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.Points scored fact

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries Western Kentucky

Statistics WKUKSU 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 StatisticsWestern Kentucky Passing Jason Michael 7/11, 73 yards, INT Rushing Maurice Bradley 19 rushes, 64 yards Receiving Casey Rooney 2 receptions, 28 yardsKansas State Passing Ell Roberson 4/8, 108 yards Rushing Darren Sproles 19 rushes, 135 yards, TD Receiving Derrick Evans 3 receptions, 74 yards

Louisiana–Monroe

Eastern Illinois

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

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 USCKSU 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

Oklahoma State

No. 8 Texas

At Baylor

At Kansas

No. 21 Iowa State

Nebraska

Statistics NEBKSU 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

Vs. Arizona State (Holiday Bowl)

Roster

Statistics Scores by quarter

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

References