MANHATTAN, Kan. - The bruises from a physical football game were only starting to form for Josh Freeman. So was the pain from his team officially missing out on a bowl game.
The Kansas State quarterback spent much of Saturday afternoon on the turf during the Wildcats' 56-28 loss to Nebraska. He was sacked four times and abused plenty more by the Husker defensive line.
By the third quarter, those hits had taken their toll.
With NU leading 35-14 and six minutes remaining in the third period, sophomore quarterback Carson Coffman replaced Freeman in the game.
"Coach (Ron Prince) made a perfectly reasonable decision putting Carson in and Carson played well," Freeman said. "Ultimately, I'd say the most disdain was from the score and losing, not from being on the sideline."
Prince and his starter both remained mum on specific reasons for the benching. NU defensive lineman Zach Potter said Freeman told him after the game he might have suffered a concussion.
"Josh wasn't his normal self," Prince said. "He wasn't doing some of the things that we expect him to be able to do, for whatever reason. I pulled him out of the game for his own benefit and safety, perhaps, even."
Freeman - a junior who is widely considered to be a solid NFL prospect - wrapped up his afternoon with a season-low in pass attempts (18), pass completions (7) and aerial yards (114). He accounted for just one of the four Wildcat touchdowns, completing a 63-yard bomb to wide receiver Ernie Pierce to tie the game at 14 early in the second quarter.
Pierce said Freeman played up to his normal high level for the most part. Sure, NU's defensive line put more pressure on him than other teams had, but not enough to justify his removal.
But the hits the team captain was taking did.
"He took a shot and you could just see there was a little something off with him," Pierce said. "It's just unfortunate for anyone to take a shot like that, really."
NU's Potter was flagged for one in the second quarter, when he crunched helmets with Freeman. The quarterback took another blow when he was spun down by Nebraska safety Rickey Thenarse for a 14-yard loss during K-State's first second-half possession.
Coffman finished the game 5-of-8 passing for 74 yards and a rushing score. On his first drive, the sophomore guided KSU 92 yards to bring the team to within 35-21.
Of course, the youngster was happy to get on the field. But watching his best friend struggle was rough.
"When you're getting negative plays and things aren't working smoothly, it's pretty easy to get frustrated," Coffman said. "He's a competitor and he wants to win real bad so I think that's just the competitor coming out in him."
When Freeman was out of the game, he spent much of the time by himself on the sideline or visiting with coaches on a headset.
Since reneging on a verbal commitment to play for Nebraska three years ago, the Kansas City, Mo., native has struggled in starts against the Huskers. After falling to 0-3 in those matchups - during which time his team has been outscored 150-62 - Freeman said he never put extra pressure on himself to play well against NU.
With only next week's season finale against Iowa State to prepare for, Freeman said he planned on following Prince's advice about being professional to end the year. After that, he said, who knows.
One thing the quarterback was sure of: there's plenty of disappointment in losing big again to a division rival.
"I'm always comfortable in the pocket when there's a pocket," Freeman said. "We understood that Nebraska had a physically gifted defensive line and they were able to generate a good pass rush."
evanbland@dailynebraskan.com
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