponents 15 104.41 447-224-20 2,619 19 65 174.6 50.1
Receiving Name GP No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G James Terry 15 64 1,232 19.2 13 63 82.1 Antoine Polite 13 29 409 14.1 1 36 31.5 Total 15 194 3,186 16.4 25 63 212.4 Opponents 15 224 2,619 11.7 19 65 174.6
Awards and honors
2004 NFL draft
Player Position Round Pick NFL club Nick Leckey Center 6 167 Arizona Cardinals Rashad Washington Strong safety 7 236 New York Jets
References