Jammal Lord eludes a defender. Mark LeFlore gets open. Josh Bullocks defends.

LINCOLN, Neb. — A fourth-quarter collapse cost Nebraska a game and a shot at the Big 12 North title. The Huskers blew a 10-point lead as the Kansas State Wildcats scored 17 fourth-quarter points against the Blackshirts and claimed a 24-20 win.

It was Kansas State's first victory in Lincoln in more than three decades.

K-State was led offensively by junior running back Darren Sproles. Sproles rushed for 152 yards on 19 carries. Sproles also had a 74-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes left in the game, shifting momentum heavily to KSU’s side and tying the score at 17.

Nebraska struck first with a first-quarter drive that ended in a 25-yard field goal by freshman kicker David Dyches. The drive was one of the Huskers' only long drives of the game. Later scores were set up mostly by the Wildcats' four turnovers.

The Huskers also drew second blood on a 16-yard pass from quarterback Jammal Lord to Mark LeFlore. The score put NU up 10-0 early in the second quarter, and it appeared Nebraska had the game in control.

It was Lord’s last home game as quarterback of the Huskers, and he passed for 217 yards but was held to a negative 7 yards rushing. The offense was held to 100 yards total on the ground, 74 of which came from running back Cory Ross, who was named the starter for the first time earlier in the week.

Kansas State crept back into the game toward the end of the first half when quarterback Ell Roberson hit James Terry on a 40-pass to put the Wildcats within 3 points going into halftime.

However, Nebraska jumped right back up to start the second half. Ross ran in from 3 yards to boost Nebraska's lead to 17-7. Ross’ TD was the only score in the third quarter, and then Nebraska embarked on a devastating fourth quarter.

Kansas State got the first of its 17 fourth-quarter points on a 36-yard field goal by Joe Rheem. The kick capped an 8-play, 63-yard drive.

K-State tied the score on its next possession when Sproles found a hole on the left side of his line and burst 74 yards for a score, putting the tally at 17 all.

Nebraska quickly countered when Dyches hit his longest field goal of the season from 52 yards out, putting the Huskers back on top 20-17 with only four and a half minutes remaining.

The Blackshirts were worn down and K-State got the go-ahead score on a drive that took just over three minutes. Roberson scampered in on a 3-yard run to make the score at 24-20 and seal the game’s fate.

Nebraska heads to Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado, to take on the Buffaloes on the 28th of November. Kansas State plays host to the Missouri Tigers this coming Saturday.

                         BOX SCORE
                     Kansas State  24
                     Nebraska      20
              Nov. 15, 2003 –-2:36 CST, ABC
              Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE   

               1st  2nd  3rd  4th    Final
               ---  ---  ---  ---    -----
KANSAS STATE     0    7    0   17       24
NEBRASKA         3    7    7    3       20
 
1st Quarter
NEB – D Dyches 25 FG 10:39
2nd Quarter
NEB – M LeFlore 16 pass from J Lord (D Dyches kick) 13:36
KSU – J Terry 40 pass from E Roberson (J Rheem kick) 1:14
3rd Quarter 
NEB – C Ross 3 run (D Dyches kick) 13:55
4th Quarter
KSU – J Rheem 36 FG 14:03
KSU – D Sproles 74 run (J Rheem kick) 10:00
NEB – D Dyches 52 FG 4:48
KSU – E Roberson 3 run (J Rheem kick) 1:34

                         KSU      NEB
First downs               11       13
Rushed-yards          29-182   37-100
Passing yards            147      217
Sacked                     1        3
Return yards             157      206
  KR                      97      112
  PR                      60       73
  INT                      0       21
Passes               12-27-3  12-36-0
Punts                 7-39.0   7-48.6
Fumbles-lost             2-1      3-0
Penalties-yards         1-15     3-19
Time of possession     26:30    33:30
 
RUSHING 
KANSAS STATE-Darren Sproles 19-152, Ell Roberson 4-4,
 Danny Morris 3-14, Travis Wilson 3-12.      
NEBRASKA-Cory Ross 17-74, Judd Davies 10-33. Jammal Lord 10-(minus) 7.
PASSING 
KANSAS STATE-Ell Roberson 12-27-147-1.     
NEBRASKA-Jammal Lord 12-36-217-1.  
RECEIVING 
KANSAS STATE-James Terry 5-94, Antione Polite 3-11, Jermaine Moriera 2-22,
 Brian Casey 1-15, Darren Sproles 1-5.
NEBRASKA-Isaiah Fluellen 4-108, Ross Pilkington 3-47, Mark LeFlore 2-23,
 Matt Herian 2-20, Chris Septak 1-19.


Questions or Comments? E-mail Beau Hill.



 
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