Associated Press
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- More than an hour after the final whistle, the parking lot was still half full, purple-clad tailgaters flipping burgers and drinking beer, sitting in camp chairs under portable awnings.
After years of losing and apathy, football is fun again in the Little Apple.
The reason? Bill Snyder.
The architect of one of college football's greatest turnarounds is at it again in his second Kansas State reclamation project. He has the Wildcats winning again and in position for their first trip to the Big 12 championship game since 2003.
"He's the master, he's a wizard at what he does," Texas coach Mack Brown said Monday during the Big 12 coaches' call. "I was happy for college football and Kansas State when he came back. I wasn't happy for the rest of us because I knew he was going to get it fixed fast."
Snyder needed five seasons to turn around Kansas State the first time, taking a team that had more losses than any other, including an 0-21-1 mark the previous two years, and turning it into a national title contender.
The 70-year-old coach whose name adorns Kansas State's stadium figured to have another long-term turnaround in store when he returned to the sideline this season following a three-year retirement. The Wildcats were coming off five mediocre seasons, had a recruiting class ranked last in the conference and Snyder had a roster full of players leftover from the Ron Prince era.
Kansas State was picked to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 and the prognostications appeared to be on point when the Wildcats lost to Louisiana-Lafayette and were overrun 66-14 at Texas Tech.
Since then, the Wildcats (6-4, 4-2) have won three of four, including Saturday's grind-it-out 17-10 win over Kansas that ended a three game losing streak against their in-state rival.
With two games left, at home against Missouri and on the road against Nebraska, Kansas State has a realistic shot at winning the Big 12 North and reaching a bowl game in its second first season under Snyder.
"The difficulty for all coaches to be able to establish is the consistency in your program in all phases," Snyder said. "We have shown some inconsistencies in our play, but nevertheless the approach has remained consistent. I think our young people have responded favorably to that, or seemingly so. It's like the old adage, we'll try to improve ourselves today and look at tomorrow when it comes."
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FLORENCE FLOURISH: Baylor freshman quarterback Nick Florence was named Big 12 offensive player of the week after setting a school record with 427 passing yards and throwing three TD passes in the Bears' 40-32 win at Missouri.
The third-string quarterback at the start of the season, Florence moved up the depth chart after injuries to Blake Szymanski and Robert Griffin. After a so-so game against Nebraska on Halloween, Florence led the Bears to their first road win over Missouri in 36 years and first conference road victory in 13 games.
So did Bears coach Art Briles see this coming?
Actually, yes.
"He's been really solid the last couple of weeks as far as placement of the ball, understanding what's going on and has been real good in practice," Briles said. "With increased reps, I think his confidence and his anticipation skills have really gotten better. It was a good deal that happened, but surprised? I don't think so. I'm just glad we got the expected outcome."
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KANSAS TURNOVERS: Kansas has had one of the toughest offenses to stop in the Big 12, piling up yards and points since Todd Reesing took over at quarterback three years ago.
This season, the Jayhawks have fallen into a funk, at least over the past three games. After averaging 411 yards the first six games, Kansas has managed a paltry 288 the past three.
The biggest problem? Turnovers, particularly early in games.
Kansas has 10 turnovers the past four games, all losses. In a loss to Oklahoma on Oct. 24, the Jayhawks had interceptions on their first three possessions and last week's loss to rival Kansas State included three turnovers in the first half.
"We're turning the ball over, we're turning the ball over sometimes very early in the game, getting ourselves behind and creating a tough hill to climb in some cases," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "We're not making enough big plays and we need to do that as well, but the turnovers are key, has really set us back."
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LEACH AT ESPN: Texas Tech coach Mike Leach spent part of his team's bye last week in Connecticut at ESPN's studios, where he spread his unusual brand of wit.
"You go in the cafeteria and it's literally like a high school cafeteria, except it's filled with all these celebrity broadcasters and former athletes running around," said Leach, tied with Spike Dykes for most all-time wins at Tech with 82. "It was like a whirlwind. It was tough to remember to everything because it was pretty fast and they moved me around from one place to the next."
So what did Leach have in the cafeteria?
"They had a good salad bar, but there was a pretty big line for it, so I had the turkey sandwich, which was fresh, they make it right in front of you," he said. "They have this kind of natural fruit smoothie thing. I had that and some green tea."
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LOOSE BALLS: Kansas State, thanks to Brandon Banks' four TDs, is fourth in the nation in kickoff returns at 28.23 yards per game. ... Missouri S Hardy Ricks is out for the season after tearing his ACL against Baylor. ... Nebraska S Matt O'Hanlon was named Big 12 defensive player of the week after intercepting three passes and making 12 tackles in a win over Oklahoma. ... Texas leads the nation in third-down percentage against, allowing teams to convert just 23 percent.
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