With a fair amount of static that this could be the Legend’s final season, I felt it appropriate to take a look at what I feel are the ten biggest wins between both of his tenures. I tried to choose the best games that both had a significant impact on the program and in Bill’s coaching career. Starting August 23rd, I’ll be adding the next game in the countdown every day until kickoff. Enjoy.
#7
November 15th 2003 – KSU 38, #18 Nebraska 9
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This is my personal favorite in the countdown.
So much was riding on this one going in. Coach Snyder had accomplished a great number of things in his career…but he’d never beaten the Cornhuskers in Memorial Stadium (nor had KSU as a program since 1968). The winner of this matchup would most likely be representing the Big 12 North division in the league title game. The Wildcats were also looking for a bit of redemption, after sputtering to three consecutive losses early in the year following high hopes in the offseason.
It was a defensive struggle for most of the first half, though running back Darren Sproles opened the scoring with a 22 yard run during which he drug a much larger Nebraska defender into the endzone with him. NU would answer with a TD of their own and the teams found themselves tied at the break.
It didn’t take long for things to escalate in the 3rd quarter, as the purple snagged an early turnover after linebacker Bryan Hickman crushed Husker quarterback Jammal Lord on third down and sent the ball flying into the arms of lineman Andrew Shull. The Cats would score four plays later on an Ell Roberson option keeper. After adding a FG on their next drive, the offense got the ball back and wasted no time with Roberson hitting a wide open James Terry on a double move down the left sideline, resulting in this (clearly peeved) call from Voice of the Huskers Greg Sharpe:
(Sharpe, by the way, was the Voice of the Wildcats from 1996 until 2002 – making this soundbite all the more amusing. But he wasn’t done on this day.)
After another Husker turnover, Roberson again found Terry over the middle:
And just for good measure, here he is on a late big run from Sproles:
The Cats would close out the game with another rushing TD, concluding with over 550 yards of total offense and handing the Big Red their worst home loss in 45 seasons, 38-9. It’s also believed to have been a significant catalyst in Frank Solich’s firing.
Bill finally got his win in Lincoln, and KSU would return to Kansas City for the first time since 2000. We’ll hear more from that game later on in this countdown…
***Game highlights can be found below***
Jake is also a writer at www.big12country.com. Find his other stuff plus much more by clicking the link.