KSU's Bill Snyder hopes to steal Big 12 North

The football world wasn't ready for Bill Snyder to come back.

Consider, for example, the first question the coach faced from a reporter at the Big 12 Media Days in July.

"Have you considered there's a danger you're going to kill yourself trying to get back to where you were when you left?"

At first, the 70-year-old coach seemed taken aback by the question.

"I hope you said that in jest," Snyder said.

But after a moment, the Kansas State coach answered.

"You know, it's a demanding thing no matter how you look at it," Snyder said. "I think it is for every coach regardless of what their age happens to be. I've got a lot of good people around me that help a great deal."

Flash forward to today and Snyder can stand proud. His Wildcat program surpassed everyone's preseason expectations by putting itself in position to win the Big 12 North Division and earn its first bowl game bid in three years.

Standing in his way on Saturday will be longtime nemesis Nebraska. A Cornhusker win would give Nebraska the Big 12 North title and eliminate Kansas State from bowl contention.

"I have never been involved in a ballgame in which bowl eligibility and a division championship were on the line at the same time," Snyder said Tuesday.

Kansas State's chaotic season could end in Lincoln, Neb., a place where Snyder has lost a lot of games in his career. He said he'll spend the week trying to get his players ready for the challenging environment.

"We have to play better than they do," Snyder said. "That's the bottom line anywhere. It is going to be a big challenge to play in a very large stadium with a bunch of red-clad fans cheering against you, but that's part of this game. The main challenge is just to go out and compete between the white lines."

After a three-year retirement, Snyder has produced significant results between those white lines this season. The Wildcats' four conference wins are the most the program has produced since 2006.

KSU hasn't won more than four conference games since the 2003 season, a year in which the Wildcats upset No. 1 Oklahoma 35-7 to win the Big 12 Championship.

Snyder said an opportunity to represent the North Division would be a great accomplishment, but he also values the extra practice and experience his team would get by qualifying for a bowl game.

"That was a real luxury for us when we had the opportunity to get those 15 extra practices," Snyder said. "It meant a lot to us. It gives us more experience. It benefitted our program, not just in terms of preparing for the upcoming bowl game, but also for the next season."

K-State quarterback Grant Gregory sees clinching a bowl berth as an opportunity to extend the season and experience one of college football's long-standing traditions.

Before transferring to KSU, Gregory played at South Florida, where he went to four straight bowl games.

"The younger guys have never been," Gregory said. "Bowl games are awesome. Just the opportunity to play an extra game, and in our situation two more games, would be great."

Gregory's play will be key for the Wildcats. KSU's run-based offense relies on running back Daniel Thomas and will be tested by Nebraska's defense. Gregory will be expected to make plays through the air to try and neutralize Ndamukong Suh.

Snyder said he's never coached a talent like Suh in his 18 years as a head coach.

"We have had some very, very fine players," Snyder said. "Some of them had similar notoriety, but I don't think that we've had someone with the physical traits that he has – his height, weight and his ability to move."

Snyder said he hopes his team has moved past a 38-12 loss to Missouri last Saturday and is aware of what's at stake this weekend.

"I'm still getting to know these young guys, so that doesn't mean that I could be precise on guessing what their emotions are," he said. "I would hope that they take this game seriously and go up there and play with a tremendous amount of focus."

michaelschaefer@dailynebraskan.com