Prince: Game got away from KSU
After weeks of listening to Nebraska players saying they don’t know why things have gone sour, about talented players being in the system, about there only being a play or two difference, the brutally honest assessment by the Kansas State players Saturday was almost refreshing.
When the scoreboard reads Nebraska 73, Kansas State 31, it’s tough to say the difference was only one play here or there.
“Guys aren’t doing their job during the game, and it shows,” KSU receiver Jordy Nelson said. “People just have to learn to do their job and know the system will work.
“You’ll turn on the film and everywhere there’s different people doing the wrong thing, and that’s when you’ll get beat.”
And, boy, did they get beat. The Wildcats hadn’t allowed 70 points in 19 years.
A game that figured to be close was anything but. A Kansas State offense that had some playmakers never got in sync. A KSU defense that looked like it could be abused up the middle was.
The Wildcats looked bruised and beaten — surely the result of being beaten by the Big 12 North Division’s bottom two teams on back-to-back Saturdays.
“That was as thorough of a defeat as we’ve had in our program and personally,” said Kansas State coach Ron Prince.
Kansas State was overwhelmed with penalties, dropped balls and overthrown passes. Quarterback Josh Freeman was turning away and running from the Nebraska defense.
Yes, that Nebraska defense.
“That wasn’t the defense we’d been watching on film,” Freeman said. “They had the passion that we hadn’t seen.”
Prince expected Nebraska to be good, and it was apparent he respected Joe Ganz and Company. Not being able to get a significant pass rush and special-teams blunders were two of the most noticeable problems, Prince said.
Safety Marcus Watts was more blunt when asked if there is a common theme to the Wildcats’ recent struggles.
“We’re not beating blocks and we’re not tackling,” he said. “It’s the same old story every week.”
Despite Nebraska defeating KSU for the 19th time in the past 20 games in Lincoln, this wasn’t how this game appeared headed early.
Kansas State looked good on its second drive. Freeman was throwing lasers. Nelson was making catches. That drive ended as a 10-play, 72-yard scoring march that Nebraska fans had experienced plenty of times this season.
The Wildcats led early, outgained Nebraska 137-77 in the first quarter, and appeared to have the Huskers headed for another long day.
Soon, though, the Kansas State defenders were missing tackles, and Ganz couldn’t miss.
“I think it’s pretty clear that the quarterback is the key to (Nebraska’s offense) and he threw for (510 yards) against what I think is a pretty good defense,” Prince said.
“You can’t change the coverage any more than we did. We did a variety of things but were unable to do any of them well. That was about as flawless a performance I’ve seen from a quarterback in some time.”
For certain, Ganz won the quarterback battle. Freeman was 26-for-44 passing for 320 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite orally committing to the Huskers, then changing his mind, Freeman denied there was any extra motivation.
“I wanted to win, that’s about it,” Freeman said. “There wasn’t really any emotion, I just wanted to come out and win.
“Every game you play you want to play well and put your team in position to win. I couldn’t get it done today.”
Reach Brent C. Wagner at 473-7435 or bwagner@journalstar.com.
When the scoreboard reads Nebraska 73, Kansas State 31, it’s tough to say the difference was only one play here or there.
“Guys aren’t doing their job during the game, and it shows,” KSU receiver Jordy Nelson said. “People just have to learn to do their job and know the system will work.
“You’ll turn on the film and everywhere there’s different people doing the wrong thing, and that’s when you’ll get beat.”
And, boy, did they get beat. The Wildcats hadn’t allowed 70 points in 19 years.
A game that figured to be close was anything but. A Kansas State offense that had some playmakers never got in sync. A KSU defense that looked like it could be abused up the middle was.
The Wildcats looked bruised and beaten — surely the result of being beaten by the Big 12 North Division’s bottom two teams on back-to-back Saturdays.
“That was as thorough of a defeat as we’ve had in our program and personally,” said Kansas State coach Ron Prince.
Kansas State was overwhelmed with penalties, dropped balls and overthrown passes. Quarterback Josh Freeman was turning away and running from the Nebraska defense.
Yes, that Nebraska defense.
“That wasn’t the defense we’d been watching on film,” Freeman said. “They had the passion that we hadn’t seen.”
Prince expected Nebraska to be good, and it was apparent he respected Joe Ganz and Company. Not being able to get a significant pass rush and special-teams blunders were two of the most noticeable problems, Prince said.
Safety Marcus Watts was more blunt when asked if there is a common theme to the Wildcats’ recent struggles.
“We’re not beating blocks and we’re not tackling,” he said. “It’s the same old story every week.”
Despite Nebraska defeating KSU for the 19th time in the past 20 games in Lincoln, this wasn’t how this game appeared headed early.
Kansas State looked good on its second drive. Freeman was throwing lasers. Nelson was making catches. That drive ended as a 10-play, 72-yard scoring march that Nebraska fans had experienced plenty of times this season.
The Wildcats led early, outgained Nebraska 137-77 in the first quarter, and appeared to have the Huskers headed for another long day.
Soon, though, the Kansas State defenders were missing tackles, and Ganz couldn’t miss.
“I think it’s pretty clear that the quarterback is the key to (Nebraska’s offense) and he threw for (510 yards) against what I think is a pretty good defense,” Prince said.
“You can’t change the coverage any more than we did. We did a variety of things but were unable to do any of them well. That was about as flawless a performance I’ve seen from a quarterback in some time.”
For certain, Ganz won the quarterback battle. Freeman was 26-for-44 passing for 320 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite orally committing to the Huskers, then changing his mind, Freeman denied there was any extra motivation.
“I wanted to win, that’s about it,” Freeman said. “There wasn’t really any emotion, I just wanted to come out and win.
“Every game you play you want to play well and put your team in position to win. I couldn’t get it done today.”
Reach Brent C. Wagner at 473-7435 or bwagner@journalstar.com.
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