Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Prepares for Sixth-Ranked Kansas State
9/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Marshall Prepares for Sixth-Ranked Kansas State
9/15/2003
Marshall will play its third nationally televised game of the season when it travels to Manhattan, Kansas to take on Big 12 power Kansas State Saturday.
The Thundering Herd, coming of a rare home loss, will try to pull an upset in its first ever meeting with Kansas State. The Wildcats are a perfect 4-0 on the season and are ranked sixth in the nation in both of the major polls.
The Wildcats are averaging 44 points per game, while limiting their opponents to a mere 13.5 points per game. KSU is led by junior running back Darren Sproles who is averaging 119.2 rushing yards per game (a 6.3 yards per carry average) and has already scored six touchdowns on the season.
This will be only the second-time ever that Marshall has played a member of the Big 12 conference. In 1992, Marshall (a I-AA program at the time) dropped a 44-21 decision at Missouri. That season, Marshall finished 12-3 and captured its first Division I-AA National Title.
Kansas State is 8-2 all-time against current members of the Mid-American Conference. The Wildcats own wins over Akron (1995), Ball State (2000), Bowling Green (1952), and Ohio (1997). Northern Illinois owns two wins over Kansas State, however trails in the series 4-2. The Huskies beat KSU by the score of 37-20 at KSU Stadium in 1989 and downed them 42-35 in Dekalb in 1990.
Two of the winningest coaches in the nation will square off on Saturday at KSU Stadium. Marshall?s Bob Pruett is the winningest active coach in Division 1-A with a winning percentage of .844, while KSU?s Bill Snyder ranks seventh at .701. In terms of overall wins since 1997 the two coaches rank first and second in the nation.
