ChiefsPlanet - KSU ****Official Kansas @ Kansas State Game Thread****

Bill Snyder is making it look too easy at Kansas State
By JASON WHITLOCK - McClatchy Newspapers

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Maybe this was all inevitable, Kansas State's emergence as the only team capable of seizing control of the embarrassingly mediocre Big 12 North.

In hindsight, there is little reason to be surprised that Bill Snyder would squeeze more out of his collection of two- and three-star recruits than would Mark Mangino, Gary Pinkel, Bo Pelini, Dan Hawkins and Paul Rhoads.

When Snyder first took over the Wildcats, he competed against Tom Osborne and Bill McCartney, coaches who built national-title teams and routinely landed some of the nation's top recruits.

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Compared to Osborne and McCartney, Snyder's primary coaching competitors today must look like Mo, Larry and Todd Haley to the architect of the Manhattan Miracle.

This is just too easy. Saturday, Snyder and his Wildcats moved one giant step closer to securing the North crown, taking the ample candy offered to them by Mangino's Jayhawks.

Kansas State 17, Kansas 10.

The Wildcats improved to 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12, thanks largely to three huge errors committed by KU quarterback Todd Reesing, who spent the first 30 minutes at Bill Snyder Family Stadium playing like Mangino was perched on his back.

Reesing simply tried too hard. In the opening half, he folded under the pressure put on him by Mangino's Texas Tech benching and the players-only meeting Reesing called in an attempt to shake himself out of his slump and his team out of its losing streak.

He tossed a horrible first-quarter interception, flinging the football into a swarm of K-State defenders. He followed the pick with an avoidable fumble, when he scrambled out of the pocket, picked up first-down yardage and was stripped from behind by a K-State defender. The smart play would've been to hook slide after picking up the first down.

Reesing's most damaging error came just before halftime. Again, he scrambled on third and long. Two K-State defenders had him cornered 4 yards short of the first-down marker. Reesing should've slid and allowed KU to punt with less than a minute to play in the half. Instead, he put his head down and tried to bowl over the K-State defenders. The ball popped loose and was recovered by the Wildcats.

K-State took full advantage. Grant Gregory hit Lamark Brown for a 31-yard score that gave K-State a 10-7 advantage and all the momentum it would need.

From there, Snyder pretty much turned the game over to running back Daniel Thomas and Gregory. Thomas rushed for 130 yards in the second half on 15 carries. Gregory added 35 second-half rushing yards. Thomas finished the game with 185 yards and one TD.

The Cats were completely one-dimensional. Gregory passed for 66 yards - and just one yard in the second half. That's right. K-State completed one pass for one yard in the final 30 minutes and still won.

That's embarrassing for KU on multiple fronts. The Jayhawks' defense couldn't stop Thomas even though the unit knew he was K-State's lone option. And KU's offense - although turnover-free in the second half - only managed two field-goal attempts after the break.

KU's field-goal drive in the fourth quarter was a maddening mess. Down two scores, it took 16 plays and seven minutes, 38 seconds for the Jayhawks to march 58 yards. They didn't try to speed up the pace of the game. They seemed unconcerned with the clock. The biggest concern seemed to be making sure Reesing didn't turn the ball over with an errant downfield pass.

Mangino stripped this team of its swagger. Not just Reesing. Kicker Jacob Branstetter missed two makeable field goals Saturday. Mangino spent all last week talking about Branstetter's limitations as a kicker. The kid showed a lot of limitations on Saturday.

Mangino basically bragged about spending the season fixing his defense. He had no success last week fixing KU's offense. The Jayhawks reflect their coach. They're exhausted, over-extended and weighed down. Yes, the pun is intentional.

I'm not going to dwell on this today, but the round-the-clock burden of leading a college football team is tough to sustain for a man of Mangino's girth. I'm not trying to be disrespectful. I'm overweight. I know Mangino's challenge. I'm sympathetic.

But Bill Snyder vs. Mark Mangino is a mismatch.

Mangino will never again face a Snyder-coached team in which KU will hold such a sizeable advantage in talent, skill and system experience. Mangino had a similar advantage in 2005, and Snyder clowned him in Manhattan, winning 12-3.

Two weeks ago I predicted K-State wouldn't win another game this season. Now I'll be totally shocked if Snyder doesn't put a shiny nose and floppy shoes on Gary Pinkel next week.