They beat Texas by 20 and lost to Iowa State by 11. Yes, in the same season.
Don't bother trying to figure out this Kansas State bunch. The Wildcats may be the single-most unpredictable squad in college football.
In some situations, unpredictability is a good quality. Not theirs. But unlike its opponent this weekend, KSU knows what is keeping it down.
"Consistency," said senior wide receiver Jordy Nelson. "At least offensively, we are on and off all the time. It showed against Baylor, and we were just lucky enough to continue and win the game. Iowa State took advantage of that and got the best of us."
A betting man has to fear putting money on this team. Kansas State may be the only program that can throttle a top-10 team on the road and then turn around and give it up to a team like Iowa State that was hopelessly 1-8.
KSU's record on the season is 5-4 (3-3 Big 12 Conference), but no loss has been a big one. The Wildcats gave up fourth-quarter leads to Auburn, Kansas and Oklahoma State.
Iowa State may have been the group's worst performance, ignoring the records of both teams. Their consistent inconsistency is something Nebraska has to be excited for.
"Many of our issues are ongoing," said Kansas State Coach Ron Prince. "There's a certain way that we need to play from a margin-of-error standpoint. When the game goes real well for us, it goes real well and sometimes the score is deceiving."
Josh Freeman, a former Nebraska recruit that broke his commitment in favor of Prince, is at the center of the Wildcats' offensive ineptitude. The sophomore has one of the best targets in the nation in Nelson, who is second in the nation in receptions per game (13.5) and yards per game (133.6), but the quarterback's mistakes have been costly.
Against the Cyclones, he threw two interceptions and had minus 18 yards rushing to tarnish his 347 yards passing. This, coming from perhaps the best dual-threat quarterback in his recruiting class.
Does the talent and potential make Kansas State better than its record indicates?
"Obviously not," Freeman said. "We haven't been able to close our games out, and our record is exactly how we have been playing."
Needing one win in their final three games for bowl eligibility, the Wildcats are as likely to win all three as they are to lose them all.
Though it has appeared to show up for big names, games and rivalries, KSU has hit the snooze button several times this season. Prince isn't taking Nebraska lightly or looking past the Cornhuskers..
NU is a big rival to Kansas State, and Prince wants the game to grab his players' attention.
"That effort is not lost on us," Prince said. "We understand what our challenges are to defend that kind of team, and we're looking for some opportunities for us to think that we can try to compete with them from a scoring standpoint, which will be important.
"We're excited to have a chance to go play again, to have a chance to show that we can play well and win the game, and that's where our focus is. We've got some things to work on, and we'll give those things our full attention."
JONATHANCROWL@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
