INSIDE SLANT

There’s no gray area for Kansas State.

If Kansas State defeats Nebraska on Saturday, it wins the Big 12 North Division title, earns the right to play in the Big 12 title game on Dec. 5 in Arlington, Texas, and is eligible for postseason play.

If Kansas State loses … nothing.

As junior receiver Lamark Brown said, “We won’t win anything.”

No division title, no championship game, and no bowl game.

Kansas State is 6-5 overall and needs to get to seven because only one of its two victories over lower-division teams count toward bowl eligibility.

“I’ve never been involved in a game where both a division championship and a bowl game were on the line at the same time,” said 70-year-old coach Bill Snyder.

That’s how much is on the line Saturday in Lincoln following last week’s 38-12 loss to Missouri.

“Despite what happened last week … I know we didn’t play like North champions, but we have big opportunity to be champions again,” said quarterback Grant Gregory.

Just 11 games into his second stint at K-State, Snyder said, “I’m just getting to know these young guys so I’m not always precise as to what their feelings and emotions are. You want them to take the game seriously and understand what’s on the line, but not to the extent of them being uptight in a way that it affects their performance.”

NOTES, QUOTES

• Since 1993, K-State is 11-3-1 under coach Bill Snyder when needing a win to become bowl eligible.

• K-State will be looking for its fourth win in five tries against teams from the Big 12 North. The lone loss was last week to Missouri, 38-12.

• K-State has scored in 163 consecutive games, the 10th longest current streak in the nation. The lone Big 12 team to have a longer streak is Nebraska at 173 games. The Wildcats have not been shut out since a 12-0 loss to Colorado on Nov. 16, 1996.

• K-State’s last appearance on ESPN was in 2007, when it opened the season at No. 14 Auburn.

Series History:   Nebraska leads Kansas State 76-15-2 (last meeting, 2008, 56-28 Nebraska).

Scouting The Offense:   Kansas State has rushed for 2,019 yards, which is roughly 500 yards more than in each of the last four years. The last time K-State has had a more prolific ground attack was in Darren Sproles’ junior season in 2003, when the Wildcats rushed for 3,429 yards. Nebraska will counter that ground attack with a rush defense that allows just 95 yards per game, which ranks No. 11 in the country. On the flip side, the Wildcats have passed for only 1,880 yards, which is the lowest output in the Big 12.

Scouting The Defense:   Here’s a look at K-State’s offense, compared to 2008: The Wildcats are allowing 106 rushing yards per game, compared to 222 last year; they are allowing 241 passing yards per game to 243 last year; they have allowed 38 plays of 20-plus yards to 59 last year. A year ago, KSU’s turnover-margin ranked 61st in the nation. This season, K-State has a plus-8 margin, which ranks 19th in the country. The Wildcats’ improved defense will try to slow down Nebraska, which has shown more balance in recent weeks with RB Roy Helu and QB Zac Lee.

Quote To Note:   “It’s like any game. You try to reduce the mistakes and eliminate as many as you can. It boils down to discipline, and this team is still learning about that particular value.”—Coach Bill Snyder, on the keys to victory against Nebraska.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

This Week  ‘S GAME: Kansas State at Nebraska, Nov. 21—Coach Bill Snyder said last Saturday’s 38-12 loss to Missouri was part of the growth process as his young team tried to deal with surprising success. He indicated that the team, perhaps, became too “fat and sassy.” Snyder’s challenge this week has been to get his team to focus on the Cornhuskers, not the environment of nearly 89,000 Big Red fans. “If they’re paying attention to all that red stuff, then they’re not paying attention to the stuff that goes on the green field,” Snyder said.

Keys To The Game:   Against Nebraska’s stingy defense there likely will be few scoring opportunities for the Wildcats. With that in mind, it’s important for K-State to score in sevens and not threes. Against Missouri last week, K-State was only 3 of 5 in red zone scoring, and all three of those scores were field goals.

Players To Watch:  

WR Brandon Banks—The two-year senior heads into what could be his final K-State game ranked No. 8 in school history in career catches (118), No. 9 in receiving yards (1,706) and No. 10 in receiving touchdowns (10). He’s also No. 2 in school history in all-purpose yardage with 160.2 per game. And he holds school records for kickoff returns for touchdowns—game (two), season (four), and career (five).

RB Daniel Thomas—The junior leads the Big 12 in rushing attempts (228), yards (1,166), yards per game (106) and rushing TDs (11).

PK Josh Cherry—He is a native of McCook, Neb., and grew up a Big Red fan. Cherry has made 11 of his past 12 field goal attempts after opening the year 1-of-6.

Roster Report:  

• Backup RB Keithen Valentine has produced 6.6 yards per carry, plus has scored six touchdowns.

• WR Brandon Banks has five career kickoff returns for touchdowns. That’s one shy of the NCAA record of six shared by C.J. Spiller of Clemson (2006-09), Ashlan Davis of Tulsa (2004-05) and Anthony Davis of USC (1972-74).